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Stealth And Strength 1980s rock titans Simple Minds return with an album that recalls their glory days. Guitarist Charlie Burchill talks to Tim Slater about playing at the original Live Aid and his-new found love for the pedal steel... Tim Slater - 'Guitar Buyer' - November 2005 (UK)
Simple Minds' majestic pop/rock hybrid made the band simply unstoppable during their mid-1980s peak. The Scottish foursome built their music on a grand scale, that relied more on carefully constructed dynamics and space than traditional rock histrionics - U2 were surely watching enviously as their Scottish rivals conquered the charts and the world's megastadia. Like U2, Simple Minds' portentous sound served as a backdrop for the band's outspoken political views, not least their refusal to play at South Africa's then-notorious Sun City leisure complex, which helped to maintain awareness of the Anti-Apartheid movement and similar worthy causes. July 1985 marked what was probably Simple Minds' zenith when they played at the American leg of the original Live Aid concert. Unbeknown to the band, their masterful performance was let down by a faulty satellite link, meaning that only a brief fraction of their four-song set was sent out live to the watching world. Charlie Burchill, Simple Minds' guitarist since the band formed in Glasgow in 1978, recalls the atmosphere backstage shortly before Simple Minds played at the historic concert. "It was an amazing gig, and I remember that there were two stages with multiple set-ups. Bo Diddley was set up near us and I was standing with my guitar, getting ready to go on. We were obviously supposed to keep quiet because there were bands on stage playing, but Bo plugged into his amp, started playing, and he just turns around and looks at me and says 'Plug in and play, young man'. It was surreal because there were all these famous people around like Jack Nicholson and everybody was very accessible and up for it, er, except Madonna." Float Race The ethereal quality of Charlie Burchill's
guitar work perfectly encapsulated the best of what 1980s guitar
playing was all about. Along with Andy Summers "It really started when I first got an echo in the early days of the band," explains the amiable Scot. "Space was something that we worked on from the beginning, because we wanted the band to sound really big. Mick [MacNeil, keys] would use a lot of pads and multi-timbral sounds, and I found that the best way to work with that was to be quite sparse and inject stuff, rather than play all over it. The echo was the thing, because then you could sound like keyboards - when I started using rhythmic echoes I thought that was the way to go, but you need space for it. I'm pretty certain that The Edge and I discovered an echo unit at the same time. I've never really thought about that before. People like Mick Ronson were the bridge [between pre and post punk guitar playing] because he was a rock player who was also an arranger, and by the time I was finding my way I wanted to play in a more linear way." Today's young blades like Muse and Bloc Party have unveiled their admiration for Simple Minds' music, and consequently there is a veritable torrent of revised critical opinion on the band, who are preparing for a short tour in February 2006 to support their new album Black & White 050505. With the sounds of the 1980s so much in vogue after so many years, Burchill admits that he does spot elements of Simple Minds' influence on today's top bands. "I think that Franz Ferdinand have got a lot of Simple Minds about them. It's not that they are copying us, but something about the angular guitar sounds really reminds me of early Simple Minds." Black & White Falcon As a fully paid-up member of the Guitar Freaks Club, Charlie Burchill is the proud owner of some beautiful instruments. Gibson and Ibanez Flying Vs, vintage Strats and a gorgeous white Gibson ES-355 have all rotated through Simple Minds' guitar line-up, and there's no sign of Mr Burchill slowing down yet. "I remember I always wanted a sunburst Les Paul," he offers, "because I dreamed of owning one when I started, and that was the first guitar that took up my attention. "I love the Flying V. It's something that should be kitsch and in bad taste, but they look bloody amazing. I know that a lot of metal players like them, but Jim [Kerr, lead vocals] just brought a white Flying V; he doesn't even play guitar, but he got one anyway." "Most of the new album was recorded with a Gretsch White Falcon that I've had for years. It's a '62 and it's a fabulous guitar. I can't see past Gretsch at the moment, and the thing that I love about it is that no matter how distorted you make it, it still has that classic Gretsch clarity. It's a nightmare to control live though, and I use a Les Paul for the main part of the set. You really have to grapple with a Gretsch, and a friend of mine pointed out that for the most part they were built from shit. They had shitty woods, they ahd shit pickups but they are unbelievable guitars. I just struggle with it, but it's worth it. "The White Falcon has a Bigsby on it and I've got a Bigsby on the Les Paul that I use now that stays in tune amazingly well. My main Les Paul is a standard; I've got a Black Beauty as well, but the main one I use is a real generic Standard from about 1995: it plays great. My guitar tech did a great job on it, but the Gretsch demands that you've just got to be careful." Solid State Of Mind Simple Minds' new album, 050505, kicks in with some classic Burchill riffing, and while his guitar work remains as understated as ever, it still powers along like a stealth bomber, backed up by a veritable arsenal of harware. Indeed, the old valve/solid-state amplifier argument is one which Charlie is having with himself all over again. "I'm really happy because we did it like a band this time: we set up and played live in the old way, and we had just about every combination of amps and speakers imaginable. "My current favourite amp is a Matchless DC30, but I also had a Fender Twin and a Vox AC30. I also used a Line 6 Vetta, mainly for effects, running through a valve amp via the line out. We had real difficulty at the beginning because we had to find different ways of balancing the levels when we were running the effects through the valve amps. It took a lot of tweaking and a lot of fiddling about to get the levels right. "I used a lot of thythmic echo, and the great thing about the Vetta is that everything is temo-based and it's very easy to program. Soundwise, it's maybe not as good as having real tape echoes, but you have access to just about everything that you'd ever need. "The thing is that when I hooked into the Line 6 stuff, it changed the way that I thought about amps, but recently I started thinking that I should get back into amps again, instead of just taking a direct out from the Vetta. When you're piling it through an enormous PA it sounds great, but you still feel that it isn't as good as the 'real' thing. It kinda' goes in circles and now I'm thinking about going back to amps, but I enjoy discovering new things and there's still a lot to discover, you know?" Give Us A Tune When quizzed about his pratice routine, Burchill typically has a more reflective approach, rather than committing himself to endless hours of unbridled shredding. "Pratice is a mixture of things, really, and like most people I tend to go through phases. I went through a phase of playing classical guitar, and although I'm not that good, I just love the challenge and love to finally get through a piece. I enjoy working out the counterpoint stuff and felt really encouraged to study a lot more and start reading as well. Then I kind of stopped it and went back to playing for fun. I've been thinking that I really need to get back into studying because I'm getting much better with my fingerpicking and I'd really love to be a really good picker: I was listening to some Paul Simon stuff and I'd love to be able to play guitar like him, he is a brilliant guitar player. "In my spare time I also use a lot of thuning. When I'm working out what to play on a tune I'll do a quick pass and something unusual will come out from that. For example, if I was doing a minor chord of any description, there's a shape that I like to use. I can't even describe it, but for me it's something that I would just gravitate towards. There's a kind of Celtic thing, in that I'll often try to avoid minor or major thirds and make the chords sound a bit more ambiguous. Often I'll go for a root and fifth, or play an inversion with a suspended forth or something like that. I love to try and get unusual note clusters, like semitones apart on strings: to create a mild dissonance where the chord doesn't feel like it's sitting where you'd normally expect. Live, I have about three guitars with different tunings, but it kind of varies depending on the set we're doing. There are certain tracks where I will use a specific tuning, but I'll only maybe use two or three during the course of a concert. "A great tuning that I love is this [low to high] DGDGAD. That's a nice one. I don't understand quite why, but when you find a new tuning that works, suddenly your whole world opens up a million times." Synthal Minds Burchill's willingness to experiment with different tunings also extends to instruments where you can do it on the fly... "I've got a Telecaster with a Palm Bender on the G and B strings," he explains. "It sounds like a pedal steel, but I've also got a real pedal steel guitar and when you tune that thing and start to run your fingers through the strings you come up with incredible stuff. It's amazing, I wish that I could play it really well because I love the tone. I've got a cheap one because BJ Cole [legendary Brit pedal steel viruoso: played on the Benny Hill Show theme, last seen playing live with The Verve - Triva Ed.] advised me not to buy an expensive one - and I still play it. What a sound. The intervals compensate for just using a bar, but when you watch the experts playing they are putting their hands into shapes as well, they're angling it and using the pedal and knee levers; it's brilliant." Before Burchill departs for a Simple Minds