Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Original Simple Minds lineup to record again

In a bizarre moment of coincidence, as I'm sitting at work listening to some Simple Minds for the first time in ages, I came across this very interesting bit of news:

Simple Minds original line up set to record once again

The original members of Simple Minds are due to work together for the first time in 27 years when they enter a recording studio in the middle of June '08. In an event that many never thought would happen again, Brian McGee, Derek Forbes, Mick McNeil, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, have set their aim on producing at least two new tracks that could be released later this year. Regarded by both Jim and Charlie as a 'nice experiment', particularly as it falls within their 30 year anniversary, the week-long reformation is being viewed as one of many 'let's see what happens' ideas that they look forward to working on over the course of the next year.

Jim Kerr said 'Of course I am excited with the prospect of working with the original line - up once more. I had always believed that the day would come when we would get the opportunity to do so. The last time we worked together was on our Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call album, featuring songs like The American, Themes for Great Cities, Love Song etc, and it is still considered by many as among our best ever work. We have a lot to live up to, but we intend to have some fun attempting to do just that.'


Although the Minds have remained a stunning live act (I've seen them many times), in my opinion, Mick McNeil's departure at the end of the 1980s left a large gap in the band and the magic that he took with him was never replaced. It'll certainly be interesting to se if the combined chemistry between the original band members is still there...

Thank you Alex.

This news has really made my day. I am a really big fan of the band during these years. You are right about the problem of Mick leaving during the late 80s. Derek Forbes is a great bass player. His lines made most of the songs. They were still very good, but not spectacular! Simple Minds is an excellent example of each player being great, and when one leaves, there is that "something" missing.

Blue

Yeah, Simple Minds' creative peak for me, was with their albums Sons and Fascination / Sister Feelings Call and New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84. In fact, I love all their early work from Reel to Real Cacophony onwards. My love of their music - while I still like t - does wane though from 1984 onwards, as they gradually got more and more commercial and less adventurous.

2005's Black & White 050505 was a very good album - their best since their hayday I guess, but something was still missing.

Mick's keyboard riffs and sounds were what gave their early work such a great atmosphere, and Derek's basslines are some of the best in rock music - without those 2 key elements, Simple Minds were no longer firing on all cylinders.

I attended a convention last year where the guests were Mick McNeil and Derek Forbes. Brian McGee turned up un-announced and they ended up playing an improvised live set including Theme for Great Cities and a cover of Trans Europe Express!

Anyway, it's great news that the band are hopefully putting their differences aside and trying to focus together again on making great, creative music. I hope the sessions go well and I for one will look forward to hearing the results.

With Reel to Real Cacophony, Empires and Dance and Sons And Facination / Sister Feeling Call behind them they really could of been an amazing band, but then the pomp and no circumstance followed - all stadium guitar and hot air. No one EVER could of replaced Foxx's Ultravox - but bloody hell - this lot came close.

Will the original (=better) reformed Simple Minds be any different? I don't know - I doubt it though. It looks to me like their just paying lip-service to the current New/No Wave climate. I can just see Jim Kerr now - "Hey lads, remember when we were experimenting? Well, that's what people like now - not the U2-lite stuff - so...I have a cunning plan..."

I guess I'm annoyed because, even 20+ years later it makes me angry that they threw away the guts of their music for something else entirely.


I'll calm down in a bit...nice cup of tea should do it

Gazza

For no real reason, I've always hated U2 with a vengeance, so I always preferred SImple Minds.

But TRUE Minds is that "Early Gold" period, 79-83. I prefer them to John's Ultravox any day, but that's just my taste - at least on a par with SOR.

They had such a distinctive sound, and they somehow lost all that once they went all commercial.

I've been saying for years they need to back to their experimental roots. Jim Kerr always states Empires and Dance as one of his favourite Minds albums, so why the hell don't they go back to that approach!

That said, for their November tour, they have jumped on the "playing the whole classic album" bandwagon and are doing New Gold Dream...

Yes, it is annoying. There were plenty of bands that just threw it away for the quick dollar/pound during that time. 1983 was a watershed year. I have thought about this issue a lot during my idle times in the past. Simple Minds being one of those that fell. Plenty fell in 1983:

Japan (D. Sylvian -- some solo good, some not)
Duran Duran
Bauhaus
The Clash
Public Image Ltd. falling down
The Jam, well 1982
XTC -- no more touring, but songs still good.

Anyway, Radio Beach, your feelings are very well justified. In the end, the chase for the dollar got them nowhere. If some of the bands would have stayed firmly on a track, they would have been mentioned along with rock greats as Stones/Doors/Beatles, in my opinion.

It's a shame just to see that it didn't happen.

Blue P

I saw the original line-up three times and then saw them again in 1984 when at least the drummer had been replaced, though not sure who else, if anybody, had left by then. For me, the original line-up was always the best. I was lucky enought to meet the band in 1979 and they all seemed like genuine, down to Earth guys back then, except Jim Kerr who was on another planet due, as I later discovered, to what had made its way up his nostrils in the dressing room!

It'll be interesting to see if they can rekindle the old magic but personally I doubt it, they're all very different people now than what they were back in '79.

Ô¿Ô

Mel Gaynor took over on drums from Brian McGee in 1983. That lineup remained until McNeil quit the band in 1989. Derek Forbes left after Real Life but briefly returned for Neapolis in 1998.

For the last few years, the line up has been its strongest since the early years, with Andy Gillespie on synths and Eddy Duffy on bass.

I met Jim and Charlie after a gig in 2003 - Mr Kerr was clearly clean by then!

Still a little worried about this,met both Derek and Mick on Saturday(at their FourGoodMen gig)
Dereks says he had a very amicable meet with Jim recently(this suprised me as recently both D and M spoke with spitted venom when they spoke about Jim and Charlie.
They are so far only planning on recording some new tracks together and I was re-assured that this will NOT be the death knell for 4GM,but I'm still not convinced but really hope I'm wrong and 4GM continue to play the wonderful gigs thay do!
McGee is still a great friend of Derek and Mick and can regularly be found at the 4GM gigs(He also played in H2o with Ian Donaldson,front man of 4GM

Would be great they recording together again. They made their best stuff with this line-up for my opinion. Real to Reel Cacophony and Sister Feelings Call are classics!!!