News

UK Album Chart

Black & White 050505 has dropped to number 74 in this week’s UK Album Chart. Reservoir, Paris 23rd September 2005 Set List

• Home
• Stay Visible
• Jeweller (Part 2)
• Love Song
• Book Of Brilliant Things
• Mandela Day
• Waterfront
• Dont You (Forget About Me)
• Big Sleep
• Alive and Kicking
• New Gold Dream
• Stranger
• Factory
• Sanctify Yourself

Black & White 050505 Review

Manchester online’s review of Black & White 050505 has been added to the Reviews/Articles section and can be found here. Two more positive reviews from the band’s already legendary The Venue, London show have been added to the Reviews/Articles section.

Thursday September 22nd 2005

Simple Minds v Franz Ferdinand > Added Tour Dates > Friday Night With Jonathon Ross > Black & White 050505 Reviews >

Simple Minds v Franz Ferdinand – Perthshire, Saturday July 9th 2006

ITS SIMPLY NOT FER !!

Kerr’s Fury As Franz Top T In The Park 2006 Bill

Franz Ferdinand have won the most bitter battle Scots music history – to headline next years T in the Park festival ahead of Simple Minds. T Bosses brokered a secret £1million deal to get both bands – but Simple Minds front man Jim Kerr is furious that Alex Kapranos and the Ferdies have got the nod for the closing Saturday night slot. A festival insider said last night “Jim is far from amused. But the bosses are adamant that Franz Ferdinand are THE band of the moment.”

FRANZ V MINDS Scots rocks biggest heavyweights ready to do battle…. but young challengers will win!

Scots superstar Jim Kerr has swallowed his pride and given the nod to Franz Ferdinand to close next years T in the Park. The multi millionaire Simple Minds star has secured a megabucks deal to perform alongside the indie heroes at the giant festival. But a furious row broke out behind the scenes over which home grown group will close the show for 75,000 fans on the main stage at Balado, Perthshire next Summer. We can reveal that within the last 48 hours a secret £1 million deal has been brokered for both top-selling bands to play back-to-back performances on Saturday July 9th.

Franz Ferdinand will cement their reputation as the hottest rock act in the world when their second album….”You could have it so much better with..” is released next month. But as leader of Scotland’s biggest ever group, Simple Minds front man Kerr is believed to be privately seething that the Ferdies have demanded to go on last. Kerr, 46, will take to the stage immediately before them for Simple Minds first ever appearance in the 13-year history of Scotland’s No1 pop bash.

And last night a festival insider said, “This news will set up the biggest Scottish rock clash of all time”, “Simple Minds are in the middle of staging a major comeback and feel they should close the show on their debut appearance and apparently are far from amused with the situation. But the promoters are adamant that Franz Ferdinand are THE band of the moment and there couldn’t be a better act to close the show on Saturday. Its traditionally the most prestigious slot of the weekend and attracts the biggest crowds”

Scotland’s top music mogul, Alan McGee is already rubbing his hands at the prospect of the clash of the rock giants. Tycoon McGee, 45 is the man who discovered OASIS and is appearing as DJ at his popular club night Rock n Roll promz at Glasgow’s ABC venue tonight. He said “This is going to be some double whammy for Scotland. Its a fascinating bill and the fans will love it. If the Minds play their big hits they’ll go down an absolute storm and Franz Ferdinand are one of the biggest new bands on earth. Their time is now and that’s why they should be headlining” He added “Jim Kerr is a smashing bloke and he should be big enough to pass the baton to Alex Kapranos and the rest of the Franz boys. Jim has nothing to worry about. Simple Minds are still a great band and they will quite rightly get all the respect they deserve from the fans and the other acts at T in the Park”

Glasgow band Simple Minds is one of the few major Scottish rock groups never to have played at the festival. in the past multi- millionaire singer Jim has claimed they have never been asked to perform at the giant outdoor pop party, which is expected to attract 140,000 fans next July 9 & 10. But he recently said “The Simple Minds sound is built for the big stage and it would be nice to be asked to play T in the Park”. Simple Minds are poised for an amazing comeback and have been gaining rave reviews for their new album Black & White 050505. And the band –

who has sold a staggering 30 million records in their 80’s and 90’s heyday – are said to be fuming at Franz Ferdinand nicking their festival crown. The groups are believed to have been paid £1 million between them for the Saturday night gigs. The insider added, “At one stage Simple Minds were so huge that they might have actually been too BIG to play T in the park. Down the years there has been a lot of speculation as to why the Minds never appeared. But they feel that with the resurgence of interest in their music recently, there could have been no better time to do it than next summer. But although they realize that Franz Ferdinand are one of the hottest new bands on the planet, they’re a bit miffed that the lads will be getting the VIP treatment and the best spot on the bill.”

Franz Ferdinand – famous for hits like Take Me Out and Matinee – went down a storm when they blew away 60,000 fans with a sizzling set on the main stage in 2004. They’ve since gone on to sell more than three million copies of their self titled debut album and are expected to shoot straight to No 1 with their new single Do You Want To? And singer Alex Kapranos has already hinted he is looking forward to headlining at T. He said earlier this year “We were disappointed to miss T in the Park this year – that was our highlight of 2004. Hopefully we’ll do it next year if they let us back”

Ten years ago, the T in the Park chiefs who claimed the band was too OLD for the festival gave stadium kings Simple Minds a knockback. It also didn’t help that at one time the groups best-known anthem Alive & Kicking was used as the soundtrack to a television advertising campaign for McEwen’s lager – the direct rival of T in the park sponsors – Tennents

U – Turn

The T promoters said at the time “We were approached by Simple Minds, but we felt it would turn into a home coming gig for them. We want the event to reflect the current music scene – and Simple Minds smacked too much of old school” But it appears the festival bosses have finally now done a u-turn and opened the door for a memorable Simple Minds appearance. This years event starring Greenday, Travis, The Killers etc – pulled record breaking crowds of 140,000 over the weekend. Next years capacity is set to be increased. Around 25,000 tickets for 2006 were snapped up within 3 hours when they went up for sale just 2 days after this year bash ended in July. The festival is expected to sell out in record time when the rest of the briefs become available in the New Year.