rehearsal he lets slip that alongside his beloved pedal steel, more gadgets might be making their way into his rig. "Recently I've been wondering if I should start getting back into the guitar synth again. I used to have a stupid plastic Casio guitar thing with plastic strings and we did an album with an instrumental track at the end where nearly everything was played on that little guitar. It was dynamite but it depends on how you use it. It's only your imagination that makes barriers isn't it?" Single Minded? No solo album from the 'Minds axeman just yet... "I love virtuoso-type guys like Adrian Legg and Davey Graham," says Burchill when we ask if he's thought about putting out his own record. "Mind you, if I did a solo album it would probably end up sounded like Simple Minds! Jim and I have tried the idea of doing new projects under a different name to try some new ideas or new territories, but we never really get it off the ground because everything we do sounds like Simple Minds. At some point I'd love to make an album using a baritone guitar because there has to be a place for that. Even though it's the same tuning, you play differently. I suppose guitars are like that, for example I've got a Gibson Barney Kessel and there are some things that just won't work on it. Every time that I play it I end up playing jazz." Strung Up Heavy strings equal a top acoustic tone according to Charlie Burchill "I did use heavy strings on my electric guitars at one point, but now I just use Ernie Ball and Dean Markley light top, heavy bottom guages. "Recently I've been toying with the idea of going back to heavy strings, because I bought a couple of Gibson acoustic guitars and one sounded great and one sounded really bad. I realised that the best-sounding one had really heavy strings, and I appreciated that the difference was pretty staggering. I don't think that it makes such a difference on an electric guitar, except maybe on the low E, but I think that it makes a massive difference on an acoustic guitar." Essential Glistening Check out Charlie Burchill's skilful guitar work on these stonking Simple Minds tracks.. 'Sign O' The Times', Theme 19 - Volume 4 (1989) Simple Minds have recorded dozens of cover versions, ranging from Human League to Velvet Underground but this 1980s take on Prince's apocalyptic warning of impending doom is appropriately menacing. 'Promised You A Miracle', New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) (1982) By 1982 Simple Minds had the big synth rock sound that became their trademark. Burchill's guitar interlocks seamlessly with Mick MacNeil's keyboards and the economical guitar solo is a classic example of straightforward but effective 1980s guitar playing. The live version from 1987's Live In The City Of Light is even better. 'Waterfront', Sparkle In The Rain (1984) A pulsing bass line underpins this anthem, punctuated by Burchill's stabbing harmonics and echo-laced whammy bar work. Alex Lifeson must have been watching closely because his own playing on Rush's Grace Under Pressure LP from the same year sounds particularly inspired by Charlie Burchill's playing. 'Stay Visible', Black & White 050505 (2005) The lead-in track from Simple Minds' new album is an absolute belter; Jim Kerr has rarely sung better and guitar playing is amazing. Lead guitar, Jim, but not as we know it. For those looking to grab a slice of the latest SM action, Black and White is available now, available from any music trader worth his salt.
> added tuesday 18th october 2005
—— A Meeting Of Minds Andrew Cowen talks to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr about stardom second time around... Andrew Cowen - icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk - 3rd October 2005 (UK)
Way back in the 1980s, Simple Minds were one of the biggest bands on the planet. There was simply no way of avoiding them. Like a Scottish U2, their home was the world's largest stadiums and the band's albums sold by the barrowload. Fronted by Jim Kerr and instantly recognisable for Charlie Burchill's strident guitar slashes, they scored hit single after hit single and could seemingly do no wrong. Just like U2, they married a humanistic political stance with massive air-punching choruses. They were the very epitome of the first Live Aid generation, rubbing shoulders with Nelson Mandela and lending their influential name to all the righteous causes. Their journey from humble punk roots to media darlings was hard won. Starting life as the shambolic Johnny and the Self Abusers, the band only began to get into their stride when they changed their name to Simple Minds and tied their punky spunk to a raft of art rock influences from Bowie to Roxy Music via the then de rigeur krautrock vibe. Like the first incarnation of Ultravox, their was something otherworldly and post-modernly clinical about early Simple Minds. A debut album, Life In A Day was a bit of a limp lettuce marred by weak production and overly commercial material, but a second set for Virgin, Reel to Reel Cacophany, saw the band starting to come into its own. Synthetic sequences, cryptic lyrics and obtuse guitar made it an instant favourite in sixth form common rooms across the land. Third album, Empires and Dance was even better, with the same experimental spirit given a commercial spit and polish. Opening track I Travel gave Simple Minds their first hint of a hit single. Things began to go better with the double set Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call. Produced by Steve Hillage, the album managed to include mostly classic songs, despite its long running time. New Gold Dream hit paydirt though and put the band in the super league. It had the same effect on their career as REM's Green or U2's Unforgettable Fire. Nothing would be the same again. The band handled it well, putting in the legwork with ever-expanding tours and bigger and bolder albums. Sparkle In The Rain, Once Upon A Time and Streetfighting Years were massive sellers all. The gigs became more messianic and Jim Kerr found himself sitting at the top table of rock's new aristocracy. Sadly, it wasn't to last. As the gigs became bigger, Simple Minds were forced to make the albums more anthemic and pretty quickly the powerful hooks became all posture and bluster. When you reach the top by riding a simple formula there is nowhere else to go but down. Lacking the savvy for reinvention of U2, Simple Minds were quickly forgotten, Britpop was the final nail in the band's coffin. The band regrouped spasmodically but the handful of albums in the last ten years showed a band trying to bimble its way out of a cul de sac armed only with some powerchords and a vague notion of life's injustices. They wisely avoided the pitfalls of nostalgic package tours which have kept the soup on the table for the likes of the Human League, ABC and Spandau Ballet and quietly drifted off to various parts of Europe. Jim Kerr fetched up in Sicily where after a couple of high profile marriages to Patsy Kensit and Chrissie Hynde he seemed to have relaxed into the life of a gardener and small businessman. Now, almost out of the blue, Simple Minds are back. Touting their strongest album in years, Black & White 050505, they are about to embark on a UK tour which takes them away from the stadiums and back into venues where they will be able to actually see their fans. Their timing, for once, is perfect. With Franz Ferdinand leading a new charge of Scottish artschool dilettantes and a full-on 1980s electrorock revival, the name Simple Minds is once again cool - as long as you don't mention the later hollow albums. Black & White 050505 sounds like the work of an old friend who's been given a new lease of life. Familiar without flogging an old horse, it plays to all the band's strengths and is hugely refreshing. Simple Minds, miraculously, sound relevant again. Jim Kerr's in upbeat spirits when I talk to him in a London hotel room. He's also disarmingly honest. The phrase 'return to form" has been bandied round in relation to the new material, so dismissing the band's entire post-peak output. How does that make Kerr feel? "Well, it is a return to form," he says. "The previous decade was very stop start for us. That's part and parcel of having a long career. The people who inspired us - David Bowie, Lou Reed - have all been through long periods when their work has not been as focussed, for whatever reason." With the feeling, possibly, that this was the band's last chance, Kerr and co rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in. "There was a concentrated effort this time," admits Kerr. "We closed door and said let's get it done. "We wanted to make a record that made people sit up and along the way discovered a vitality. It took a commitment creatively and also with our time." During the sessions, a lot of material was recorded but only 42 minutes-worth made the final cut. This was a delberate ploy. Rather than releasing a long and potentially flabby album, Simple Minds have delivered something that's taut, melodic and memorable. "We had some very good songs that didn't make the album as they would have disrupted its flow. They would have stuck out. 'We wanted the album to be solid and focussed whereas in the past we were probably tempted to simply pile them up." The album was mixed by studio legend Bob Clearmountain who was responsible for the stadium mashing sound on Once Upon A Time. This was an astute move for, as Kerr readily admits: "There is a certain style of Simple Minds song which he makes sound fantastic. Once I heard what he'd done with (first single) Home and Stay Visible, the hair on the back of my neck was starting to stand up." Being away from the top flight for so long, success for a second time is far from guaranteed for Simple Minds. I asked Kerr what he was hoping to achieve with the album. "I suppose we were hoping for visibility," he says. "Hoping that things get heard. That exercise now feels complete amd the reaction we've had, both nationally and internationally, has been fantastic. "It's gone a long way towards reestablishing us. "The new material sounds brilliant live and slots in effortlessly next to the older stuff. We now want to continue working and build on this momentum."
