The debut single from Lostboy! AKA Shadowland has now been published on LostBoy! AKA's YouTube Channel. Two mixes
are available: the album mix and the radio mix by Cenzo Townshend. Shadowland also got its radio premiere on Billy Sloan's
show.
TR: Some of us are still Graffiti Soul-searching from last year’s release of awesome material from Simple Minds.
Some of us know it as a double album with the Searching For The Lost Boys collection of covers that Simple Minds
did to make up for some spare time in the studio recording that album last year, and now, Jim Kerr,
the lead singer has taken the lost boy icon and made it into an iconography of its own and it’s become his own thing and it’s become
his solo work. And I wanted to touch base with him on this and we might be able to play a track or two. Here’s Jim.
JK:Todd you put that across so well. Can I use that? I’m just going to use that blurb you said there
from now on as its so succinct and it sums up exactly what we’re about to talk about.
TR: Let me just make this perfectly clear because people, including myself, kind of had a shiver: what does this mean? Simple Minds
are on such a high right now: [so] why now? Why a solo album? Is there something wrong? What’s going on? You’ve pretty much put that to rest
that this is just an outlet for all this wonderful work that’s coming through you.
JK: I can completely understand that shiver and, let’s be honest, if we looked into the past, when you have people who are
in a band, or have spent time in a band, when they step out to do something [solo] then often it’s because they’re bored or they’re
frustrated or it’s time for a hiatus but that couldn’t be further from the truth currently within the ranks of Simple Minds.
Because the last three or four years, it’s really been going great again between the quality of the albums and the live tours – we’re doing,
arguably, some of the best work we’ve ever done – so there’s no sense of frustration with me there and certainly, in the past, it never dawned
on me or had the desire to step out.
JK: But I guess in the last couple of years a few things happened at the same time. Two years ago we did a tour to commemorate
our thirtieth anniversary. And I think something about that did impact on me more than I’d thought at the time. Basically to have a thirty
year career is blessed; I love the band and I love the people I work with. But something crept in: is there only one act in life? Is there only
one story to life? And that question seemed to resonate louder and louder. At the same time, my daily work was getting much more prolific
and there was this volume of work which was starting to appear: some of which felt that it could work with Simple Minds, and a lot
of it felt like it was coming from a different place. So the idea started to arise: what am I going to do here?
JK: The idea of doing a Jim Kerr solo album was mundane to me. It just didn’t get me excited. The idea of
starting another band – well, I’m in a great band so I don’t want to start a band. That didn’t get me excited. But as I was working through,
and listening hard, to the stuff that I was doing, then there was a spark that really took me back. There was a great recollection back to
the kid I was when I was eighteen to twenty-three: there was something about the attitude of the music, something about the language of the words,
it almost felt like I was reconnecting with that young spirit, that young ghost (as I’ve been calling it). And I just thought, if I hadn’t gone off
on the Simple Minds journey, I wondered what was in his head then. And I started getting this idea of Lostboy
and writing from this alter-ego or connecting with a younger alter-ego. And as I started thinking about that, I started getting really
excited also about, not only the idea of doing it, but the idea of starting from the very beginning. Because Simple Minds,
or any band lucky enough to have a story as we have, no matter what you do - and I think we’ve been good at writing new chapters recently- you’re
always going to have to refer to your past. And that’s cool but... it’s really cool starting something with a blank page.
JK: So for all of those reasons, and I guess the final reason is obviously the way the music industry works has changed, almost
been obliterated: some bad things about that, some good things about that. And the contracts you used to be on where you’d be locked up and tied – I
wouldn’t be able to do this thing years ago because we’d be obliged to stick to the one thing. There’s been guys doing it for a long time: look at
the fellow in White Stripes, he’s got about four bands; Damon Albarn’s got about six projects and last night I was
listening to Black Francis and he’s got his own thing going and The Pixies going ... I think if you’ve got the energy,
the imagination and the desire to do it, you can do all of these things and still feed the main body which is Simple Minds, and I
hope all of that is going to pass.