The SUN says, Barely had the last notes faded from T in the park 2005 when tens of thousands of tickets were sold for next years festival. And now, still ten months away from 2006’s opening act, we already have the first battle of the bands. Franz Ferdinand – Scotland’s hottest group – have stolen the headlining spot from our most successful rockers of all time, Simple Minds.

Their veteran front man Jim Kerr is fuming that young pretenders Franz have taken the prime spot his super group might have expected at their Balado debut. While the Ferdies can justifiably claim the crown for their enormous current following. The real winners in this spat will be the fans, with two fantastic performances in prospect. But a word of warning; Last time someone took a pop at Franz Ferdinand it started a war. LET BATTLE COMMENCE!

The Scottish Daily Sun – 22nd September 2005

Extra Black & White 2006 Tour Dates

Two extra dates have been added to next years world tour, the UK leg of the tour will now kick off in Belfast.

31/01/06 Waterfront, Belfast

16/03/06 Den Atelier, Luxembourg

Friday Night With Jonathon Ross

Simple Minds will make their first UK live performance since 1998’s TFI Friday tomorrow night, the band will perform ‘Stay Visible’ live on the Friday Night With Jonathon Ross (BBC1 at 10.35pm). Lets hope their performance is as stunning as in 1998 where the band performed ‘War Babies’. Black & White 050505 Reviews More Black & White 050505 Reviews will be added to the Reviews/Articles over the next couple of days so check back soon!

Monday September 19th 2005

Great Minds Glasgow, 22nd October 2005 >

Great Minds Pivo Pivo, Glasgow 22nd October 2005

• GREAT MINDS – LIVE
• Pivo Pivo
• 15 Waterloo Street
• Glasgow
• Saturday 22nd October 2005

What’s The Story?

There’s a Simple Minds fan meet up taking place in Glasgow 21st – 23rd October 2005. It was hoped that Sample MINDS (the Simple Minds tribute band) would be able to perform at this event, though due to other commitments this was sadly not to be. For several years, Sample MINDS keyboard player Simon had been pondering about performing a set of his popular Simple Minds re-works live – and this seemed like an ideal opportunity to test the water.

Thus with the blessing of the other Sample MINDS band members – GREAT MINDS were born! Dave from the band has kindly stepped up to play guitar and with the help of some serious ‘automation’ the gruesome twosome intend to deliver a stunning collection of vintage Simple Minds material. Essentially, expect NONE of the hits and a lot of surprises!!!

“We looked at a lot of possibilities spanning the whole of Simple Minds’ back catalogue, finally deciding on about a dozen tracks. A good portion of this collection focuses on the pre New Gold Dream era with some great forgotten classics that Dave and I always wanted to play (or indeed hear Simple Minds play live!). There’s sure to be a lot of late nights programming and rehearsing to drag these songs into the 21st century and I’m curious to hear the final result.” Simon H

GREAT MINDS will be supporting the excellent glasgow band ‘the tracks’, whose debut album was produced by none other than the legendary Simple Minds keyboard maestro Mick MacNeil. It’s rumoured that Mick will be at the gig – so no pressure on the guys!!! GREAT MINDS are expected on stage at 9pm.

Further details / updates available at

Sunday September 18th 2005

Black & White 050505 entered the UK Album Chart at number 37 earlier this evening.

Capital Gold

Capital Gold aired the entire The Venue, London show earlier this evening. For more details and a chance to win signed copies of a set list and Black & White 050505 visit the Capital Gold’s website. “The band more than impressed as they performed an explosive set that proved that Simple Minds still has what it takes to blow an audience away be it in a stadium or intimate setting.” Mail On Sunday Black & White Reviews Another week and another batch of reviews added to the Black & White 050505 Reviews/Articles section. The Mail On Sunday’s review can be found here while review can be found here.

Paradiso, Amsterdam 17th September 2005 Set List

• Home
• Stay Visible
• Jeweller (Part 2)
• Love Song
• Book Of Brilliant Things
• Mandela Day
• Waterfront
• Dont You (Forget About Me)
• Big Sleep
• Alive and Kicking
• New Gold Dream
• Space
• Stranger
• Factory
• Sanctify Yourself

The Venue, London 12th September 2005 Review A playlouder.com review of the Minds’ legendary The Venue show has also been added to the Black & White 050505 Reviews/Articles section and can be found here.

VH1 Classic ‘Jim Kerr Special’

A Jim Kerr special was broadcast on VH1 Classic on Wednesday evening. The 50 minute show featured an interview with Jim and numerous promo videos (Home, Sweat In Bullet, Glittering Prize, Waterfront, Up On The Catwalk, Don’t You (Forget About Me), Alive and Kicking, All the Things She Said, Ghostdancing, Belfast Child, This Is Your Land, Let There be Love, See The Lights, She’s A River, Hypnotised and Home). Great to see Jim in such a revealing interview even though Néapolis and Cry were not mentioned.