> added sunday 9th october 2005
—— Black & White 050505 Epic '80s rockers Simple Minds have recently returned with new album 'Black & White 050505'. We pitched up for a chat with frontman Jim Kerr www.tunetribe.com - 3rd October 2005 (UK)
Even though you've never really been away, people are starting to call your new album 'Black & White 050505' a 'revival' and a 'return'. How do you feel about that? "To be honest, our musical activity has been stop-and-start for a while, and in that way this album is a return. We wanted to prove ourselves. Everyone worked really hard to make it the best we could." What do you think about the current '80s-influenced musical climate? "I think decades always have a certain image, and until recently the '80s weren't very popular. When you saw clips on TV from the '80s they would make fun of the strange clothes and haircuts, but I think it's great people have started to discover some of the better things that went on then." When you formed Simple Minds in the late '70s, did you ever imagine you would still be playing and recording almost 30 years later? "No, never. For me it was just about getting a gig, and then another gig. When I talk to young bands these days they are very career conscious, but we never thought about anything like that." As a band, you have achieved pretty much everything. What motivates you to still keep recording and touring? "Achieving 'everything' isn't really what we were after. I mean, it's great selling lots of records and playing to thousands of people, but making music is also about the passion. It's not always so much that you like making music, but that you get a song in your head. It's the need for making music; the need to create that keeps us going." Do you still get the same thrill out of playing live as when you first started the band? "Yes, but in a different way. It used to be quite a fraught experience, I'd be nervous and panicky and all the rest of it, but now I'm not. A few weeks ago we were playing a TV show in France, and this young girl was performing for the first time. She was telling us how nervous she was, and how it must be OK for us because we'd played so many times before. In a way that's not true, because we constantly have to prove ourselves to everyone. People might think 'Pah, they'll never be as good as they were twenty years ago,' so we have to better ourselves all the time, and that's a constant challenge." How has relocating to Sicily changed what you do and your approach to it? "I know there's a saying that says hardship makes people more creative, but I think that people will always perform and create better if they're happy." You've said you felt at home when you went there. Why? "When I first went there 20 years ago, it felt mysteriously right, but I couldn't explain why. The people there are friendly, open and passionate about life, and they have this fuck-off attitude that islanders sometimes do, which feels great." What have you been listening to lately? "We've been really busy lately, but I was really pleased when Antony & The Johnsons won the Mercury Prize a few weeks ago, even though it caused a bit of turmoil."
> added monday 10th october 2005
—— Return To Simple Life Was Always On Jim's Mind Liz Kennedy - www.newsletter.co.uk - 30th September 2005 (UK)
For a musician, Jim Kerr knows plenty about football and, when I spoke to him, he was even looking forward to a Rangers game. The Simple Minds' legendary frontman was in superb form and, with fans and critics alike loving new album Black and White 050505, the Glaswegian has plenty to make him smile. The band has cornered the chat show circuit as well: booked for The Late Late Show tonight on RTE and last Friday they performed an energetic version of new single Home on BBC's Jonathan Ross. But there's music and then there's football. Sometimes the two coincide. Himself a Celtic supporter, Jim revealed that a disparaging reference to Arsenal on his CD liner notes is because his son James (from Kerr's marriage to Patsy Kensit) is a major fan of the Gunners. "I always like to wind my son up, but don't get me wrong, I'll be seeing Arsenal with him at the weekend. I don't mind that at all, but worse than that, James supports England." He moves on to a recent and still resonant victory for Northern Ireland: "What a great result for your team against England. I was really pleased to hear about it." I tell Jim that you could hear the singing across Belfast after England's recent rout at Windsor Park. "I bet you could. I didn't see the match myself, because I was in France, but I read about it in the papers next day. I wonder is it a return to the glory days? "I remember seeing great Northern Ireland teams when I was growing up. For small teams like Northern Ireland or Scotland, it's a brilliant boost to beat a big team. Northern Ireland are having a real moment in the sunshine now." Jim is well known as a Celtic supporter and says that the team is still 'suffering a hangover' since energetic Ulster manager Martin O'Neill resigned to spend more time with his family. But he is well across Rangers' recent games and has a great respect for the Ibrox team. "Glasgow has two great clubs. Alex McLeish has always been a big, big fan of Simple Minds. And Ally McCoist gives me grief, especially when Rangers scores against Celtic. After the match he'd be straight on the phone." We discussed the fact that Rangers were playing Inter Milan in an empty stadium this week and Jim revealed that he had a strong interest in Rangers' winning. "I cannae lose either way. If the Gers pull off that one, I can really give my Italian friends some stick." Unfortunately as it now turns out, they didn't, losing by a goal to Inter. As Jim has spoken of Martin O'Neill's non-stop motion, I tell him that I think Simple Minds are showing a great energy themselves these days; live as well as on the back-on-form new album. It's followed a quiet couple of years for the band, who will be back in Belfast to kick off their European tour in January. "It's fantastic, a mysterious kind of a thing. Did we wake up one day and it was all happening again? Hard to say, I stepped back for a while, but I'm devoted to music, so it was all still there, just a question of returning to it. It'll be a belter when we get back to Belfast!" Black and White 050505 has the trademark big sound that Simple Minds' fans will remember and love. Jim laughs when we talk about how it's created. "It's so funny, you'll like this. When foreign journalists ask you about the sound of bands from Ireland or Scotland, they always think it's something to do with big wide open spaces and glens and mountain ranges. "I come from Glasgow; there's no much of the mountain there. We have a very distinctive sound and it's great to have rediscovered that. There are elements you have that are just your own nature, influential genetics, this inherent thing. "I suppose you could say it's our landscape." Part of that unforgettable landscape is the classic international Number One: Belfast Child. Jim and I get involved in a discussion about Bob Dylan's folk music influences, as portrayed in the iconic Scorsese documentary and he tells me how Simple Minds appropriated the air of a classic Irish ballad for their haunting hit. "We always felt a wee bit bogus, because we'd used She Moved through the Fair for Belfast Child. I felt a lot better when I saw how much Dylan had done the same thing with some of his early songs." He adds a self-deprecating 'don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Simple Minds are anywhere close to Dylan' before he tells me that BBC Scotland recently found that Mr Zimmerman's hit The Times They are A Changin' was based on Scots' folk-song Farewell to Sicily. "I've lived in Sicily for seven years now; it was odd finding that out. It was a Scottish soldier's lament, apparently. It was just odd hearing that. I've had a complete change in lifestyle and I'm really settled in Sicily now." I ask the Glaswegian if he's ever homesick, or if Sicily is now 'home'. "No, I know fine well where I'm from; I've never felt homesick. I'm lucky enough to be able to travel to Glasgow whenever I want, but I'm happy in Sicily, with the language, the culture and, yeah, the weather is a big bonus." That's reflected in album track Different World (Taormina. Me), which name-checks the beautiful mediaeval town and is something of a 'musical postcard' for Sicily, according to Kerr. We touch on another happy subject when I ask him about his vocals, which sound granite-hewn and soaked in whiskey, especially on Dolphins, the last track on the album. I venture to wonder whether he's ever abused his voice and he laughs his leg off. "My voice... I can safely say I've never abused it... but I've probably abused most other parts of my body, now you come to mention it. But I'm a good boy, when it comes to my voice. I'm no much of a drinker, I don't smoke and I look after myself, especially on tour." Veering back to safer matters, I wonder whether Belfast Child will be on the set-list here next year. He begins "We play songs from every period; if it feels right on the night, we'll do it," then he goes on in classic bad boy mode: "If you want me to, I will." Well, we'll see on the night, Jim, all I can say is, when you open your European tour in Ulster next year, Don't You Forget About Me.