TR: You’ve explained it very well and put all my worries to rest. I am very excited about this project and thinking back to some
of the little hints you put up on your blog, and your journals on simpleminds.com, and more so recently on Facebook, these little dabbles
of who you’re writing with. It did seem a little different with this going on and then the announcement came with this very bare webpage
that stated “it’s coming.” So what are we looking at for the release schedule and ... Simple Minds are touring this summer, what about
Lostboy touring?
JK: The album is now finished and recorded and mixed. The album is called Lostboy and the artist is called
Lostboy AKA Jim Kerr (a bit of a mouthful but that’s what it is). It’s coming May 16th. There’s four different formats of the
album: the basic format is twelve tracks and the other formats go to fifteen, sixteen tracks. There’s a lot of stuff there. And Lostboy
does his first live dates to coincide with the album release beginning on the 21st May in Aberdeen and working our way down to London; and there’s a
handful of European dates. They’re tiny clubs so they’re like showcase [gigs]; but we’re taking a full band and all that.
TR: So this is just the “dabble” so to speak and maybe some more later?
JK: Even the people who work around us, agents and management, can’t really grasp it until they hear it and see it. And then I’m
convinced that once I’ve done that, everyone will say “Oh, OK, we know how to do this then and this is what we’re going to do.” But in the summer we
have a lot of live work with Simple Minds and I hope by September, October and November I’ll be able to take Lostboy
[on the road] much more extensively – even to your neck of the woods...
TR: No!
JK: I know I say that every time I talk to you!
TR: You notice I never even brought it up. [Laughs]
JK: Well, as long as you haven’t given up. This Lostboy isn’t going to be a spoiled brat, he’s going to have to
go out there and earn his stripes.
TR: Fair enough. We look forward to it. We’ll take some time now to listen to this first track. This is called Refugee – you
want to explain where this one came from Jim?
JK: I’m happy you’re playing this one first. The album itself is pretty expansive in styles but there’s an energy there
that goes right through the album and I think Refugee is the prototype in terms of the energy. And it was the first track that was written,
probably about three years ago, but never had an arrangement. Jez Coad, who’s worked on the last two
Simple Minds albums in the producer role, also worked on this but he played a lot of the music on this as well and it’s a real
supercharged song. Lyrically it’s a call out to arguably a lost generation not to give up.
Audio: Refugee [Album Version]
TR: I’m guessing that was the US premiere of Refugee.
JK: Yes, absolutely.
TR: This record is on your record label, is it not?
JK: There’s a major independent in the whole of Europe and they’re called Edel, a German based company. And there’s
a fellow there called Max Vaccaro who worked with Simple Minds in Italy through the years and he knows his stuff.
When I had a lot of demos done I thought I’d play them to two or three people I trust. Within half an hour Max came back and said
“I want to do this.” So that was great from his point of view but once the lawyers and all that start to talk [laughs] everything grinds to a halt
and goes at snail’s pace. So I thought “I’m going to do this anyway.” So I ended up doing it, getting it together and paying for it, and by the end
they were still arguing about the deal and I nearly had the thing wrapped up.
JK: So, in a sense, I produced it, I paid for it and I thought I quite like this way. And I thought being independent is great
so I’m going to get my own little brand, or label, and it’s called Tartan Noir Music; the French as I had a little nephew born in
France last year and it’s a nod to him.
JK: So, it’s on my label but it’s been licensed to Edel who are now licensing it to everywhere else.
TR: Fair enough. So we’ll look forward to it in the States and online as well.
JK: Yes, that as well.
TR: Well, we look forward to it, we look forward to the live dates, we look forward to more Simple Minds material
and I’m sure more Lostboy activity. I did hear a rumour that the next Simple Minds record is a double album. Is that true?
JK: We think that’s doable. Now when I say doable it means we have twenty-two songs; what I mean is we have twenty-two great songs.
