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Best known in the U.S. for their 1985 number one hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from the film The Breakfast Club, Scotland's Simple Minds evolved from a post-punk art rock band influenced by Roxy Music into a grand, epic-sounding pop band along the lines of U2. The band grew out of a Glasgow punk group called Johnny and the Self-Abusers, which featured guitarist Charlie Burchill and lead singer Jim Kerr. The inaugural 1978 lineup of Simple Minds featured a rhythm section of Tony Donald on bass and Brian McGee on drums, plus keyboardist Mick McNeil; Donald was soon replaced by Derek Forbes. Their early albums leaped from one style to another, with Life in a Day consisting mostly of dense, arty pop songs; critical acclaim followed the darker, more experimental art rock of Reel to Real Cacophony and the Euro-disco of Empires and Dance. The group began a transition to a more accessible pop style with the albums Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call, originally issued together and subsequently split up. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) became their first chart album in the U.S., and the tour-shy McGee quit owing to burgeoning popularity, eventually being replaced by Mel Gaynor. Following the Steve Lillywhite-produced Sparkle in the Rain, Jim Kerr married Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde (the two groups had toured together).
After Bryan Ferry rejected the opportunity to sing "Don't You (Forget About Me)," Simple Minds almost did so as well; Kerr was dissatisfied with the song's lyrics, which he regarded as formulaic. His change of heart gave Simple Minds their only American chart-topper, and the song later became an international hit as well; however, Kerr's feelings about the song remained ambivalent, and it did not appear on the follow-up album, Once Upon a Time. This album went gold and reached the U.S. Top Ten, in spite of criticism for its bombastic, over-the-top approach. A live album and the uncompromisingly political Street Fighting Years squandered Simple Minds' commercial momentum, however. By the time the group returned to more personal themes and its straightforward, anthemic rock on 1991's Real Life, personnel changes and audience loss left the group's future viability in doubt. But they weren't totally deterred, however. Kerr and Burchill trudged on, releasing Good News From the Next World in 1995 while the single "She's a River" received moderate airplay. A short tour of North America soon followed, but Simple Minds' direction also quickly faded. They needed a break to clarify their own personal stance in music. Derek Forbes returned for 1998's Néapolis, but that, too, wasn't strong enough to sustain Simple Minds' newfound creativity.
Their famed pop songs had diluted a bit; however, the new millennium proved poignant. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill signed to Eagle Records in early 2001 and constructed their first covers album, Neon Lights, later that fall, paying tribute to Patti Smith, Neil Young, David Bowie, and others. In summer 2002, Kerr and Burchill issued Cry, Simple Minds' first batch of new material since 1995's Good News From the Next World. Our Secrets Are the Same, an album that was intended for release in 2000, saw official release in 2003.Simple Minds forcefully countered that concern in 2002 with the oddly-titled Cry, featuring arguably some of the band's strongest work in more than a decade. For the first time, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill turned to outside writers for a number of tracks, and the heavily keyboard-driven album won generally favorable reviews. Although the album didn't sell in great numbers in the US, Simple Minds felt confident enough to mount a North American leg of their Floating World Tour (named after the instrumental track which closes Cry), their first in seven years. Although the venues were small compared to the larger venues they consistently sold out in Europe, the concerts were well-attended by passionate, long-time Simple Minds fans, many of whom brought their teenage children along with them. In a nod to the recent influence of trance and techno music, the band used those stylings to update their very early tracks, including "New Gold Dream," "The American," and "I Travel," the latter of which had not been performed live for several years.
Album cover of Our Secrets Are The Same (2004).Finally, in 2004, Our Secrets Are The Same was remastered and mixed by Simon Heyworth as the final disc in a five-CD compilation entitled Silver Box, composed mostly of previously unreleased demos, radio & TV sessions and various live recordings from 1979 to 1995. Album cover of Black & White 050505 (2005).Simple Minds' latest album, Black & White 050505, released in the fall of 2005, was previewed on the band's official website for several weeks prior to its release. Although this album has generated some of the most positive reviews for a Simple Minds record in many years, and the first single, "Home," has received airplay on alternative rock radio stations in the US, the album has yet to make a significant impact in either the UK or the US. Simple Minds has been touring throughout Europe in support of this album during the first quarter of 2006, and will head to the Far East, Australia and New Zealand in mid-May, returning for more European music festivals throughout the summer.