> added monday 10th october 2005
—— The Venue, London 12th September 2005 Les Linyard - www.thecritic.info - 17th September 2005 (UK)
Simple Minds have been around since time immemorial or so it seems - the bar tonight, chock-a-block with competition winners who apparently hadn't seen the band for 20 years (or similar), echoed with stories of the invention of the wheel and how things had improved since Saxon times, OK I exaggerate, but you get my drift. The reality is that their first album Life In A Day was released in 1979, their latest, the excellent Black & White 050505 has just appeared on the shelves and it does more than suggest there is life in the old dog yet! The evidence supplied succintly by the album was backed up by a scintillating set in intimate surroundings when the band played the latest of Capital Gold's Legend series of gigs. The venue (The Venue, off Leicester Square) was personally selected for the concert by Jim Kerr, front man and focal figure of the band, though the excellent guitarist Charlie Burchill has also been with the band from Day One. This small and snug arena is famous for being the scene of The Sex Pistols first ever gig (I doubt if today's seating would have survived that gig!), as the ever-youthful DJ Mr. David Jensen informed us in his kind introduction. Fortunately, another difference between this concert and that long-gone punk moment was the fayre was decidedly more coherent than anyone who witnessed the aforementioned gig would remember (if indeed they still can remember?) and the musicality was on a far higher plane. Jim and Charlie are today backed by a superb band, drummer Mel Gaynor, bassist Eddie Duffy, and Keyboardist Andy Gillespie, also not to be underestimated are the latter two's fine harmonies that underpin a lot of the Simple Minds repertoire. To tell the truth, I was expecting the show, recorded for broadcast by Capital Gold, to be a 40 minute thank you and goodnight affair, with a couple of new numbers thrown in to gently introduce the new album to a hopefully returning audience. What we actually got was a full-on, all guns blazing 90 minute trek through their awesome back catalogue, with four new tracks intermingling perfectly along the way, the new material stands proud with the old, particularly the new single Home, which despite it's youthfulness represented one of the evening's highlights. I'm sure that a lot of the audience, the non-fans obviously, were expecting a laid back show, possibly passé, outmoded and unfashionable due to the bands longevity, what they actually received was a refreshingly contemporary and neoteric set full of energy and occasionally sheer class. Loud, straightforward and intoxicating, the band seeming to excel and thrive on the intimacy, they could rarely have been closer to the audience (to the degree where Jim endured several hugs from females with a friendly thank you response!) and the audience raised the roof in sing-alongs despite the small number present. The crowd pleasers were all present and correct, Don't You Forget About Me, Sanctify Yourself, Waterfront and Alive & Kicking all gaining great reactions. Overall a super night that had even the ticket winning sceptics nodding in awe - Simple Minds might be ageing, gracefully it must be said, but for energy and vigour this concert would take some beating, for class and presentation it would really take some beating. They are still alive and kicking, check them out if you ever get the opportunity.... (5 out of 5) > added sunday 25th september 2005
—— The Venue, London 12th September 2005 Richard Ings - www.musicomh.com - 17th September 2005 (UK)
"Wings? They're only the band The Beatles could have been!" Take this quotation from Alan Partridge and substitute the words "Simple Minds" and "U2" and a picture emerges of how the fates dealt with these 80's rivals. Around this time, the two entities were synonymous with overblown stadium rock, all big drums, harmonics and synthesisers (as keyboards were once known). Indeed, were they in a race, it would be difficult to tell who might win - U2 with their mulleted preacher up front or "Ver Minds" with their tubby Scot behind the mic. As the Berlin Wall crumbled, though, it was U2 who pipped it, having the imagination to clamber across and record Achtung Baby while Simple Minds crashed to the ground somewhere just outside Liepzig, virtually disappearing off the pop radar. So with all these memories in the back of my mind, to be within touching distance (not that I would, you understand) of Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill is somewhat, well, freaky. I'm sure U2 do the occasional gig to 200 fans in an old punk rock venue off Leicester Square - alright, maybe not, but to be this close to a band who recorded the Wembley-filling sounds of Alive And Kicking and Love Song (both given an airing tonight) is, simply, surreal. For the crowd of lucky Capital Gold listeners, however, it's as close to orgasmic as many of them can probably hope to get nowadays. The two enthusiastic fat blokes at the front, with a combined age of 100 if they were a day, even knew the words to the first few tracks from new album Black & White 050505 (which I believe was a clue in The Times crossword yesterday). And when Don't You Forget About Me kicked in (almost a hit for Bryan Ferry, apparently, and the key to Simple Minds "overnight" success) their barely contained rapture burst out, prompting several not-so-young-anymore ladies to storm the stage for an opportunity to touch their hero. One thing's for sure, though - Jim Kerr hasn't lost it. According to MC David Jensen, The Venue was chosen by Kerr for its "theatricality", and he made the most of this with his trademark head movements, arm swinging and crouching down (you had to be there). In fact, it made me long for a time when singers in bands used to dance - whatever happened to them? On an equally positive note, the new material does compare favourably with the old - although nothing will ever beat the throb of Waterfront for me. And yet, at the same time, therein lies the problem. You see, frankly, the reason they ran out of steam in the first place was that their material was never actually as good as their rivals'. A song such as Mandela Day (still in the set, it would seem) only serves to remind us that the 80's were a long time ago and, actually, weren't that much cop anyway. That said (and I'm sure Kerr and Burchill must say this to each other every day recently) - what are The Bravery doing today that Simple Minds didn't do better twenty years ago? And for me, in many ways, that just about sums it up. And if they've still got it - well, let 'em flaunt it!
> added sunday 25th september 2005
—— Black & White 050505 Paul Taylor - www.manchesteronline.co.uk - September 2005 (UK)
Doing what they do best, Simple Minds opt for an unashamed, nay chest-beating return to the days when they bestrode the stadium rock world no less comprehensively than U2. Practically every song here canters along like an avenging warhorse through airy soundscapes amid a heavy mist of significance, Charlie Burchill's guitars chiming in the accustomed manner. Subtle, it ain't. Diehards will love it. (3 out of 5) > added sunday 25th september 2005
—— Black & White 050505 Freddie Windsor - Mail On Sunday - 18th September 2005 (UK)
Cannily sensing an opportunity amid current wave of Eighties nostalgia, Simple Minds return with an album that recalls their stadium-filling peak. Always little more than a poor man's U2, the band nevertheless prove here that they are still capable of big, tuneful scarf-wavers, however inconsequential their lyrics. Fortunately, Jim Kerr's voice has mellowed into something considerably better than the histrionic mewl of 20 years ago, and the fine production brings out the best in every song. There may be nothing here to convert a younger audience, but standout tracks Stay Visible, The jeweller Part 2 and Different World will doubtless delight the band's older fans and provide a platform for a successful tour in the spring. That said, the band's sound remains too one-dimensional ever to become truly interesting. (2 out of 5) > added sunday 18th september 2005
—— The Venue, London 12th September 2005 www.playlouder.com - 13th September 2005 (UK) MINDS AIII! Hoary rockers alive and kicking in London...
Last night PlayLouder found itself in the unlikely company of 200 or so Capital Gold listeners. The reason? To catch 80s rockers Simple Minds do a blistering set at The Venue (where the Sex Pistols kicked off their career in '76.) Indeed Simple Minds could have shown the kids a thing or two, though sadly there were none there. Still, it didn't stop the folks present going absolutely mental. Seriously, we've not seen a London gig this riotous for an age, and we've seen Darius. The band played tracks from their new album 'Black & White 050505' plus classics such as Waterfront, (the not quite so topical as it was) Mandela Day, Alive and Kicking, Sanctify Yourself, and Don't You (Forget About Me). Who needs Franz Ferdinand secret gigs eh?