That’s what we’re trying to do here. Why would we want to do this? It’s all just coming together and it’s calling out for us to go on one of
those adventures. You know Simple Minds did that kind of thing in their early days and, again being independent, we can do things our
way completely. And I could envisage one disc following on from the Graffiti Soul type thing that we all loved and we think there’s still
mileage in and maybe the other disc being a lot more open-ended and not quite as structured but heavy in mood and ambience and, again, all of the things
Simple Minds did in their early days.
TR: We wish you all the best with it as always. It’s been over a decade since we’ve been talking, on and off, with Some Sweet Day
and what an amazing adventure it has been and continues to be. And we wish you all the best with this new project and onwards with Simple Minds
and Lostboy and all the other endeavours as well – it’s always a pleasure sir.
JK: I appreciate the support always and should say hello to the fans we have over your side of the pond.
TR: Do you have any Simple Minds requests?
JK: Put in Life In A Day. We played that and it sounded great.
8th march 2010 / 9th march 2010
lostboy! ticket info, lostboy! interview, lostboy! formats
Lostboy! A.K.A. tickets will go on sale at MIDDAY (12 noon) tomorrow, Tuesday 9th March.
Fri 21st May at Warehouse, Aberdeen, UK
Sat 22nd May at Kings Tuts, Glasgow, UK
Ticket price is £20 available from both venues.
Additional box office details are as follows:
Tel: =44 [0]8444 999 990 or www.gigsinscotland.com
The London Borderline show is also confirmed for the 23rd May. Keeping checking
the venue's website for ticket information.
Todd Richards will be interviewing Lostboy! AKA on his Wedneday morning drive-time show
(06-09 AM EST) on 88.3FM The Sting and wbwc.com. (See the website for
streaming options).
The album Lostboy will be releaed in three formats including a deluxe version.
The first Lostboy! AKA single Shadowlands will be released in May, followed by Lostboy
(the album) on May 16th. They will be released on TARTAN NOIR MUSIQUE (which is Jim's label)
and licensed to German record company Edel. A small club tour of venues in the UK and Europe will then follow.
Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr
reveals first solo album
Rock superstar Jim Kerr of Simple Minds has turned the clock back 30 years to launch his first ever solo album.
The singer has invented an alter ego called Lostboy! AKA to perform songs which recreate the fire and passion he felt as an aspiring teenage musician.
"The character of Lostboy! AKA is not that dissimilar to who I was from the ages of 17 to 23 years old," revealed Jim.
"Until now, I never felt the need to make a solo record. I had more than enough to do with Simple Minds. But in the last
few years I've written more than I ever did and some of the songs didn't feel like I was in Simple Minds mode.
"The music business has changed. Lots of artists have got two or three different projects going - so why not me?" On May 16,
Jim will unveil his new album, which features the single Shadowlands,
before intimate club gigs at Aberdeen Warehouse on May 21 and King Tut's the following night.
Returning to the legendary Glasgow venue will bring back memories.
He said: "Everybody rightly talks about the history of King Tut's but few people ever mention it had been a great venue called
Saints And Sinners years before and an important part of the Glasgow music scene.
"My first band Johnny and the Self Abusers
played our second gig there. It was a real big deal for me - and we had other great nights there.
"In 2005, Simple Minds made their King Tut's debut.
"So I look on Tut's as an Abusers' gig. I think the show will be weirder for the audience than it will be for me.
"This music is built to be played live. I'm convinced it will sound great."
Simple Minds celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2009 with stunning album
Graffiti Soul and a sell-out arena tour. But Jim
is reassuring fans Lostboy! AKA won't mean the end of them.
His new project is his first without lifelong friend and guitarist Charlie Burchill by his side.
Jim revealed: "Charlie is a best mate and it's
normal you chat a lot about what you are doing. He knew I'd been writing but we never discussed it beyond me reassuring him I
would not let things get in the way of Simple Minds.
"There were times I wanted to call Charlie and get his input but that's inevitable,
as we are so intrinsically linked in most of what we do.
"I believe Lostboy! AKA has been invigorating for me and some of that new excitement has
already been channelled into Simple Minds."
When he hits the road, Jim won't play any of Minds' classics but that
doesn't mean the singer will be totally snubbing his back catalogue.