“In hindsight there was big cracks, we were probably started to doubt and losing confidence in ourselves, going home after the studio and switching on MTV and seeing the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays and thinking, hmm… men out of time.” Jim Kerr talks frankly about the Real Life era. The Venue, London 12th September 2005

Simple Minds performed yet another breathtaking promo show for the Capital Gold’s Legends Live series at The Venue, London on Tuesday night. The band performed to just 200 lucky fans in an 80 minute set that left the Minds faithful breathless.

• Home
• Stay Visible
• Jeweller (Part 2)
• Love Song
• Book Of Brilliant Things
• Mandela Day
• Waterfront
• Don’t You (Forget About Me)
• Big Sleep
• Alive and Kicking
• New Gold Dream
• Theme For Great Cities
• Stranger
• Space
• Sanctify Yourself

Photo: © 2005 Brian Rasic

Friday September 16th 2005

Charlie Burchill Guitar & Bass Interview > Record Collector > Updates >

Charlie Burchill Guitar & Bass Interview

Charlie Burchill gives a rare interview in the November issue of Guitar & Bass. The full article has been added to the Black & White 050505 Reviews/Articles section and can be found here. Record Collector Black & White 050505 Review and Jim Kerr Q & A Another rave review of Black & White 050505 appears in the October edition of Record Collector and can be found here. In the same publication is a Jim Kerr Q & A article which you can read here.

Crashing Beast & Fantasy Updates

Due to work commitments I have been unable to update the ‘News’ section this week. All the weeks news including reviews from Monday’s legendary live performance at The Venue will be updated onto these pages over the weekend.

Monday September 12th 2005

‘London Astoria Extra Date >

London Astoria Extra Date

Due to popular demand a second London date has now been added to the Simple Minds 2006 European Tour. In addition to February 13th, the band will now play London Astoria on February 14th (Valentine’s Day).

Sunday September 11th 2005

Home > The Sunday Revival With James Bassam > Freeport Alcochete, Lisbon >

Home

Home failed to enter the UK top 40 singles chart this evening. Mid-week chart sales had predicted that Home would enter between numbers 30 and 40. ‘Goldie Lookin’ Chain’ entered at number 14 with ‘Your Missus Is A Nutter’, enough said! The Sunday Revival With James Bassam

A pre-recorded interview with Jim Kerr appeared on GWR’s The Sunday Revival With James Bassam this morning. The show based on music from the 80s and 90s played Promised You A Miracle, Don’t (You Forget About Me) and All The Things She Said. Jim mainly chatted about the bands achievements of the past and briefly touched on Black & White 050505 and the forthcoming world tour. The interview will be uploaded onto the GWR website within the next couple of days and can be heard here.

Freeport Alcochete, Lisbon Setlist

Simple Minds peformed their sixth ‘promo’ concert in Lisbon last night. The setlist which included Mandela Day, Big Sleep and Theme For Great Cities was as follows:

• Stay Visible
• Home
• Jeweller (Part 2)
• Love Song
• Book Of Brilliant Things
• Mandela Day
• Waterfront
• Don’t You (Forget About Me)
• Big Sleep
• Alive and Kicking
• New Gold Dream
• East At Easter
• Theme For Great Cities
• Stranger
• Space
• Sanctify Yourself

Yet another positive Black & White 050505 review has been added to the Reviews/Artciles section, click here for the full transcript. (Many thanks to Johan Boerstra for the link). “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”

Saturday September 10th 2005

Friday Night With Jonathon Ross > The Jonnie Walker Show > Black & White 050505 USA Release Date > The Sun and Daily Express Black & White 050505 Reviews > The Times Article > Sunday Herald Article >  Black & White 050505 Review and Article > British Tour Dates >

Friday Night With Jonathon Ross

Simple Minds will appear on the popular Friday Night With Jonathon Ross show (BBC1) on Friday 23rd September. The band will perform tracks from Black & White 050505, more details can be found on the offical BBC website.

The Jonnie Walker Show

Jim Kerr will appear on the BBC Radio 2’s The Jonnie Walker Show on Friday 16th September between 4pm and 7pm. More details can be found here. Black & White 050505 USA Release Date The USA release date of Black & White 050505 has been moved. The original date of September 13th 2005 has now been put back to February 2006. More details when they become available.

The Sun and Daily Express ‘Black & White 050505’ Reviews Black & White 050505 received postive reviews in yesterday’s The Sun and Daily Express newspapers, click here for full reviews. Sunday Times Jim Kerr Interview/Article A fascinating article and Jim Kerr interview appeared in last weeks Sunday Times, click here for full transcript. ‘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.’

Sunday Herald Jim Kerr Interview/Article A recent Sunday Herald article and Jim Kerr interview can be found here. “Some people seem to have a very edited version of our story,Ó he says. ÒThey 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. ItÕs not like we werenÕt contenders.”

Another Black & White 050505 article can be found here along with with a postive album review. ‘Take closing track Dolphins, a startlingly bleak outlook and a brave way to finish the album, Kerr’s disembodied voice over the toll of Eddie Duffy’s bass, with Blue Nile-type cinematics in between. The track’s timeless opening, not a drum in sight, reaches an awkward calm quite unlike anything they’ve done before.’

British Tour Dates

For those of you who haven’t purchased your tickets for next years shows may find the following of some help. Below you will find a list of contact details for each individual date.