> added sunday 18th september 2005
—— Black & White 050505 Pär Winberg - www.melodic.net - September 2005 (FRA)
I remember when I got a package from my friend Tomas back in 1985. We were "hardrockers" back then with long hair and t-shirts saying Thin Lizzy... He sent me new tapes once every month while I was an exchangestudent down in France and in one package he sent a tape with the new album with Simple Minds called "Once Upon A Time". I remember thinking that the man must have got insane. Simple Minds - a synthband from hell... Why the hell did he send me that for? I put the tape into the player and have since that day been a H U G E Simple Minds fan. I went to see them on the tour in Avignon the same year and was totally blown away by them. That is 20 fucking years ago. Geeehhh... I'm starting to get old... Here I am - sitting in my "boyroom" listening to a new Simple Minds album once again. The only differences are that instead of having Mom and Dad at "home" I have a wife and own kids and as I said a new Simple Minds album in the player. And that is what this review is about... A brand N E W produced Simple Minds album where the rumor said that they should've gone back to the sound of the mighty mid 80's. The producer from the classic years Bob Clearmountain is back and the ambition of this timetravel back to the 80's is obvious. Do they succeed then? The opening "Stay Visible" is marvelous. A tremendous bombastic opener of the album and the same flow continues in second out "Home". Fourth out "Different World" starts out with the patented piano-trademark of Kerr and his men and steps into a big refrain in the typical way for the band. The main part of the album is in this good shape but there are two nonsense-tunes that doesn't grab at all (out of 9), and you can't really compare the album to the classic "Once upon..." and "Real Life" and the four stars I give the album are of course based on the quality of the album but spiced with a touch from my heart called nostalgy... but who gives a fuck... Jim Kerr and his men are back and that in very good shape. Now we just want that tour also... (4 out of 5) > added sunday 18th september 2005
—— Alive And Kickin' Michael Heatley - Guitar & Bass - November 2005 (UK) Nope, Simple Minds haven't reformed: Actually they've never been away. Michael Heatley meets that master of soaring, stadium-filling guitar atmospherics, Charlie Burchill...
As we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Live Aid and then watched Live 8 recently, how many of us pinpointed Simple Minds as the megaband that Geldof, if not time, forgot. In the '80s, it seemed you couldn't mention U2 or Simple Minds without the other coming in the next breath, and so popular were these twin superpowers of rock that they had a mutal non-aggression pact not to release records in the same month. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill were seen as the like-minded cousins of Bono and The Edge. And, like the U2 duo, they are still very much in harness, as the release of Black & White 050505 proves. The Simple Minds story, Burchill insists, has never really stopped. 'People say "What happened to the band, where have you gone?" but we've never even had a hiatus, taken a sabbatical or anything,' he insists. 'It's always been a work in progress. 'Sound-wise, you could never really compare us and U2. They were essentially a guitar band and we were a keyboard atmosphere-based band. I'm always surprised at the comparisons.' He admits, though, that there were parallels. 'Both acts were Celts, putting on shows and having something to say that might be important.' So would Burchill liked to have been
there at Hyde Park? 'I believe we were asked, but we were approached
very late. To be honest, we never really expected a call. Where
we were (in producing the new album) it would have been quite
difficult. But I'm delighted to see its success. Geldof was getting
a Charlie has never approached the guitar as an heroic instrument - in fact, the first Minds albums of '79-'80 saw him dabbling in sax and violin in an attempt to add new textures to the band's European-influenced music. His violin experiments were inspired by the velvet Underground's bassist John Cale, who also played viola, and the Doctors of Madness, a band from London. 'They had an edge to them, and we were big fans. I found the violin a lot easier to learn than people said, and I still play a bit.' Though they started life as a failed punk outfit Johnny And The Self Abusers, Simple Minds quickly gravitated to the art-rock end of the musical spectrum. Charlie pinpoints encountering bands like Gong and Kraftwerk - 'serious music we'd hear through older brothers and friends' - as crucial. 'Simple Minds was an electronic band with influences from the mid '70s electronic era,' he reflects. 'The guitar playing wasn't in a conventional style: it was always more to do with sound and effects, trying to create an atmosphere. Over the years I suppose it's become more rock-orientated, a king of hybrid. We've varied from album to album. 'We've been touring for the last three years and the one thing that's missing was product. This album is far more focused and the first for years I'd regard as a typical Simple Minds release. It was recorded very traditionally at Wisseloord, a studio in Holland we'd used before. We recorded it over two months and mixed it in about three weeks. We've got a great label in Sanctuary, probably the best of the independents, and it feels like a proper release. We feel it deserves attention, and it's getting it.' Black & White is, by Simple Minds standards, a guitar-orientated album. 'All the same, the guitar isn't always very guitar-like,' Burchill points out. 'Most of the treatments are done by guitar, most of the atmosphere. 'The guitar and keyboard have always been very integrated. After Mick (McNeil) the original keyboard player left, I suppose the emphasis did go back onto the guitar, but ironically enough, around that time - the late '80s and early '90s - we began working with non-linear systems such as Pro Tools and the like. It was an era where you could take guitars and make them more origiinal than that generic keyboard stuff.' The new album opens with a track called Stay Visible, which, Burchill admits, is 'something I haven't done a great deal of - a very full-on, high-energy approach'. His more usual oblique strategy is evident in Underneath The Ice in which he used a Danelectro baritone guitar, tuned a fifth below, to play melodic lines; then there's a track called Different World, full of 'very unusual sequenced guitars, octaves and stuff like that'. These songs all found him employing his favourite '62 Gretsch White Falcon, while a Country Gent also saw quite a lot of use. He reserves his recent stage favourite, a mid '90s Les Paul with a Bigsby, for things that are more direct. But disaster struck in the last days of recording when it fell and broke its neck. 'They say that will always happen if you own a Les Paul,' he sighs. 'I also have a 1970 Black Beauty, but it doesn't sound like a Les Paul - it's far too clean a note.' Burchill also has a Tele with a B-bender, which leads us onto his penchant for pedal steel. 'Years ago I saw someone on a TV show playing classical music on one and it just amazed me - the variation, the beauty and the complexity of playing the thing. It has a great tone and I've used it instead of keyboards and programmed things on three different tracks. Rather than play slide, I sometimes use the pedal steel... you can control it. I've got a Rickenbacker lap steel, but the pedal steel feels more comfortable.' Burchill has simplified his life in the amplification realm in the last couple of years by adopting the Line 6 Vetta. 'For someone who uses a lot of effects it's very adaptable; you can do things quickly that used to take a long time. You can programme to a degree that will allow you to create your own chain of stuff. 'I like to use it with two Matchless amps in stereo. The Matchless, I suppose, is my workhorse. In the past I used to use Roland JC120s, Marshalls, even a Fender Bassman for a while until I went down the path of using something new. In the studio I'll bring the heads into the control room and set up a couple of combinations, but time and again I come back to the Matchless. 'When we go out on tour next year I'll use the Line 6 and the Matchless, and I also intend to incorporate a couple of the old Roland Space Echoes... and maybe, if I've got the courage, I might even drag out the old Echoplex! The Vett's handy for live work, and when you've shoved it through that size PA it's doubtful anyone will know the difference. But echo is something apart - you have to have the real deal.' Simple Minds hasn't always given Burchill the room to express every facet of his musical personality, especially since a wining formula was hit in 1982 with New Gold Dream and, three years later, the US chart-topping (Don't You) Forget About Me. 'There are various projects we've started that we've never had the time to finish,' he sighs. 'We've even played with our old keyboard player Mick, tried to involve him in things.' There's even been talk of a totally vocal-free album. 'We've always used to have three or four instrumental tracks on every album - it became a bit of a tradition,' he reveals. 'you can open up the music a bit more on B-sides and extra tracks... but you end up working with things you bring back to Simple Minds. We've been working with a lot of other people as well. It's been really interesting to see how they approach things; guys in Sicily, California and Paris, people who aren't that well known, a track here and a track there, but nothing that really constitutes a project.' Burchill's major current collaborator apart from ever-present Jim Kerr is Jez Coad, who co-produced the new album, working extensively on quite a few tracks and co-writing a number. The two met via shared management. 'He's a guitar player with great ideas, the sort of guy who helps you get where you want to go,' enthuses Burchill. 'The first time we cam across him in the '90s he was in a band called the Surfing Brides. He has some great angles and the chemistry of our collaboration works well.' Though Mel Gaynor, drummer from the '80s glory years, has re-enlisted and bass player Eddy Duffy also contributes, Simple Minds has come full circle from staring out as a duo, then becoming a five-piece, then a three piece, and then coming back to a duo once again. Whatever the future holds for Simple Minds, you can be sure that Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill will be together at the heart of it. Hippies, Heroes and Influences When Simple Minds signed to Virgin in 1981, they were paired with prog-turned dance-music guitar gura Steve Hillage. 'The reason he got the gig with us was because he'd just done a track with Ken Lockie who'd been in a band called Cowboys International,' explains Burchill. 'The track was fantastic, and Virgin said this guy's a guitar player, he's an old hippie and we think he'd work a treat with a band like you, considering the musical background you came from. 'We worked on a single, The American, and it was fantastic, so we ended up doing some more with him (two albums, Sons And Fascination and Sister Feelings Call, that were first issued as a limited edition double LP). As a guitar player he taught me a lot of little tricks. People regard him as a hippie but he really had an edge to him. A lot of his System Seven stuff is very interesting.' Charlie's earliest guitar influences came via brother Jamie, the first kid in their Glasgow neighbourhood to pierce his ear and dye his hair. 'He was a big Hendrix fan, but at the age of 15 or 16 I was aware of other players too, like The Door's Robbie Krieger. I've always been a big Neil Young fan; then, what I found myself using a lot more effects, I started connecting with people like Jeff Beck. 'Mick Ronson was a big influence. If you listen to where he plays and what he plays on Bowie records you can hear a couple of notes that could almost be a string arrangement. That half-open wah-wah kind of thing... he was real anarchist guitar player. My favourite album was The Man Who Sold The World; considering they were only a three piece, the atmosphere was really Hendrixy.' Vital Statistics Guitars: '62 Gretsch White falcon,
'67 Gretsch 6920, Gretsch Country gentleman, Danelectro baritone,
'62 Strat, mid '90s Les Paul, Fender Telecaster with B-bender.