He said: "I plan to play some very rare Simple Minds tracks the band would not normally include in our set from our 1979 debut album,
Life In A Day.
"Musically, I think they slot in perfectly with the direction Lostboy! AKA is going in."
Jim will guest on my Clyde 1 radio show on 102.5FM tonight at 7pm playing exlusive tracks from
Lostboy! AKA.
The first tour dates for Lostboy! AKA have started to appear. Jim will be touring a handful of
small clubs in Europe during May. A more extensive tour will take place later in the year.
The Warehouse, Aberdeen, UK 21st May, 2010
Tickets are available from www.gigsinscotland.com on the 9th March at 9AM.
King Tuts, Glasgow, UK 22nd May, 2010
Tickets are available from www.gigsinscotland.com on the 9th March at 9AM.
Borderline, London, UK 23rd May, 2010
The brief sample on the Lostboy! AKA website, the start of Refugee, was used as backing music for the Scotland football game
on Sky Sports on the 4th March. "Unbelievable. Just been told that Sky Sports used the music of
Lostboy! AKA during last night's live broadcast of the Scotland game.
Apparently they used the intro to "Refugee" - the same snippet that can currently be heard on the Lostboy! homepage. Hard to believe
indeed, equally hard to believe is that the team won their first friendly at home in 14 years. (Ouch!) The omens are good all round" - Jim.
Billy Sloan Interview
BS: Who is Lostboy? JK: This is the short version, and I’ll come into the studio in a couple of weeks time and tell you the long version. JK:Simple Minds have been recording their best material and performing at their best live for a long
time now. I should be exhausted. But I’m now more creative than I’ve ever been; there’s more music, more lyric ideas, and I
wanted a project that I could start again. (Simple Minds, U2 and The Rolling Stones
have to refer to the past even though they write new chapters, but I wanted to develop something new). JK: I didn't want to do just a Jim Kerr solo album (boring!) or form an alternative band
(as I’m already in a great one!) But the spirit in the new music was of things I listened to when I was 18 - 23; I could feel
the young ghost coming back; I was connecting back to the lost boy.
BS: Who were you listening to when you were 18-23? JK:Roxy Music and David Bowie. The first Ultravox album, the first
Cars album, Robert Fripp, Talking Heads and Eno. I walking around
Glasgow with a head full of that.
BS: You didn't want to make a Jim Kerr solo album, but this will be perceived as
one. Are these songs not suitable for Simple Minds? JK: Half of them were. But the music of Simple Minds primarily comes from Charlie Burchill - and
we've been working together recently – but this project won't be to the detriment of Simple Minds. The next
Simple Minds album will be a double album and that's moving ahead. JK: Half my ideas sounded of their own culture, their own place in time. But people will say it's just a
Jim Kerr thing - remember it took Simple Minds three records to find their own direction
and it will be the same with Lostboy! AKA.
BS: This [following exclusive track] is the first track on the Lostboy album.
JK: There are twelve songs on the album, there's lots of different stuff going on, but this song is the prototype. This is
Refugee and its got the energy and vibrancy which gives a great first impression and I hope it makes people want to hear more.
[Audio: Refugee: Album mix]
BS: Do you still get excited hearing your songs on radio for the first time? JK: I’m not a drinker but I’ve got a glass of champagne at the moment. It feels like the birth of something new. Yes.
When we started Simple Minds, there were a couple of things we wanted to achieve: and one was to get played on radio. There was
real excitement when that happened.
BS: The Lostboy! AKA tour is a club tour which kicks off on the 21st May at King Tuts in Glasgow. King Tuts
was the second place you played in public. JK: It was Johnny And The Self Abusers second gig. We could never forget that. To me, it'll always be
Saints and Sinners [the original name of the venue] which was the title of the Johnny And The Self Abusers
single. But really looking forward to the gigs. And I don't want Lostboy to be a spoilt brat - he's got to earn his stripes.
