Simple Minds

Simple Minds are a Scottish New Wave pop band, known mostly for their output in the 1980s. In spite of great commercial success in Europe, they were never able to break into mainstream United States, where they are known primarily for one song, "Don't You (Forget About Me)".

After one unsuccessful single as Johnny & The Self Abusers, Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr formed the band in 1978 (1978 in music), along with Brian McGee and Tony Donald. Keyboard and synthesizer player, Mick MacNeil, was also recruited at this time. Drummer Mel Gaynor later joined the band. The band's name was taken from a line in the David Bowie track Jean Genie: "...so simple-minded, he can't drive his module".

Their initial recordings, such as Reel to Real Cacophony and Empires and Dance were critically acclaimed, though sales were slow until the band moved towards a more pop-oriented sound, beginning with the Steve Hillage-produced Sons and Fascination (1981 in music). Their early work and a number of experimental pieces subsequently were heavily inspired by Kraftwerk.

By 1984 (1984 in music), due to their much more accessible releases New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and Sparkle in the Rain, as well as a number of UK charting singles, Simple Minds had gained a widespread fanbase, setting the stage for their breakthrough "Don't You (Forget About Me)". This song, written by J. Forsey, was originally offered to Billy Idol, but he declined. As the only Simple Minds release not to have been written by Kerr and Burchill, it is ironic that this became their biggest and most memorable hit. The song quickly became an American chart-topper, the only one Simple Minds would ever achieve there, as a result of its use in the popular film The Breakfast Club. It was initially less popular outside of the US, but soon became a top-selling hit across the world, as was the next album, Once Upon a Time (which did not include that song). After a live album, Simple Minds, in an attempt to regain critical acceptance, released the unabashedly political and un-pop Street Fighting Years to positive reviews but relatively poor sales. However the band did score their only number one UK singles hit from this album with Belfast Child, a reworking of the folk song She Moved Through The Fair. By the time the band returned with Real Life (1991 in music), synth-pop was no longer popular and they have since released albums to a dwindling audience. (Keyboardist Mick MacNeil left the group in 1989.) Most recently, they released Cry in 2002 (2002 in music).

Contents

1 Discography of Albums 2 Detailed Discography of Albums 2.1 Albums 2.2 Compilations 2.3 Bootlegs 3 Hit singles 4 External links

Discography of Albums

• Life in a Day (1979)
• Real to Real Cacophony (1979)
• Empires and Dance (1980)
• Sons and Fascination (1981)
• Sister Feelings Call (1981)
• Themes for Great Cities (1981)
• Celebration (1982)
• New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
• Sparkle in the Rain (1984)
• Once Upon a Time (1985)
• Live in the City of Light (1987)
• Street Fighting Years (1989)
• Real Life (1991)
• Glittering Prize 81/92 (1992) (Greatest Hits compilation)
• Good News from the Next World (1995)
• The Promised (1997)
• Neapolis (1998)
• The Early Years (1998) (compilation)
• Neon Lights (2001)
• The Best of Simple Minds (2001) (compilation)
• Cry (2002)

Detailed Discography of Albums

Albums

Life In A Day (1979) UK #30

1. Someone
2. Life in a day
3. Sad affair
4. All for you
5. Pleasantly disturbed
6. No cure
7. Chelsea girl
8. Wasteland
9. Destiny
10. Murder story

Real To Real Cacophony (1979)

1. Real to real
2. Naked eye
3. Citizen (Dance of youth)
4. Carnival (Shelter in a suitcase)
5. Factory
6. Cacophony
7. Veldt
8. Premonition
9. Changelin
10. Film theme
11. Calling your name
12. Scar

Empires And Dance (1980) UK #41

1. I Travel
2. Today I Died Again
3. Celebrate
4. This Fear Of Gods
5. Capital City
6. Constantinople Line
7. Twist - Run - Repulsion
8. Thirty Frames A Second
9. Kant-Kino
10. Room

Sons And Fascination (Sept. 1981) UK #11

1. In trance as mission
2. Sweat in bullet
3. 70 cities as love brings the fall
4. Boys from Brazil
5. Love song
6. This earth that you walk upon
7. Sons and fascination
8. Seeing out the angel

Sister Feelings Call (Sept. 1981) UK #11

1. Theme from great cities
2. The American
3. 20th century promised land
4. Wonderful in young life
5. League of nations
6. Careful in career
7. Sound in 70 cities

New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) (1982) UK #3

1. Someone somewhere in summertime
2. Colours fly & Catherine wheel
3. Promised you a miracle
4. Big sleep
5. Somebody up there likes you
6. New gold dream (81, 31, 83, 84)
7. Glittering prize
8. Hunter & the hunted
9. King is white & in the crowd

Sparkle In The Rain (1984) UK #1

1. Up on the Catwalk
2. Book of Brilliant Things
3. Speed Your Love to Me
4. Waterfront
5. East at Easter
6. Street Hassle
7. White Hot Day
8. "C" Moon Cry Like a Baby
9. Kick Inside of Me
10. Shake Off the Ghosts