> added friday 16th september 2005
—— Black & White 050505 Ian Shirley - Record Collector - October 2005 (UK) Jesus! Just how many Viagra did these boys take?
A long time ago in a galaxy far away, Simple Minds were not only up there with U2 but a short nose ahead, Jim Kerr and the boys filling stadiums and pounding out athems like Waterfront into the lighter-illuminated night. Falling from chart grace, they soldiered on, although Neon Lights one wondered if minds had been lost along with band members. But the jokes must stop, as Black and White is an astounding return to form. Core members Kerr and Charlie Burchill have gone back to the basics of the Simple Minds sound and written a lean nine-song album heavy on anthems that contains no fat and no filler. Stay Visible sets the tone, with Burchill carving out a stinging guitar melody that unleashes a re-invigorated Kerr. Home, Stranger and Underneath The Ice continue an ascent that is almost Apollo-like in its vertical momentum. Jeweller and Kiss The ground are also fine examples of Kerr's ability to put Bono in the shade as a writer of image, evoking lyrical Pandora. All told a perfect rock album and perfect material to be belted out live in venues ranging from medium-sized clubs to lighter-illuminated stadiums around the globe. (5 out of 5) > added friday 16th september 2005
—— Jim Kerr Q & A Ian Shirley - Record Collector - October 2005 (UK) Returning with Black And White 050505, Ian Shirley asked Simple Minds' Jim Kerr how they rediscovered their stride.
What was the thinking behind the album? We wanted to make a classic SImple Minds album but with a new energy. That's easy to say, but a lot more difficult to do without becoming a paradoy or retro. We had a couple of false starts where it just wasn't adding up. But once we got some songs down, we could feel the hair on the back of our necks standing up and identify some of the power that the band were known for on big albums like Once Upon A Time and Sparkle In The Rain. Tracks like Stranger are laced with killer melodies and lyrics. We wanted these big emotional pop songs with melodies and lyrics that were almost so simple that you couldn't deny them. Stranger was the first song that made us think we'd got something that was going to get people excited. The bar had been raised. I think Stay Visible, Home, Stranger and Different World, we would've been glad to have at any stage of our career. But to have them together, one following the other, we're going for the throat! Is that why it's nine songs - a 40-minute album? We recorded about 14 and the nine on the album are the really strong songs. There are other songs that, on other albums, we would've included. But coming back, the album needed to be focused and punchy. We were brought up listening to albums that were around 40 minutes and we never felt unsatisfied. If you put out nine tracks and four of them are great, three of them so-so, and two of them are nowhere, then you've got a problem. But if you put out nine tracks that are all cutting the mustard, people shouldn't have any complaints. Why did you re-record Jeweller? Jeweller's a song from the lost album, Our Secrets Are The Same, which was never released for all manner of reasons. Last year, Virgin released a box set and Our Secrets Are The Same was on it and contained Jeweller. We'd play it to people when we were working on this album and their reaction was, 'what the hell is that? Is that a new song?' Producer Bob Clearmountain said, "you have to do it again!" The benefit of re-recording is that it's a different arrangement. In fact, we loved the original but didn't feel that we'd captured it. So it was great to get a second opportunity. What inspired the lyrics? The chorus came from a few years ago in Los Angeles. I saw this cheesy advert for some jeweller in Hollywood and this whole thing was 'jeweller to the stars'. It made me laugh, but when it came to lyrics, I thought of it more in a cosmic sense. Why 050505? That's the date that the album was finished - 5 May 2005. We'd done every edit, every mix, after two years, there was nothing else to do.
> added friday 16th september 2005
—— King Tut's, Glasgow 4th September 2005 Tony Gaughan - Sunday Mail - 11th September 2005 (UK)
Frontman Jim Kerr led a rejuvenated Minds back to their roots with a sneak preview of their stunning new album Black & White 050505 and an impressive collection of their greatest hits. At their peak, the band filled huge stadiums and arenas all over the world, but their choice of the legendary King Tut's for their comeback made this a night to remember for the lucky few in attendance. Opening with Stay Visible, new single Home and without doubt a future single Jeweller to The Stars the atmosphere was electric and judging by the reaction of stalwarts Kerr, guitarist Charlie Burchill and drummer Mel Gaynor, newcomers Ed Duffy on bass and Andy Gillespie on keyboards, they are more than capable of climbing back to the top. Love Song started a collection of their greatest hits including Speed Your Love, oldie Premonition, Alive and Kicking and Waterfront received a rapturous welcome with the frontman taking a back seat and letting the mesmerised crowd take over. New Gold Dream ended an amazing set but with the band and crowd enjoying every minute they re-appeared for a five-song encore including new song Stranger and old favourites (Dont You) Forget About Me and Sanctify. (5 out of 5) > added Tuesday 13th september 2005 —— Black & White 050505 Martin Townsend - Sunday Express - 11th September 2005 (UK)
They lost their way with a ropy "covers" album, but it's lighters aloft as Jim Kerr and co return to the glorious, wide-screen sound of the Glittering Prize era. Kerr's voice has lost a bit of its Bono-esque bounce but he uses its gruff maturity to advantage on slower songs like Dolphins. (3 out of 5) > added tuesday 13th september 2005 —— Black & White 050505 Sunday Times - 11th September 2005 (UK)
You either believe that the world needs another Simple Minds album, or you don't. If the former, the new album will scratch every inch; the latter, and all your prejudicial bunions will be trodden on. Jim Kerr does his huffing, puffing, Billy Goat-gruffing vocals; Charlie Burchill wields a formidable axe; and the whole sorry affair sounds ProTooled to within an inch of its life. It would have been interesting if they'd returned to the esoteriea of Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call. But hopes of a comeback see them, on woeful lighters-in-the-air blasts of bombast such as Stranger and The Jeweller (Part 2), press the stadium-rock button and head off, flatulently, into outer space. (2 out of 5) > added tuesday 13th september 2005 —— Black & White 050505 Liz Verrico - The Times - 10th September 2005 (UK)
Enough time has passed since Simple Minds straddled the Atlantic as bloated stadium rockers to recall that they weren't all bad. Charlie Burchill's glorious, chiming guitars, the cinematic scope of their songs and, yes, even Jim Kerr's soapbox vocals - at least when he steered clear of politics - were worthy of the tag of Scotland's U2. More than a decade in the wilderness has sucked away the self-importance that made fans flee, and on Black & White 050505 Simple Minds have rediscovered how to write magnificent rock songs. Home has the techno tinge of Underworld, Different World could be Coldplay with attitude, while Underneath The Ice is an atmospheric ballad that avoids sounding windswept. A sizeable step on the road to recovery. (3 out of 5) —— Black & White 050505 www.indigoflow.co.uk - 10th September 2005 (UK)
In the last few years there has been an influx of 80s pop stars trying to regain ground long since lost. Black & White 050505 will no doubt find Simple Minds perceived as such but this album does not sound like one born out of an ego that wonÕt die or a need for some extra cash (or both - take note Duran Duran). The truth couldnÕt be further away, in fact. This LP is one I'm sure will be seen by many as Simple Minds' best. It shows off the band's classic epic pop sound (once since borrowed by U2 and passed off as their own) without pandering to 80s retroism or aiming to please just the last of their die hard fanbase. Put up against the latest offereings by today's stadium rock kings U2 and Coldplay this wins hands down every time. It is an album with more energy and imagination and should raise Simple Minds back to their former glory. The only tarnish to its name are Jim Kerr's lyrics, which are at times painfully bad - Underneath The Ice and The Jeweller (Part 2) being particular low points. But then, if weÕre sticking with the U2 and Coldplay comparisons, well, I think you know. (4 out of 5) —— Black & White 050505 Daily Star - 10th September 2005 (UK)