BS: What was the Saints And Sinners gig like? JK: Most bands spend their first year playing gigs to two men and a dog. But after a riotous performance by The Stranglers,
Glasgow City Council banned visiting punk bands. We got around this technicality because we weren’t visiting! So people were starved of punk,
heard about the gig, and started queuing around the block to get tickets.
BS:Lostboy isn't about playing Simple Minds classics. But there will be some Simple Minds
songs played at the gigs. What's it going to be like on stage without Charlie Burchill. JK: It will be strange and it was strange doing the album and there were times I wanted to call him. But I had to do it my own way,
similarly when doing it live. We're in the process of putting together a great live set up. It's going to be fantastic. BS: This has Charlie's blessing? JK: I'm still alive as we speak! BS: You’re thinking of playing Someone from Life In A Day. JK: I think I'm obliged [to play some Simple Minds]. There's been great support from the Simple Minds
hardcore - and I recognise that and I’ll play a couple of songs. I won't play the well known ones - what would be the point? So we’ll be playing
song’s that have never been played live before.
[Audio: Someone]
BS: So you’re going back to basics, and back to King Tuts. JK: You know how much I enjoy playing live. Simple Minds are playing gigs in Australia [in March] - but we're
also getting ready for Lostboy live. BS: Will it be a big band? JK: Part of me wants to strip it down, and the other part wants to get on a limb and try new things out. But like
Simple Minds the music will translate live – if I do stripped down versions, then I can build it up as the year goes on.
BS: The Lostboy album is released on the 16th May. And the remixes are already happening. JK: I'm enjoying this contemporary process. The remix is by Simon Hayward; he’s very talented, a huge fan, and probably
knows more about Simple Minds than me. But a few months ago he got in touch with an idea. He sent it to me and it was an
idea that I got around to working on - perhaps it'll be on the follow up. Now the official recordings done, we're getting some remixes;
Empires and Dance/Sons And Fascination style, and
Simon earned a go and we're very happy with the results.
BS: So you’re ready to go with the gigs and King Tuts. JK: I will be ready. From September to the end of the year, I want to take Lostboy! AKA around the world.
Plus Simple Minds have dates around Europe - we just continue on with festivals etc. as we’re often asked back. Every night
is just a blast with that great catalogue of songs to choose.
Billy Sloan will be exclusively playing a track from LostBoy! AKA on his show this Sunday evening. Jim
will also be briefly interviewed during the show.
Simple Minds' tour dates for this year have started to appear. The Festival Show Tour
so far sees the band playing some European Festivals during the summer; but it looks like they might lengthen their visit to "down under" (for the opening
of the Grand Prix at Melbourne) with some extra dates.
This isn't the whole story as Jim will also be on the road promoting Lostboy! AKA with a
series of club gigs across Europe. There's nothing definite yet, but the tour would tie-in with his debut album release in May.
17th february 2010
new releases, discography updates
I've temporarily stopped updating the new album page. This isn't
because there's nothing new to say: it’s exactly the opposite! Because there's so much information now emerging from Twitter,
Facebook and other sources, it's become impossible to separate LOSTBOY! AKA material for songs intended for
Simple Minds.
We know that Stage Fright, Concrete and Cherry Blossom, Human Trafficking, Ulysses
and Fire Fighter are all new Simple Minds titles. And there's Six Degrees of Separation,
Lotus Effect and Shaman left over from the Graffiti Soul era.
But where does that leave Spirit Catcher, Photograph, Made From Rock and Rain,
Remember Asia, Mr. Silversmith, Night is The New Day, Fast Trains,
Only the Brave Survive on Chicken Street and Return of the King?
All will become clear over the next few months, but until then I'm just quietly collating everything that's
emerging and will publish once it’s all clearer.
The Graffiti Soul discography continues to grow with new promos appearing almost every month. The number of collectable
promos of the album has grown yet again.
And here's the full story behind the "mirrored" version of the Love Song video.
8th february 2010
collectors editions, australian gigs, lovelock
According to the Herald Sun, Simple Minds will be playing
The Melbourne Grand Prix on March 28th.