• 03/02/06 Music Hall, Aberdeen
• Union Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1QS
• Tickets: £28.50
• 05/02/06 Academy, Glasgow
• 121 Eglinton Street, Glasgow G5 9NT
• Tickets: £25.00
• 06/02/06 Academy, Newcastle
• Westgate Road, Newcastle- Upon-Tyne NE1 1SW
• Tickets: £28.50
• 07/02/06 Rock City, Nottingham
• 8 Talbot Street, Nottingham NG1 5GG
• Tickets: £28.50

• 09/02/06 Academy, Birmingham
• 52-54 Dale End, Priory Square, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7LS
• Tickets: £28.50

• 10/02/06 Academy, Manchester
• Manchester University Students Union, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PR
• Tickets: £28.50

• 12/02/06 Dome, Brighton
• 29 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UG
• Tickets: £28.50

• 13/02/06 Astoria, London
• 157 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2 8EN
• Tickets: £30.00

• 14/02/06 Astoria, London
• 157 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2 8EN
• Tickets: £30.00

All doors – 7pm

A charity site where you can purchase Simple Minds CDs has come to my attention. The site which is run by Jonny Platt allows you to buy CDs from numerous different sites and then pays a comission to Johnny’s chosen charity. To visit the worthwhile site click here.

Monday September 5th 2005

King Tuts, Glasgow > Capital Gold >

King Tuts,Glasgow 4th September 2005

Simple Minds played to just 200 competition winners last night at King Tuts in Glasgow. The band stromed through sixteen songs in a breathtaking performance which included Premonition and Factory. The entire show can be heard here.

• Stay Visible
• Home
• Jeweller (Part 2)
• Love Song
• Premonition
• Factory
• Waterfront
• East At Easter
• Speed Your Love To Me
• Alive and Kicking
• New Gold Dream
• Stranger
• Space
• Ghostdancing/Gloria
• Don’t You (Forget About Me)
• Sanctify Yourself

Capital Gold, London 13th September 2005 Simple Minds will perform as part of Capital Gold’s Legends Live series next Wednesday. The band will perform an intimate gig at The Venue in London to Capital Gold competition winners, for a chance to win tickets click here.

Friday September 2nd 2005

Home CD1 & CD2 > BBC Breakfast >

Home CD1 & CD2

Simple Minds first single for three years hits the shelves on Monday. Home will be released on two CDs with CD2 containing some pleasant surprises. The enhanced CD contains the video for Home along with the non-album track ‘Mighty Joe Moon’ along with an interesting Trixton Porteño Mix of Home with its ‘Theme For Great Cities’ vibe.

Home CD #1 (Mini CD Single)

Catalogue No: SANXS388

1. Home (Edit) 4:03
2. Bird On A Wire 3:50

Home CD #2 (Maxi CD Single)

Catalogue Number SANXD388

1. Home (Album Version) 4:19
2. Mighty Joe Moon 3:45
3. Home (Trixton Porteño Mix) 5:39
4. Home (Enhanced Video) 4:03

Home CD2 enhanced video screenshot

Jim Kerr Appearance On BBC Breakfast

Jim Kerr made an appearance on BBC’s ‘Breakfast’ show just after 9am this morning and even had time to flirt with with the show’s Scottish weather girl! The video of the interview can be found here and click here for a BBC article.

Thursday September 1st 2005

Q Review > Brussels 16th February 2006 > Too Much Television > Daily Mail > RTL, Berlin > NDR 2, Hamburg > playlouder.com > girlposse.com >

‘Q’ Black & White 050505 Review

Black & White 050505 gets the ‘Q Magazine’ treatment in its October edition. The review by John Perry can be found in the Reviews/Articles section.

Brussels 16th February 2006

Simple Minds concert at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels (16/02/2006) sold out in 45 minutes on Thursday. Tickets for the 2000 capacity venue sold at an average of 44 tickets per minute!

Too Much Television

Too Much Television, which was premiered recently on the Billy Sloan Show can now be downloaded from iTunes for a mere 79p. The track which is being tipped to be the b-side for the second single from Black & White 050505 mysteriously has its own artwork!

Daily Mail 30th August

A full page inteview with Jim Kerr appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the Daily Mail. The article focused mainly on Jim’s ex-wife’s and the band’s renewed passion for making music. The article by Lester Middlehurst will be added to the Reviews/Articles section soon.

NDR 2, Hamburg 29th August

The band played their third German ‘promo gig’ on Monday evening. The show which was broadcast live on the NDR 2 website contained the same setlist as the Vilbel and Berlin concerts.

more live pictures

RTL, Berlin 27th August

Simple Minds performed their second ‘promo gig’ on Saturday night, the setlist remained the same as in Vilbel a day earlier.

more live pictures

playlouder.com Article

Two interviews with Jim Kerr have been added to the Reviews/Articles section, the lengthly articles appear.

Sunday August 28th 2005

Sunday Mail > King Tuts, Glasgow 4th September live on Radio Clyde 1 >

Sunday Mail Article

SIMPLY BACK TO BASICS

Simple Minds have rocked venues all over the world – from Barrowland to Wembley Stadium to Rock in Rio. But I can’t wait to see the group launch their brilliant new album, Black And White 050505, with the most intimate Scottish gig of their 26-year career. The band will play a surprise show for just 200 fans at King Tut’s, Glasgow, next Sunday, September 4. Their set will be broadcast live on my Clyde 1 radio show between 7 and 10pm. The band – led by singer Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill – release new single Home on September 5 and the album hits record stores a week later.

Jim and Charlie will turn the clock back 28 years when they walk on to the Tut’s stage. They played their second ever gig there with Glasgow punk outfit Johnny and the Self Abusers. In those days, the venue was a pub-lounge called the Saints And Sinners.  Jim told me: “Charlie and I last set foot in what is now King Tut’s back in 1977. “It was only our second gig but I remember it as one of the most thrilling nights in my then young life. “Punk rock was banned in many Glasgow venues but fans were queued around the block.”