With pristine production values and some of their best tunes in ages, this comeback album doesn't quite recapture the brilliance of New Gold Dream, but songs such as Home and the title track prove there's life in the old dogs yet. Don't you forget about them. Again. (3 out of 5) —— Black & White 050505 Vivien Weimar - www.sickamongthepure.com - September 2005 (US)
If Black & White 050505 doesn't strike a chord with the fans of The Bravery, it will remain Simple Mind's strongest album in twenty years. The disc starts out with the epic "Stay Visible," which sounds like retro '80s music for those who love big sweeping guitars as much as electronic-pop accessibility. "Home" and "Beautiful Stranger" are reminders of Jim Kerr's strength as a storyteller, while "Underneath the Ice" and the title track up the electronics, tempering Charlie Burchill's guitar only slightly. Only on "Different World" when the band's sound bears a striking resemblance to Journey does Black & White 050505 veer into cheese-rock territory. Simple Minds has always taken the best elements of post-punk guitars and the melody of early art bands like Roxy Music to create their catchy-yet-sophisticated sound. Jim Kerr may sing of the body being tired but this Mind is as sharp as ever. Soon A.F.I. will probably be covering Simple Mind's classic hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)" to an entire generation of music fans completely oblivious of the original. Since their John Hughes heyday, Simple Minds has never quite reached the same commercial success as they did on The Breakfast Club soundtrack. Standout Tracks: Stay Visible , Black and White, Jeweller (8.5 out of 10) —— Black & White 050505 The Sun - 9th September 2005 (UK)
If you thought Simple Minds records were best locked away with your old Pac-Man game, Rubik's cube and other Eighties paraphernalia then you're wrong. This 14th album from Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill is a return to form for the Scots group who have experienced a career of ups and downs. Single Home, inspired by Kerr's Italian hometown of Taormina, is a delight while Stay Invisible mixes piano and strings in a beguiling way and Different World keeps this momentum. There's no nostaligic sound to this album, either. While they'll never regain the same levels of their former glory, this might surprise you. (3 out of 5)
—— Black & White 050505 Daily Express - 9th September 2005 (UK)
With every hip band of the moment stealing their riffs and style, it seems only fair that Simple Minds have returned to show how it's done. For a band with an Eighties heyday, this is surprisingly tight record, full of sharp, epic-sounding pop tunes and precious little filler. A very welcome return. (4 out of 5)
—— Forget About Me? I Won't Let You Jim Kerr is hitting the road again. But the Simple Minds frontman insists that the decision to tour once more is not down to a midlife crisis, writes Mary Braid. Mary Braid - Sunday Times - 4th September 2005 (UK)
South of France yesterday, London today, Berlin tomorrow. If Jim Kerr, the lead singer of Simple Minds, is knackered, or bored by questions about his celebrity former wives, he hides it well. In the midst of a whistle-stop publicity round and preparations for the launch of the band's second album since its resurrection three years ago, Kerr remains sweetly and humorously self-deprecating. He deals very well with even the most impertinent questions. Well, for the most part. Ask him, for example, whether he thinks the return of the band that sold 25m albums at its peak in the 1980s might in some way represent his midlife crisis, and follow that with a little more idle speculation. Why else would a man of 45 worth a reputed £30m go back on the road? Kerr laughs it off. "You might have a point," he says, grinning. "Have I had other signs? Well I'd have to say there's been the red Speedos I bought." He pauses as if visualising himself, stomach sucked in, in the crimson trunks. "Now that was really ill-advised," he concludes. Nicely tanned, Kerr is actually looking good - that's if you found the young Jim Sillars attractive - but he's clearly no longer the skelf of a youth that could have sprinted down the sand in a sliver of red without any fear of ridicule or wobbling tummy. Yes, Kerr, now resident in Sicily where he owns a hotel, plainly doesn't mind laughing at himself. Up to a point. One subject provokes a flash of underlying, slightly unnerving edge. It's not personal questions about former wives Chrissie Hynde and Patsy Kensit that needle him so much as attempts to play down Simple Minds' achievements. The band that created the 1980s anthem Don't You (Forget About Me) is now rather sniffed at by the revisionist music critics as way less cool than the Smiths and way less talented than U2, those other stadium fillers. There is nobody who compares to U2, admits Kerr. But he is irritated by the belittling of his outfit. He wonders how many other bands can claim a run of five UK No 1 albums and so much success in the notoriously hard-to-crack American market that it could take part in Live Aid from Philadelphia. So can he accept that Simple Minds started to lose their way in the mid-1980s when they took on the stadium circuit? "There was a point when we didnÕt do our best work," he says, his eyes becoming a little harder and a mite narrower. "But there is a lot of lazy journalism around as well." There's something in the eyes and that careful reply which betrays the intelligent, streetwise steeliness in Kerr that must have played a big part in steering Simple Minds to success. It's not that heÕs defensive - though he is a bit - it's more a confidence in his own worth. The eyes say, quite fiercely, that nobody is going to take his achievements from him. Simple Minds had its time in the sun with the music critics before, as is usually the pattern, the big bucks rolled in. Kerr sees the irony in that. Brought up in a high-rise in Toryglen, he remembers telling his dad way back at the beginning that while the band had yet to make money, the critics considered them hip. "'Try telling that to the bank manager,' my dad said," remembers Kerr, smiling. He adds that he understands the tendency to turn on bands that make it big. He's done the same himself. "But the fact is that when Simple Minds started there was nothing," he says. "We invented ourselves and we sweated it out." You get the sense - as with most well-balanced people - that Kerr feels a strong unbroken thread runs from his boyhood in the council flat to his luxury home in Sicily. The days of rock-star wannabe, red winkle-pickers and embarrassing 1980s' garb are long gone and Kerr leads a sophisticated life. But Toryglen still hovers. Ask if the rejuvenated Simple Minds, who this week release Black & White, their second album in three years, still make money, and Kerr looks positively affronted. "Of course it does," he says. "We don't play for nothing. I come from the flats, you know?" Toryglen may also have kept him grounded. Despite the high-profile wives, and some embarrassingly chunky jewellery in the 1980s, Kerr has shunned the rock-star clichés of excess, drug and alcohol abuse. When he stood before tens of thousands of screaming fans in the 1980s, he always paused for 30 seconds to savour the wonder of how he got there. And he still clearly feels the wonder of the way life has turned out. "How could I do anything but count my blessings?" he asks. He certainly seems to have a nice life. After living in France, America and London, Kerr now considers Sicily his home. He has just sold his luxury apartment in Glasgow because he wasn't spending enough time there. He is positively poetic about the charms of Sicily, which he first visited more than 20 years ago. "It's the whole package," he says. "It's gorgeous and it's mystical. It's a place on the edge and you can feel the African vibe there. It has an incredible history and you can still feel it. When you wake up there, you just feel your best." In fact, Kerr's romance with Sicily started long before he visited. His grandfather was posted to the island during the war. "He used to tell us stories about the place when we were kids," says Kerr. "He said that all the 'wummin' there were fantastic." Are the "wummin" still fantastic? "Yes," says Kerr. "Why? Because they don't mind talking to old guys." Kerr married Hynde when he was 24 and she was 32, after their bands toured together. "Chrissie was a cradle snatcher," he jokes. They had a daughter Yasmin, now 20, andÊ Kerr is also stepdad to Natalie, Hynde's older daughter with Ray Davies from the Kinks. Kerr seems to have spent too much time in the studio and on tour after Yasmin