Such announcements should usually be greeted with a certain amount of suspicision until confirmed on the official site but as Mel Gaynor
let the cat out of the bag with his recent Facebook update,
then I think this one is legit. (Unlike that dodgy Russian non-event announced last month).
About 10 songs in, they dusted off the angular Sons And Fascination, and the funk of
In Trance As Mission, their glorious past still sounding like music of the future.
The New Gold Dreamers website has now gone live. The website includes
information about Derek and Brian, news, future
gigs (including several "down south" in May), promo pictures and links to their Facebook, blogs and Myspace.
I had the fortune and privilege to see Simple Minds four times on the current tour, totally fantastic.
I saw them in Birmingham, Manchester, London and then my at home in Aberdeen. The whole setup was absolutely
out of this world. From the tracks during the breaks (The Cure, Cocteau Twins,
Annie Lennox to Cornershop's Brimful of Asha,
not sure if they were from Jim's ipod, they are on mine anyway!!!)
to OMD and then the main act..........the awesome performances of the Minds.
The concerts were totally out of this world. It blew my mind being able to pick up the gigs after on a memory
stick as well, totally amazing. I hope they keep the team up with Concert-Online
these guys did a fantastic job. It was made easier for them with out of this world musical ability
but brilliant none the less.
OMD were fantastic and it was something very special to see Andy and
Paul on stage for the duet on Neon Lights.
A great acknowledgement of their friendship and what Kraftwerk has meant to both bands.
That was incredible. When I first saw this in Birmingham I couldn't believe it and in Aberdeen
the guys seem to be dragging Andy and Paul on stage like they had kidnapped them!
They were having a right laugh, clearly at real ease with each other and totally enjoying the moment.
All the sets were blistering. The concert intro seems to be a mix from Belfast Child,
then the gigs opened with the pounding beat of Theme for Great Cities
then elegantly blending into the amazing Sanctify yourself.
The sheer breadth and depth of the catalog they played was fantastic. Each set was powerful, totally amazing,
unique, energetic and spellbinding.
It was great to see the new songs in the set like Moscow Underground and
Stars Will Lead the Way and then powering Rockets
into an encore. The new songs easily and naturally sit with the classics from the back catalog. Totally brilliant that
Somebody Up there Likes You has stayed in the set from the
30 Years Tour when they played the Whole of
New Gold Dream cover to cover, wild!! Totally fantastic that
Sons and Fascination / Sister Feelings Call
is featured for this tour, when I read the early tour reviews I knew this one was going to be incredible. Those songs
as timeless, I remember picking up Sister Feelings Call
in Germany, an incredible double album half with Sons and Fascination.
The new re-work with guitar on In Trance As Mission and the synthesiser on
Sons and Fascination makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as
it curls into the arena. Jim said on the video that
Andy was captain of the crew for song choices, well done that man!
In Aberdeen we had Life in a Day after Waterfront.
What a superb version, magic to see it in the set from their first album, brilliant song, a classic, it could have been written
with Moscow Underground and Blood Type O, wild!!
Then in the encore at Manchester and Aberdeen we had Chelsea Girl with
Sarah on vocals as well, totally fantastic. She reminded me of
Robin Clark during the Once Upon A Time Tour,
Sarah was totally amazing.
They have dropped Light My Fire that they used to layer into
Ghost Dancing in previous tours. Well they did set the fire alarm off in the
Aberdeen Music Hall on The Floating World Tour so maybe not a surprise !!! (ha, ha)
Can't wait to see them next time, Graffiti Soul
is a classic, Dream in the Dream with me!!!! Thank you for the good times!
Insurance company More Than are currently using Alive And Kicking as backing
music for one of their advertisements in the UK. "Now... play that soft rock..."
Just when you think you've got the discography sorted out, something else turns up!
This previously undiscovered Homosapien CDR from Eagle features three
unreleased remixes of the title track. The first two are slightly longer versions of the Malcolm Duffy remix; the other
two are radical reworkings by Vince Clarke.