Jim and Charlie wrote the song Saints And Sinners specially for the gig and it was released as their first single. Jim said: “I remember being sick with nerves before we went on. The atmosphere was electric. “It was the first time I had experienced the heat, sweat and excitement of a live show. “A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. The venue is now recognised internationally as King Tut’s… and hopefully Simple Minds are also recognised as a great live act. It will be an emotional return and is destined to be a memorable night.”

The band have been rehearsing a new set in Brussels. Jim told me “The show will feature songs from every phase of our career. “We’ll also be doing a few we’ve not performed in years, including Premonition and Factory plus hits like Waterfront and Alive And Kicking.

“The show being broadcast live on Clyde 1 means our fans will be able to hear for themselves the kind of energy we still transmit. The King Tut’s gig will be a warm up for a Minds’ world tour which kicks off in 2006. It includes dates at Aberdeen Music Hall on February 3 and the Carling Academy in Glasgow on February 5. Tickets go on sale on September 5.

Sunday Mail

King Tuts, Glasgow 4th September Live On Radio Clyde 1 Simple Minds concert at King Tuts next Sunday will be aired live on the Billy Sloan show between 7 and 10pm. Visit the Radio Clyde 1 website for more details.

Saturday August 27th 2005

Vilbel Setlist > 2006 Tour Dates Announced > King Tuts 4th September > Black & White 050505 Promo Tour >

Radio FFH, Vilbel Setlist

Simple Minds played their first ‘Promo gig’ in Vilbel near Frankfurt yesterday, the hour long set included four tracks from the forthcoming ‘Black & White 050505’ album. The open air show was played to 700 radio FFH competition winners and the setlist was as follows:

• Stay Visible
• Home
• Different World
• Waterfront
• Don’t You (Forget About Me)
• Ghostdancing/Gloria
• Alive and Kicking
• New Gold Dream
• Stranger
• Belfast Child
• Sanctify Yourself

more soundcheck and live pictures

Tour Dates announced

The first batch of tour dates for 2006 have been published on and are as follows:

01/02/06 Ambassador, Dublin
03/02/06 Music Hall, Aberdeen
05/02/06 Academy, Glasgow
06/02/06 Academy, Newcastle
07/02/06 Rock City, Nottingham
09/02/06 Academy, Birmingham
10/02/06 Academy, Manchester
12/02/06 Dome, Brighton
13/02/06 Astoria, London
14/02/06 Astoria, London (extra date due to public demand)
16/02/06 Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
17/02/06 Hmh, Amsterdam
19/02/06 Rockefeller, Oslo
20/02/06 Cirkus Stockholm
21/02/06 Vega, Copenhagen
23/02/06 Pier 2, Bremen
24/02/06 Capitol, Hannover
26/02/06 Ringlokschuppen, Bielefeld
27/02/06 Columbiahalle, Berlin
01/03/06 Theaterhaus, Stuttgart
02/03/06 Stahlwerk, Dusseldorf
03/03/06 Phoenixhalle, Mainz
05/03/06 Tonhalle, Munich
06/03/06 Bank Austria Halle, Vienna
07/03/06 Ljubljana, Slovenia
09/03/06 Volkhaus, Zurich
12/03/06 Transborder, Lyons
13/03/06 Razzmatazz, Barcelona
15/03/06 Olympia, Paris

King Tuts, Glasgow 4th September 2005

are running a competition to win tickets for a Glasgow ‘promo gig’ in September,

Black & White 050505 promo tour

More dates have been added to to the promo tour, full list as follows:

Germany

26/08/2005 Radio FFH, near Frankfurt
27/08/2005 RTL, Berlin (“star For Free “- open air in the Wuhlheide)
29/08/2005 NDR 2, Hamburg (large transmission hall)
30/08/2005 SWR 3, Baden-Baden

Portugal

10/09/2005 Freeport Alcochete, Lisbon

Belgium

16/09/2005 Qmusic, Zuiderkroon, Antwerp

Netherlands

17/09/2005 Planet Internet, Paradiso, Amsterdam

Freeport, Alcochete, Libson ticket

many thanks to Hugo Silva

Thursday August 18th 2005

Jim Kerr TV Apperances

Jim Kerr will make two UK TV appearances tomorrow along with featuring on the below mentioned Richard Allinson show. You can catch Jim on:

• Channel 5 News (Channel 5) (starts at 11:30am, Jim to appear at 11:40am)
• London Tonight (ITV1) (starts at 6pm)

A taster for the new Simple Minds offical site is now online. The 2FluidCreative designed site incorporates the world exclusive ‘Home’ video which can be viewed here.

‘Home’ video screenshots

Wednesday August 17th 2005

Richard Allinson > German Radio Shows >

Richard Allinson, ‘Home’ Radio 2

Jim Kerr will appear on BBC Radio 2 this Friday (19th August) on the Richard Allinson show. The show which starts at 14.00 (GMT) can be accessed via RealPlayer and can be found here. Meanwhile ‘Home’ has today been ‘promoted’ to BBC Radio 2’s ‘B List’ and will now be played 10 times a week.

Jim Kerr ‘Remember The Eighties’ Interview

Jim Kerr of Simple Minds talks to the award-winning eighties music website ‘Remember the Eighties’. Click here for the interview.

Noble PR Ltd

German Radio Concerts

According to the German Sanctuary Records website Simple Minds will play four German Radio concerts in August.

