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press releases | big music | let the day begin






Let The Day Begin

SIMPLE MINDS announce new single:

'LET THE DAY BEGIN'

SPRING 2015 UK TOUR
PLAYING THE GREATEST HITS & TRACKS
FROM THE NEW ALBUM

BAND TO OPEN BBC’S SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
IN GLASGOW

PRAISE FOR THE 'BIG MUSIC' ALBUM:

"Their best album in 30 years." **** Mojo

"Simple Minds at their ideal fighting weight." **** Q Magazine

**** The Times 2 Arts

"A high-water mark for wide-screen synth-driven rock. The Simple Minds we want." NME

On January 19th Caroline International will release Let The Day Begin, the second single to be taken from Simple Minds' Top 15, critically acclaimed 16th album, BIG MUSIC.

Let The Day Begin is a homage and tribute to The Call and their singer and guitarist Michael Been, who passed away in 2010. The Call toured with Simple Minds in the 1980s and became firm friends – they wrote Let The Day Begin as their answer to Waterfront.

'The Call were a great band,' recalls Jim Kerr. 'They listened to the John Peel Show every night and wanted to sound like Joy Division. But they came from Oklahoma and couldn't stop themselves from sounding like The Band.'

'They were huge Simple Minds fans, and Let The Day Begin, with its Doors-like rhythm, was their answer to Waterfront. We played it live in the States and people went crazy, so we recorded it. It's a track we really wanted to do justice to.'

Simple Minds' version "dazzles and enthralls" (Vive Le Rock), with its urgent optimism and "irresistible glam rock" (Record Collector). It's a fantastic cover and a fitting tribute to an old friend.

Simple Minds have undergone rightful reappraisal and renaissance in recent years. More relevant than ever, they have been lauded in recent times by NME (included in their '100 Most Influential Bands'), The Guardian and Mojo, and artists including The Horrors, The Killers, King Creosote, Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream and Radiohead. Last year the band played to 130,000 people in the UK alone – the most ever in one year.

BIG MUSIC sees the band rekindling the energy and attitude, the mystery and magic that made them one of the greatest bands on the planet. It's a swaggering collection that reiterates the band's world-class credentials; a culmination of a decade of stealthy rediscovery that has seen the band make two albums, 2005's Black & White 050505 and 2009's Graffiti Soul, before reminding us all of their legacy with the acclaimed X5 boxed set and subsequent 5X5 Live album and tour.

With a touring cast that now sees Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill joined by stalwart drummer Mel Gaynor, keyboardist Andy Gillespie, Ged Grimes, backing vocalist Sarah Brown and Catherine AD (additional keys and guitars), Simple Minds have a settled line-up that enables them to look and feel like a proper band again. Made with an array of collaborators old and new – including co-writer Iain Cook (of Glasgow band Chvrches) and producers Andy Wright and Gavin GoldbergBIG MUSIC is an irresistible mix of artistry and accessibility.

BIG MUSIC is an album that combines a sense of sonic euphoria with some of the most personal lyrics Jim has ever written. It does justice to the Simple Minds legacy, an album that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Empires And Dance, New Gold Dream and Sparkle In The Rain.

On 14th December, Simple Minds will open the 61st BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, at the SSE Hydro Arena in their hometown of Glasgow. "It's a great honour to take part in the show; it's one of the most iconic programmes on television," Jim Kerr said. "We are proud hjat the programme is coming to our home town but the fact that we were asked to play too means we'll go that extra mile and give our all to kick off proceedings the best way imaginable."

Simple Minds are "widely regarded as one of the best live bands in the world" (BBC Breakfast) and over a 30-year career have been responsible for some of the most innovative and enduring anthems in rock music. Next March the band will undertake a 29-date tour across the UK.


SIMPLE MINDS BIG MUSIC TOUR 2015

FRI 27 MARCHGRIMSBY AUDITORIUM
SAT 28 MARCHLLANDUDNO VENUE CYMRU ARENA
MON 30 MARCHSTOKE VICTORIA HALL
TUE 31 MARCHLEICESTER DE MONTFORT HALL
THU 02 APRILLIVERPOOL EMPIRE THEATRE
FRI 03 APRILBLACKPOOL OPERA HOUSE
SAT 04 APRILBRIDLINGTON SPA
MON 06 APRILNEWCASTLE CITY HALL
TUE 07 APRILEDINBURGH USHER HALL
WED 08 APRILPERTH CONCERT HALL
FRI 10 APRILMANCHESTER O2 APOLLO
SAT 11 APRILBIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY
SUN 12 APRILSHEFFIELD CITY HALL
TUE 14 APRILBRIGHTON DOME
WED 15 APRILPORTSMOUTH GUILDHALL
FRI 17 APRILPLYMOUTH PAVILIONS
SAT 18 APRILCARDIFF MOTORPOINT ARENA
SUN 19 APRILBOURNEMOUTH O2 ACADEMY
TUE 21 APRILCAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE
WED 22 APRILNORWICH THE NICK RAYNS LCR UEA
FRI 24 APRILMARGATE WINTER GARDENS
SAT 25 APRILSOUTHEND CLIFF PAVILION
SUN 26 APRILOXFORD NEW THEATRE
TUE 28 APRILGUILDFORD G LIVE
WED 29 APRILBRISTOL COLSTON HALL
THU 30 APRILREADING HEXAGON
SAT 02 MAYSWINDON OASIS
SUN 03 MAYNOTTINGHAM ROYAL CONCERT HALLv
MON 04 MAYIPSWICH REGENT