However, Mix 2 should be familar to everyone as this instrumental remix was retitled The Floating World
and it closes the Cry album. Therefore, the unreleased Mix 1 sounds like
The Floating World albeit with lyrics from Homosapien.
Back to more recent releases, the Limited Edition "Pure" Edition of Graffiti Soul has now been added to
the discography.
French band Orwell have just released a free EP of "obscure or underrated titles from between 1980 and 1984" which includes
their cover of Speed Your Love To Me.
"To usher in this new decade, and also to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of 1980,
Orwell is offering free downloads of the EP 80's are 30. Five cover versions of
obscure or underrated titles from between 1980 and 1984. On the menu: The Psychedelic Furs, Freur,
Simple Minds, Ultravox and New Musik.
The EP is available free on
www.orwellmusic.com. You can also make a donation to Orwell
to help us produce our next album.
2010 is the thirtieth anniversary of the year 1980, which opened a decade regarded
by some as one of the worst in terms of musical creativity. Some artists and some songs have stood the test of
time and bad reputation. Others have fallen more or less into oblivion. The singer Hugo
and myself have decided to resurrect some of the songs in this second category, and rework them to create versions
that are free of their 80’s specific styling. So we have some friends from 30 years ago dressed up to go out again
but in a more simple manner.
" - Jérôme Didelot
10th january 2010
possible russian gigs, derek interview, new gold dreamers, classic rock, discography updates, death cab for cutie
A Russian website are offering tickets for two Russian gigs on the 18th and 19th February. For more information, see
www.concert.ru.
These gigs haven't been confirmed by the official site so caution is advised. I'm mentioning these now so Russian fans can check
the official site more regularly for any official announcement.
Derek Forbes has been voted Scotland's Greatest Ever Bassist. An interview
with him as been published on the Dear Scotland website
(which also includes many archive clips of Simple Minds).
Derek and
Brian McGee have renamed their band New Gold Dreamers and have launched
a holding page for their forthcoming website.
Here's another from the archive which escaped publication last year. Classic Rock, July issue:
I've also been catching up with the recent discography and have added the two recent free downloads:
Welcome Gift Pack (the five MP3s offered at the start of the tour)
and Concert Online's Free Gift.
Death Cab for Cutie is performing at the
15th Annual Critics' Choice Awards, airing live on
VH1 on January 15th at 9pm (EST/PST). The band will be performing a cover of the
Simple Minds' song, Don't You (Forget About Me)
from The Breakfast Club during a tribute to filmmaker John Hughes.
6th january 2010
LOSTBOY! AKA JIM KERR, forbes/mcgee (ex simple minds), rare live track, the herald, remixes
Blame Billy Sloan for the slight confusion surrounding Jim's
solo project. LOSTBOY! AKA JIM KERR is an album of original compositions; there's one cover but the lyrics have been changed.
The album has largely been recorded. Jez is adding backing vocals and percussion this month; and the
arrangements are being finalised. Mixing will start at the end of January.
Derek Forbes and
Brian McGee teamed up to play a gig at the Classic Grand in Glasgow on the
28th December. The intention was to recreate the first Simple Minds live experience from 1978 and play tracks from
the first years of the band... and they definitely succeeded.
The Forbes And McGee gig at the Classic Grand on the 28th December 2009 was truly breathtaking. A small club,
the stage was set with minimal lighting, the backdrop initially was of a large perspex head with a blue light shot through it,
a blue emergency light to the right of the stage and the same head to the left. The intro was an exhilerating tape of
jumbled noises - a ticking clock, a train pulling into a station, some chimes and interweaved into it - Cacophony.
Band walked onto the stage and had backs to the audience while tape played out then they burst into
Act of Love which sounded alive with energy, they didn't skip a beat and
this was the measure for the entire gig. Chelsea Girl and
Life In A Day were delivered at blistering pace and I don't know
what to say about I Travel except I haven't had the bass hit me in the chest
like that since, well, the last time I heard Derek play it.
The American almost had me on my knees as
Forbes played the "Bonanza" intro from 1984 and bloody good it sounded too.