26/08/2005 Radio FFH, bath Vilbel with Frankfurt
27/08/2005 RTL, Berlin (“star For Free “- open air in the Wuhlheide)
29/08/2005 NDR 2, Hamburg (large transmission hall)
30/08/2005 SWR 3, Baden-Baden

Tuesday August 9th 2005
The Razz > getreadytorock.com > rockahead.net >

‘The Razz’ 9th August 2005

EWAN’S SIMPLE CUT

Ewan McGregor took inspiration from Jim Kerr when he headed for his latest short back and sides. Ewan, who signed autographs in front of London’s Odeon Leicester Square for the launch of his new sci-fi blockbuster The Island, claimed he took a leaf out of Jim’s style book when he was at the hairdresser.

He said: ‘Everyone is asking me about my haircut. It looks very Simple Minds.’

The Island European Premiere will be televised on ITV2 at 8pm on August 12, and ITV1 on August 13, at 2.10pm

‘Home’ B-Sides

‘Bird On A Wire’ and ‘Mighty Joe Moon’ received their premiers on the ‘Some Sweet Day Marathon’ last Thursday. The annual Minds marathon also contained interviews with Jim Kerr and Michael MacNeil. To view a full transcript of the aforementioned interviews visit Simon Cornwell’s superb ‘Dream Giver’ website. To download ‘Bird On A Wire’ and ‘Mighty Joe Moon’ click here.

‘The Razz’ 8th August 2005

KERR HITS OUT AT ‘NO NEW TRICKS’ OASIS

Scots rocker Jim Kerr claims Oasis have ‘lost their edge’ and that frontman Liam Gallagher needs to get over his divorce from Patsy Kensit. The Simple Minds singer, who was married to the Emmerdale actress before she went on to marry and divorce the Oasis rocker, also claimed the Gallaghers couldn’t make an album as good as Simple Minds’ new one. Kerr said Oasis were going through a phase where they weren’t speaking to the new generation because of ‘their big houses and divorces’.

Back with a new album, called 050505, Kerr said: ‘I think Oasis have lost their edge but if they can pass through the phases of having the houses in the country and the ex-wives, the music will come back to them.’Then Oasis will be able to make the album we’ve just made. Oasis were a band of a generation and they have no new tricks.’ Kerr, 46, says he lost touch with his musical roots for a decade and has only just returned to form with the new album, which is released on September 12.

It is destined to be one of their biggest hits since their heyday in the Eighties. He said: ‘When you’re an iconic band of one generation, bar the odd exception the next generation is going to turn its back on you because they are looking for something new. ‘This time around we’ve rediscovered our own sound which we were bored with 10 years ago. ‘The challenge for Oasis is to come through this. Liam is a fantastic frontman but his band were a band of their generation like Blur.’

Beverley Lyons & Cath Bennett

‘The Razz’ 6th August 2005

PARK INVITE WOULD SUIT MINDS TO A T

Simple Minds are going back on tour . . . and they want to play T in the Park.

Lead singer Jim Kerr revealed they had always wanted to perform there – but hadn’t been asked. ‘We love playing live whether it’s in a pub, club or a stadium,’ he said. ‘But the Simple Minds’ sound is built for the big stage and it would be nice to be asked to play T in the Park.’ Jim, who lives in Sicily with his Japanese girlfriend, is back in Scotland to promote the band’s new single, Home, which goes on general release on September 5.

A new album, Black and White, is coming out a week later. Jim, in Glasgow yesterday to celebrate his mum’s birthday, revealed the band would play at least one night, and probably two, in the city when they embark on a major tour in January. Beverley Lyons & Cath Bennett

Simple Minds are back with a splendid new album ‘Black And White 050505’. The band have influenced others like Bloc Party and Stereophonics and with a renewed interest in eighties acts like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode, their time may have come… again. Jim Kerr is the band’s vocalist and writes the lyrics…

‘Stay Visible’ could be a watchword for Simple Minds?

JK: We toured for a time in 2003 so we have never really been away. ‘Black & White’ is the germ of that more recent activity…

What was the impetus for the new album?

JK: We wanted to make a contemporary sounding album which was recognizably Simple Minds. And I think the album’s timing is better for us now, than several years ago.

How did the songs come about?

JK: Often Charlie will send me a riff or be working on the piano and develop a vibe, and this often inspires the lyrics. This is how Kiss The Ground came about – we were on tour and Charlie developed a riff in the next room, it just seemed to come together. The beauty of technology is that you can get down ideas quite easily, you don’t have to be in the studio.

What about the album title, it seems to echo the classic ‘New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)’

JK: Yes, that actually came about because the engineer suggested 050505, as the last day we finished recording. The track Black And White reflects those who are in denial, taking its prompt from the stories of the Holocaust. The Black And White of the title also reflects the different moods and depths of the album.

There’s a darker and lighter side. Dolphins reflects a darker side?

JK: I used the subject of dolphins as they are objects of affection. Only recently I saw a little girl with a dolphin charm, they represent something friendly. The subject of this song is a man who is so low that even dolphins can’t lift his spirits. I think it is one of the album’s best songs.

Home is the first single?

JK: Home is inspired by my time in Sicily (Jim has lived there for several years) and the feeling of stability. But anyone can relate to that.

Jeweller started life on the ‘lost’ legendary album ‘Our Secrets Are The Same’ (2003)?

JK: Yes, when we first recorded it we thought it was missing something, so we reworked it. The album was originally turned down by EMI and was reissued by Virgin as part of a boxed set.

Looking back over 20 plus years, if you were to recommend a Simple Minds album which one would it be?