Once Upon A Time (1985) UK #1

1. Once Upon A Time
2. All The Things She Said
3. Ghost Dancing
4. Alive And Kicking
5. Oh Jungleland
6. I Wish You Were Here
7. Sanctify Yourself
8. Come A Long Way

In the City of Light (live 1987) UK #1

1. Ghostdancing
2. Big Sleep
3. Waterfront
4. Promised You A Miracle
5. Someone Somewhere In Summertime
6. Oh Jungleland
7. Alive And Kicking
8. Don't You (Forget About Me)
9. Once Upon A Time
10. Book Of Brilliant Things
11. East At Easter
12. Sanctify Yourself
13. Love Song/Sun City/Dance To The Music
14. New Gold Dream

Street Fighting Years (1989) UK #1

1. Street fighting years
2. Soul crying out
3. Wall of love
4. This is your land
5. Take a step back
6. Kick it in
7. Let it all come down
8. Mandela day
9. Belfast child
10. Biko
11. When spirits rise

Real Life (1991) UK #2

1. Real life
2. See the lights
3. Let there be love
4. Woman
5. Stand by love
6. Let the children speak
7. African skies
8. Ghostrider
9. Banging on the door I
10. Banging on the door II
11. Travelling man
12. Rivers of ice
13. When two worlds collide

Good News From The Next World (1995) UK #2

1. She's a river
2. Night music
3. Hypnosed
4. Great leap forward
5. 7 deadly sins
6. And the band played on
7. My life
8. Criminal world
9. This time

Néapolis (1998) UK #19

1. Song for the tribes
2. Glitterball
3. War babies
4. Tears of a guy
5. Superman v supersoul
6. Lightning
7. If I had wings
8. Killing Andy Warhol
9. Androgyny

Neon Lights (2001)

1. Gloria (Van Morrison)
2. The Man Who Sold The World (David Bowie)
3. Homosapien (Pete Shelley, Buzzcocks)
4. Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith)
5. Neon Lights (Kraftwerk)
6. Hello I Love You (The Doors)
7. Bring On The Dancing Horses (Echo & The Bunnymen)
8. Needle & The Damage Done (Neil Young)
9. For Your Pleasure (Roxy Music)
10. All Tomorrows Party (Velvet Underground)

Cry (2002)

1. Cry
2. Spaceface
3. New Sunshine Morning
4. One Step Closer
5. Face in the Sun
6. Disconnected
7. Lazy Lately
8. Sugar
9. Sleeping Girl
10. Cry Again
11. Slave Nation
12. Floating Wold

Our Secrets Are The Same (2002)

1. Swimming Towards The Sun
2. Jeweller To The Stars
3. Space
4. Death By Chocolate
5. Waiting For the End Of The World
6. Neon City Cowboys
7. She Knows
8. Hello
9. Happy Is The Man
10. Sleeping

Compilations

• Celebration (1982), UK #45
• Glittering Price 81/92 (1992), UK #1
• The Promised (1997)
• The Early Years (1998)
• The Best of Simple Minds (2001), UK #34

Bootlegs

• Summertime in Glasgow (1985)
• Live in USA (1995)

Hit singles

• 1979 "Life In A Day" #62 UK
• 1981 "The American" #59 UK
• 1981 "Love Song" #47 UK
• 1981 "Sweat In A Bullet #52 UK
• 1982 "Promised You a Miracle" #13 UK
• 1982 "Glittering Prize" #16 UK
• 1982 "Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)" #36 UK
• 1983 "Waterfront" #13 UK
• 1984 "Speed Your Love to Me" #20 UK
• 1984 "Up on the Catwalk" #27 UK
• 1985 "Don't You (Forget about Me)" #7 UK; #1 US
• 1985 "Alive and Kicking" #7 UK; #3 US
• 1986 "Sanctify Yourself" #10 UK; #14 US
• 1986 "All the Things She Said" #9 UK; #28 US
• 1986 "Ghostdancing" #13 UK
• 1987 "Promised You a Miracle" #19 UK
• 1989 "Belfast Child" #1 UK
• 1989 "This Is Your Land" #13 UK
• 1989 "Kick It In" #15 UK
• 1989 "The Amsterdam EP" #18 UK (Sign Of The Times,Jerusalem & Let It All Come Down)
• 1991 "Let There Be Love" #6 UK
• 1991 "See the Lights" #20 UK; #40 US
• 1991 "Stand By Love" #13 UK
• 1991 "Real Life" #34 UK
• 1992 "Love Song/Alive and Kicking" (re-issue) #6 UK
• 1995 "She's a River" #5 UK
• 1995 "Hypnotised" #18 UK
• 1998 "Glitterball" #18 UK
• 1998 "War Babies" #43 UK
• 2002 "Cry" #47 UK
• 2002 "Monster" #67 UK (Liquid People vs Simple Minds)

External links

• Official Simple Minds site (http://www.simpleminds.com)
• Dream Giver Redux (http://www.simpleminds.org/home.htm)de:Simple Minds

nl:Simple Minds fi:Simple Minds