was born, and he and Chrissie divorced five years after marrying. He was 32 when he married Kensit and they had a son, James. The couple undid the knot only four years after tying it. Kerr has admitted that once again he simply was not around enough. Kerr is on warm terms with Hynde. On his birthday it's Chrissie, Yasmin and Natalie who take him out. His feelings for Kensit, who went on to marry and divorce Liam Gallagher, seem more conflicted. It couldn't have helped when, after they split, Kensit claimed her love life with him had been somewhat lacking. But he does his bit to defend Kensit against her tabloid image as a dizzy, rock star-loving blonde (before Kerr and Gallagher there was a first husband, Dan Donovan, of Big Audio Dynamite). She is, Kerr insists, funny and intelligent. He says his mother helps keep him in touch with how Kensit is doing. "People are always coming up to her in Asda to say they thought she always said Patsy was a nice girl." The public obviously confuses her with her character in Emmerdale. These days, Kerr insists, he's a love-free zone. He doesn't believe "the one" exists or that if she did he could make her happy. "My life is really full," he says, pointing out that he has the band, his business interests and three children to keep up with. "I don't have time and any relationship would be doomed to frustration.Ê What I want more than anything these days is peace." What he seems to have dispensed with is the tension he always felt between his love of the rock'n'roll lifestyle - that seems to reflect something of the loner at his core - and his desire for stable, traditional things such as marriage - fostered by his background and his parents' happy and lengthy union. The most enduring relationship of his life remains the one with fellow band member, Charlie Burchill, whom he met in Toryglen when he was eight years old. Burchill lives in Rome these days. The best friends give each other space - "We're not the Alexander Brothers," says Kerr - but they also live close enough for easy collaboration. That still leaves the puzzle of why Kerr and Burchill bothered to get together again after a period in which Simple Minds were pretty much mothballed. When the band was on the backburner, Kerr says it was partly because he no longer felt he had anything to say. "It was like getting blood from a stone," he says. "There was a short period when I thought that must be it and what shocked me was my acceptance of that." It was Sicily, with its mix of European and African influences, that musically put the zing back into Kerr. And three years ago, when the band went on its first tour in years, he was "energised" by performing again and heartened to find people still wanted Simple Minds. However big his fortune or great his business success, he still considers himself essentially a musician. "When the band is in a room together, you can strip it all back," he says. "You forget everything else. It's all about getting a good noise." He still remembers the epiphany, 25 years ago, when the Simple Minds sound first struck him. "It took a long time to perfect," he says. "But I just felt there was something in the music in that moment that was too effective to be ignored." Kerr professes to be happy with life as long as his family is okay. "There's nothing else that I really want that I don't have," he says. Then he adds a crucial caveat, "but I would like to do good work." Music, he says, is not just a career, "it's a life". Whatever he says about contentment, Kerr seems too restless for luxurious early retirement. He seems to have something left to prove. "In our daft wee heads, Charlie and I still think it's a crusade," he says.
—— Simple Pleasures Jim Kerr's had an amazing life... from a Glasgow estate to rock superstardom. Most amazing of all, he's hip again. Stephen Phelan - Sunday Herald - 28th August 2005 (UK)
As the voice of Simple Minds, Jim Kerr has always sounded like a romantic. Since he started the band almost 30 years ago in Glasgow, he has written songs about art, travel, world peace, big love and the collapse of great cities. In person, though, Kerr talks like a pragmatist who has gone through almost every stage of a life in rock music - punkish youth, glorious prime and natural decline - with very few illusions. Today, he takes this observation as a compliment. "I'm glad you mention pragmatism," says Kerr. "I've always been a realist. If you're going to have a long career, then you know everything won't always go to plan. I've made at least 100 mistakes. But at this point I think even our biggest critics would concede that Simple Minds is more than a career for us. It's who we are and what we do." When he says "we", he can only mean himself and guitarist Charlie Burchill, who grew up together in Toryglen and founded Simple Minds on the remains of short-lived Glasgow pub band, Johnny & The Self Abusers. Now 46 years old, Kerr made his fortune, and probably his best records, a long time ago. "Some people seem to have a very edited version of our story," he says. "They tell us we had it all and we blew it. Really? We wrote hundreds of songs, played thousands of gigs, sold millions of records. We were rewarded like kings, and we enjoyed 95% of all of it. It's not like we weren't contenders." Even while he's talking in the past tense, Kerr is here in Glasgow's Malmaison hotel to promote a new Simple Minds album, due for release next week, with the pedantically contemporary title of Black & White 050505. The press release describes it as a "return to form", which seems like a tacit admission that form had been lost. "Well yeah," says Kerr. "The language of a press release is always clumsy, but it's true in the sense that we've made the record that we really wanted to make. We wanted a so-called 'classic' Simple Minds album. Big emotional pop songs with a certain drama. Music that envelops. Which sounds great, but how do you do that without it being a parody or some kind of retro 1980s exercise?" The bigger question, and I don't mean this facetiously, is why even bother? Kerr now lives in Sicily, where he owns a hotel, speaks Italian fluently, and takes a deep and sincere interest in local politics and history. I get him started on the subject when I mention that I visited Naples for the first time recently. "Really? Naples and Sicily were a joined kingdom, did you know that? They used to be called the Two Sicilies. But they've been rubbed out of history, because history belongs to the winners. They're fascinating, these renegade places. I love them." One of the reasons that Kerr joined a band in the first place was to get out of Glasgow and see the world. It was obvious to him that Johnny & The Self Abusers weren't going much further than a couple of gigs in the Doune Castle bar (lead vocalist and sax player John Milarky had come up with the name before he came up with any songs). So when Simple Minds were assembled, Kerr provided enough focus for all of them. "People who worked with us in the past talk about me as if I was a dictator. I can understand what they're saying, but I was consumed at the time, and when anything got in my way I was borderline ruthless. If you didn't like it, you could fuck off and get your own band." That aggressive need, that heating-element in the blood of young musicians, can't possibly still be at work in him. As Ally Sheedy's character said in the 1985 American teen-movie The Breakfast Club: "When you grow up, your heart just... dies." Kerr, like most people who ever saw that film, is more inclined to remember the theme song than the wisdom of the dialogue. Don't You (Forget About Me) was pre-written for the Breakfast Club soundtrack and reluctantly recorded by Simple Minds after Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol rejected it on grounds of banality. It immediately became their biggest ever hit. Kerr never liked the song or the movie, but he understands their sentiment. "It reminds me of something Bruce Springsteen once said, about how when you're 18, music is the only thing in your life. You're burning up with it, even though you've only maybe got a leather jacket and one guitar. Then you get the reward, and other things come into play. Family and so on. After that, even on a good day, you've lost at least 50% of your energy. So now I have to really manage my time, I set aside three or four months where I'm doing nothing but writing songs." |
of The Police, U2's The Edge and Alex Lifeson from Rush, Burchill
helped to pioneer exciting new guitar sounds and techniques based
on judicious note placement and tasteful use of effects, rather
than rehashed Chuck Berry riffs played at around two million decibels
lot
of stick and I was glad to see it come off.'