JK: I think ‘New Gold Dream’ (1982) is the most creative but ‘Once Upon A Time’ (1985) is more commercial.

Do you think Simple Minds inspired Scottish bands, like Texas and Love And Money in the late eighties?

JK: I think that’s true – if only that we opened doors that others walked through. There was nothing much coming out of Glasgow in our early period and it must have helped.

Are you touring the new album?

JK: We are planning some showcase dates in the autumn and probably a tour in 2006.

I heard you were planning to play smaller venues? This will be in contrast to the big stadiums but will be more satisfying for fans?

JK: I agree that the larger venues are impersonal. But in a sense, it is like when we started playing pubs in Glasgow in the late seventies. It’s important for a band to have a sense of perspective and be able to perform in different situations and with different challenges. I feel quite confident about playing the new album next to some of the old ‘classics’. Sometimes it’s not that easy to integrate the old and the new but I think we can do it more easily with this album. I think it’s important to play the new material live.

What are the highlights in the past 20 or so years?

JK: I think having the hit singles and albums, but there are always new challenges. Even when you’re playing massive stadiums…

‘Black And White’ is yet another chapter, and a new challenge?

JK: Yes I am quite excited. I think it represents the best of the band without being too nostalgic.

Anything on your i-POD that you’d like to tell us about?

JK: I’ve been listening to Anthony and the Johnsons (I Am A Bird Now, Rough Trade) He’s a very powerful singer with quite a unique sound. The band led by Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill release their latest album Black And White 050505 in September and this album is a real return to form for the band that has now been in existence for over twenty-five years. The album that has been mixed by Bob Clearmountain (who was responsible for the mix on the album Once Upon A Time)

returns to give the band a new lease of life. The songs are what Simple Minds do best “Big Emotional Songs” with great heart. With the recording finished and due for release the band are currently engaged in talking to the media who have responded very positively to the album. Jon Kirkman spoke to Jim Kerr who was in France about the new album, which has got everyone talking and incidentally has the same sort of media and press buzz around it as The Street Fighting Years.

The conversation touched on the difficulties the band has overcome over the last ten years and how positive and confident the whole band are about the new album. There is also talk of how Simple Minds plan to take the album out on tour for a major bout of touring activity in 2006. The album is out in September, it is called Black and White 050505.

What is the significance of the 050505?

JK: Well right up to when we had finished the album there had not been a specific title that had leapt out at us. On the final day of mixing when you sit down to see if everything has been made and compiled we thought what are we doing to do about a title? The engineer looked at the date and it was 050505! The Black and White part of it comes from one of the songs but also it quite aptly describes four or five other songs that are the old style, optimistic, positive sound of Simple Minds. Then I think it is balanced with a few other songs that are more pragmatic, a bit desperate but cynical.

It is very much an album of now, very current sounding and it doesn’t matter what anyone says, from a band point of view you have to be comfortable with Simple Minds in the here and now rather than looking back.

JK: That is right. There are two sides to having the history and the legacy that Simple Minds have. There are a lot of great things that have happened in our career but at the same time when you sit down to write a new song you cannot dwell on that because in a way it would be too much to carry. Indeed the music industry and our lives have changed so much over the years, the one thing that remains the same always is the blank page of that initial computer screen when you sit down to write a new tune. We cannot dwell on that, we have to work in the moment.

The box set came out last year. It was a very nice package and it underlined the past, which box sets tend to do. Did it make you think, well that is what we have done in the past now get ready for something new?

JK: It did seem really convenient to do that because as you said the box set came out last year and previously there had been a compilation of stuff called Early Gold. In those years obviously we were working simultaneously on new stuff and it was almost like clearing the vault, underlining and freeing us up to come this year with Simple Minds presently. Whilst you want your catalogue to be available and you want it to be up to date in terms of re-mastering and great artwork and stuff, you don’t want to be just some retro exercise. So it is almost your working on two strands You work on your catalogue but it also has to be given new life and new meaning by your current work.

There has been a great deal of buzz and excitement about this album and the last time I remember this happening was the album Street Fighting Years came out in 1989. There is the same kind of feeling about this album. Are you getting that at all?

JK: I am absolutely getting that. This week I began the promo for the record in the different countries. I have probably done about seventy or eighty interviews and I haven’t come across one negative interview yet. Let’s face it there has certainly been enough of that in the past but not one this time. Everyone has said that the band is on form and by and large most of them say this is a great album. I am glad you can remember when there was last a great buzz because I can’t!

I have followed your career back to the late seventies, early eighties and the first big album from the eighties was Empires and Dance. There are certainly pointers in Simple Minds career. As I say I feel the same buzz about this album.

JK: Well that indeed would be nice because certainly the last ten years since Street Fighting Years I sense Simple Minds began to crumble after that for various reasons and we hold our hands up to that. It sounds pathetic but we had worked and toured so much we were dead on our feet and came to a kind of hiatus. Our keyboard Michael McNeil who had brought so much to the band decided he didn’t want that lifestyle any more and in the years since then it has been tough.

We lost a lot of self-confidence and direction. You also have a life outside of music and you have to deal with that. It isn’t always plain sailing. We have felt leading up to this recording there was a sort of wholeness about the entire thing; that this was very much Simple Minds re-discovering their strengths and really pushing the boat out to make that obvious. I totally agree with that but you weren’t the only band from your era who didn’t exactly have an easy ride. U2 made a couple of albums which some people weren’t keen on. It wasn’t down to the music, there was a perception that they had had their best time and that is it.

Simple Minds seem to have fallen into a similar bracket. With this album I think you have really staked a claim that you are back.

JK: Thanks very much. We feel so as well, even more than that we felt we had to. To ourselves this was almost make or break in terms of the quality and the product. What ever it goes to do from now on we are going to push to promote almost with our hands now. In terms of making a record that could merit making the landmark that we needed that was what we were striving for. I think we have it. I agree with you and I think the guys in U2 would agree with you about the way you described their path although they have had an incredible career. Sometimes you have to think well, it is not that you make bad albums but some are incomplete. Sometimes the albums were good but the timing was wrong. You can start it and you can finish it but you can’t solve the missing piece of the puzzle.

Albums are like that. Some go on to bigger and better things, and yet some albums are very much of their time.

JK: Yeah. The artists I would say who influenced us like Lou Reed, Neil Young, David Bowie, Bob Dylan even John Lennon had periods in the wilderness where they make a u turn or make something poor or half baked. Just when you think they are on their knees they come back with some purple patch record. What it is, is that after a certain point in a long career it suddenly ceases to be a career and becomes a life. Life is not always about being on the up or easily explained away. There are points where you are just struggling.

There is that great quote from Lennon isn’t there, “Life is what happens when you are busy making plans.”

JK: That’s it. Someone asked me yesterday if I see myself making music in ten years time. I said that absolutely nothing would make me plan for that at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised if I was talking to you in ten years time. Let’s look at the single from the album, Home. For many bands the singles market is not something you consider and yet this is a very good calling card from the album. Simple Minds are back with this particular track. I imagine that radio, certainly in the UK is going to take notice of this.

JK: We have had a great early reaction on the radio programme that I have heard. We went for it and we needed it and I agree with you in the sense that it is right there. Not only do you go – that is Simple Minds but you feel instantly that the band is on top of the game. The melodies are really strong it draws you in. We are not an obvious singles band but we have written some great ones. I think on this record Home is a great calling card and there is another two or three like Stranger and Different World that perhaps when the media has warmed up again would accept them. Bob Clearmountain has mixed the album. You have worked with Bob in the past. He has an incredible knack of making records sound incredibly big. He has to have the stuff to work with in the first place, but what attracts you to working with someone like

Bob in a mixing and post production sense?

JK: As you said, we worked with Bob twenty years ago and he was already a legend then in as much as he had made some of my favourite records. Not only had he done Born in the USA and Pattie Smith albums, Bob had engineered those Chic albums with Nile Rogers, Bernadette Woods and worked with Blondie, Roxy Music, and David Bowie. We were desperate to have him and he also did a great job when you think about Alive And Kicking and Sanctify. He blew up what we had already blown up and made it sound fantastic on radio. This time round, because you can’t go back to the past because things have changed so much but as these songs began to materialise we thought this is Clearmountain’s game;

this is his thing. It was a pleasure to go back and see him because he really hadn’t changed a bit. He had got better! He is freak (he wouldnÕt mind me saying that!) he is one of these technical guys who loves the challenge as you said. He gets into it and feels it. I love the way he positions and compresses things. The album is finished; I expect you will be going on tour to promote it. You are in the eye of the storm at the moment because you are doing the promotion but you must be itching to get out there and show how great it is by doing it live.

JK: Yes, particularly with this album. Again, having discussed the good and the bad points of having a career and a catalogue, usually it makes it hard for the new songs because when you are trying to slot a new song in between two iconic songs it barely stands a chance. Yet I can imagine starting the set with something like Stay Visible from this album and going straight to Home as the next song without the audience scratching their heads and thinking, what is this? I think the reason for that is this is Simple Minds and what people expect from Simple Minds. It is what you guys expect from Simple Minds if that is not pushing the point.

JK: I think you are right, big emotional pop songs with great drive and rhythms, dramatic and strong melodies. They are the kind of songs that hopefully embrace you and pull you in. They have the trademark stylistics of the Simple Minds effect. Presumably you are going on tour. Have you any idea

when you are likely to be in the UK?

JK: I am actually due a conversation later on this day with an agent who we have been holding off until now because we wanted to get the album done and promote it as much as we could media wise first. There is some talk of some small yet to be confirmed media gigs By and large next year is going to be all about touring. Which is where we want to see you. Simple Minds were one of the great live bands. In terms of what you are going to do about the live presentation, are you going to be going for the big gigs or are you quite happy going into smaller theatres in the

UK or into the arenas?

JK: I think we would like the chance to build that up again. We would enjoy the chance to come around a couple of times, say playing the rock n roll venues. I saw you in the Royal Court, Liverpool; in the early eighties, it was a great gig.

JK: The agent always wants you to go for the money. Like I said I would like us to really get to work and build it up again, do the rock n roll venues in the early part of the year. Maybe we could do the more prestigious festivals in the summer and then round at the end again if it all works out again.Simple Minds are certainly capable of that. Bands like the Rolling Stones are equally at home in a nice theatre venue and then will do a big stadium. I think Simple Minds are capable of that as well.

JK: I think you should be able to do it that way, in a pub or in JFK stadium. When you are in the heart of a song whether you are singing to eight people or eighty or eighty thousand it should mean the same. The emotional connection is the same no matter how many you are playing to.

JK: It really is. Outside of that it is all to do with production really. We have done that in past and it would be nice to prove that we can still do that and do it again. Well I think Black and White 050505 is certainly the best album from Simple Minds in the 21st century and I am sure there is going to be quite a few more. It does it for me and I am sure it will for a lot of other people as well.

JK: Thanks very much. It has been great talking to you and appreciate the time you have taken. It is great to have you back as a band. Take care.