I didn't think I would ever hear Pleasantly Disturbed
played live, this is one of my all-time favourite songs by anybody never mind
Simple Minds and I wasn't disappointed, absolutely loved it and tried hard to swallow
back the lump in my throat.
Some of us were surprised that they chose to do
Don't You (Forget About Me) and
Alive and Kicking but I guess they know these are
crowd pleasers but to be honest I could have done without them and I don't think I was alone. They finished
off with Theme For Great Cities and I have to say that
the guitarist did a sterling job, in fact he played it the way Charlie
used to.
It was wonderful to see Brian and
Derek playing together, by the time I got to see
Simple Minds for the first time Brian
had moved on but now I know that I am right in my opinion that he is the best drummer the band ever had.
It was truly an unforgettable night and both guys stayed until throwing out time at 3.00hrs
and happily chatted with anybody, had pictures taken and signed endless memorabilia.
Whilst on the subject of early Simple Minds, a bootleg recording of one of their rarest cover versions has
just surfaced.
The band's performance at The Paradiso, Amsterdam on the 23rd March 1980 was one of the band's earliest bootlegs (with most of
the gig appearing on dodgy LP and CDs: see The Best Years Of Our Lives as an
example). However, thanks to the limitation of vinyl space, some tracks were culled from the track listing.
The whole concert has only recently turned up. And here's one of the Minds' earliest and rarest covers from those
early years: Iggy Pop'sSister Midnight (and if you listen, you can just
hear the start of the segue into Room at the end):
I'm currently going through my archives and publishing some odds-and-ends which got lost last year. The first is an
interview with Jim published in The Herald from the 23rd May in 2009.
Click on the thumbnails for larger scans:
And the first remixes of the new decade from JohnnyBGood:
Somehow I turned into the boy I used to be, the passionate kid that I left behind, and mysterious as that all
was, there was no denying how thrilled I was to be reconnecting with the energetic outlook and liberating values
at the core of that distantly familar character. Rapidly I then began considering what kind of songs could be
created if I immerse myself "now" in engaging fully with that young ghost.
LOSTBOY! AKA is the result of that curiosity, and I am exhilarated by it.
No mere dance with the past - thanks to the vision of co-writer and producer Jez Coad -
much of these songs feel to me that they could be signals from tomorrow.
It's only a first step, but I can easily imagine taking this new relationship much further in parallel with the
continuing great story of Simple Minds.
Jim and Jez Coad
are currently mixing the first LOSTBOY! AKA record in London which is expected around May 2010.
This is Jim's first album project outside
of Simple Minds but is intended to run parallel with Simple Minds' activities this
coming year.
A holding page, www.lostboyaka, is now online and features a sneak peek at some
artwork and a small taster stream of music. You can enter your e-mail to be notified when the new site goes live.
There will be an announcement on the official site in the next couple
of days.
31st december 2009
new year, rage, discography updates, lostboy! aka
I was going to write something long and insightful about Simple Minds over the last decade. But I was too
busy to compose something... which I think succinctly sums up the previous ten years following the band.
It's never really stopped, so roll on the next decade!
I'm definitely up for it.
For those in Australia... on Saturday, ABC's show Rage are plundering their archive and playing many
old and not-so-old videos on their Countdown segment.
So, if you're still up in the early hours, then you'll see the following:
Chelsea Girl
Sweat In Bullet
Don't You (Forget About Me)
She's A River
Mandela Day
Cry
Rockets
See ABC's website for the red-eye times. (It kicks off at 3:00AM so you'll
have to be dedicated!)
Lostboy! A.K.A. tickets will go on sale at MIDDAY (12 noon) tomorrow, Tuesday 9th March.
Todd Richards will be interviewing Lostboy! AKA on his Wedneday morning drive-time show
(06-09 AM EST) on 88.3FM The Sting and 
Various updates to the discography:
The Graffiti Soul discography continues to grow with new promos appearing almost every month. The number of collectable
promos of the album 
The 
The 
Just when you think you've got the discography sorted out, something else turns up!
I've also been catching up with the recent discography and have added the two recent free downloads:
