"In 1988 a younger friend of ours, the brother of one of my closest friends, was stabbed to death. In the wrong place at the right time there was no apparent reason for the attack other than the fact that the guilty ones were high on glue and brandishing knives."

"A horrifying experience for all who knew him, as well as for his family whom I know have never been able to get over the death of their youngest son, it was the pointlessness of the whole act that reverberated the most, chilling me even now as I look back on it."

"Speechless at the time and with no words that I could conjure to offer the depth of my sympathy, I did later somehow manage to write something that was part poem and part letter, which in turn surfaced as the basis for the lyric that I used on the title track of our Street Fighting Years album, released a year or so later."

"Therapy for me, the song despite being a requiem at heart, does however blossom with a final note of optimism. But where did I find the remotest glimpse of that when considering the savagery that lay behind this singular young death?"

"Inevitably that came with an awareness of a bigger picture that I momentarily focus on everyday while never forgetting the fragility of life and for that matter how precious each and every living thing is."

"I live in hope that I am never again to witness such a sad scene as I also live with a hope - no matter how beaten up - that my hometown and cities all over the world can find a way to much more peaceful days."

"That notion of hope is evident on the new album Graffiti Soul. More so on a song called ‘This Is It’, that is mostly about the reoccurring changes we all want desperately to make as we navigate through our lives. But it was probably also influenced by some of the euphoria during Obama’s election campaign."

"Words do have a special energy and that transmitted can be the spark that ignites a momentum towards substantial change. What is the alternative after all? To accept being crushed by the headlines and that hand of fate when it seems to be strangling us?"

"Meanwhile back to the song. Situated as the last track on the album, it takes you out on a real high and is the closest that I feel we have come to revisiting a Sons And Fascination type track."

"Charlie’s skyline guitar is the factor that pulls the track bang up to the current time however as it crackles with an energy both haunting and yet emotionally reassuring. No throwback this is the sound of Simple Minds determinedly moving forward with much optimism. Possibly the same type most natural to Glaswegians. - Jim

Mick was less sure, feeling the song still needed work.

In the end, the reunion never happened and the plans for the 30 Years Anniversary compilation were shelved. The song was recorded during the Grafitti Soul sessions instead.

"At one point last year we got dangerously close to recording again [with the original members]. In view of the 30 years tour, EMI who own the catalogue popped up and were talking about yet another compilation. And we thought "Hang on a minute, you don't have anything in the vault, and you can't just put out a compilation without something new". And they said "Yeah, but at the same time, it is 30 years." So, I thought, it is true, but we can't have 30 years without talking to the original guys. We could get in touch and see if we could do something really simple like a couple of covers - they'd be great to put on the compilation album especially for fans who've got everything."

"We got in touch with the guys and got a great reaction and they said it sounded good and would be great fun. The only problem was there was a real problem about time. It was very tight. We were due to start on Graffiti Soul and it was just prior to the Mandela Concert which was coming up and was alot of work. We'd only given ourselves about three or four days to pull this reunion thing off - if it was going to happen. So the plan was - and the first part of it happened - we got together and we had this fantastic dinner and the old stories and anecdotes and stuff we had forgotten - it was fantastic."

"But what happened, on the day of getting together, Charlie and I in the last shift writing for Graffiti Soul had come up with this idea called "This Is It" and we thought "This is Simple Minds, this is old style Simple Minds, the old guys will eat this up." And instead of recording two covers, perhaps they'll be up for recording a brand new song. So we brought along a CD of the demo and while we were having the meal we said "I know we said covers but we've got this other thing" and they went "Really? Let's get a listen." so we jumped into the car, gave it a listen and everyone was "That sounds really good. We're up for it.""

"So the next day was the day when we were going to discuss the technicalities. Now, CDs didn't even exist when we were last together never mind the Internet so it'd been a long time so a technical conversation was needed. Unfortunately it didn't go very well. It was "Oh no, I'm not doing it like that" and "No, I can't record like that". And then, other old wounds started to open as well."

"All of it was par for the course. If we'd had a week or two to sort it out, we'd have sorted it out. But we didn't have a week or two, we had a few days. And Charlie and I thought "We don't really need this right now." So it never really happened. Had it happened, I think this song would've been something. But it's something anyway" - Jim.

"It seemed to get overlooked - but this was always one of our faves from Graffiti Soul. I guess some songs are destined to get all the attention while others languish in the semi obscure. Books, movies, music, whatever... I was always attracted to the obscure. Anyway this is a cool song I reckon and Charlie's sci-fi guitar on the coda always gets me in an emotional sense. We really should have made it much louder." - Jim, 23rd September 2016

When the feelings come to me once again, And I still hear the words they’re saying. And while I’m wondering if I can step in, I‘ll take comfort in the sounds that’s playing. 'Cause when I am feeling fine, Don’t want to walk away, Don’t want to lose myself, No matter what I say. There is a game in town, This is it! They call it the new change. And when the feelings rise, Pulling me off my knees. I won’t be scared of it, 'Cause I cant believe. There is a game in town, This is it! They call it the new change. And when I’m pleading but I can't get in, When no one’s listening to a word I am saying, There is no reason why we can’t begin, Broken hearts are congregating. 'Cause when the feeling's fine, And the world steps in. I’ll organise myself, I’ll get my mind moving. There is a game in town, This is it! They call it the new change. And when I’m running scared, And I cant resist, I’ll organise myself, With all the chances missed. There is a game in town, This is it! They call it the new change. And when I’m running scared, And I cant resist, I’ll organise myself, For all the chances missed. There is a game in town, This is it! They call it the new change. This is it, this is it, they call it the new change.

Sampler Edit (0:31) Produced by: Jez Coad and Simple Minds Engineers: Arjen Mesinga, Simon Dawson, Mark Bishop Assistant Engineer: Ben Cunningham Pre-Production: Gordy Goudie, Andy Gillespie, Kevin Burleigh Mixed by: Bob Clearmountain
Album Version (4:55) Produced by: Jez Coad and Simple Minds Engineers: Arjen Mesinga, Simon Dawson, Mark Bishop Assistant Engineer: Ben Cunningham Pre-Production: Gordy Goudie, Andy Gillespie, Kevin Burleigh Mixed by: Bob Clearmountain
Live Version (5th November 2009) (5:33) Recorded: Saschall, Florence, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (6th November 2009) (5:41) Recorded: Neon Concept Club, Ancona, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (18th November 2009) (5:14) Recorded: La Riviera, Madrid, Spain Mixed By Concert Online

Edit (1:12) Produced by: Jez Coad and Simple Minds Engineers: Arjen Mesinga, Simon Dawson, Mark Bishop Assistant Engineer: Ben Cunningham Pre-Production: Gordy Goudie, Andy Gillespie, Kevin Burleigh Mixed by: Bob Clearmountain Remixed by: Cenzo Townshend

Sampler Edit (0:31) Produced by: Jez Coad and Simple Minds Engineers: Arjen Mesinga, Simon Dawson, Mark Bishop Assistant Engineer: Ben Cunningham Pre-Production: Gordy Goudie, Andy Gillespie, Kevin Burleigh Mixed by: Bob Clearmountain
Album Version (4:55) Produced by: Jez Coad and Simple Minds Engineers: Arjen Mesinga, Simon Dawson, Mark Bishop Assistant Engineer: Ben Cunningham Pre-Production: Gordy Goudie, Andy Gillespie, Kevin Burleigh Mixed by: Bob Clearmountain
Live Version (5th November 2009) (5:33) Recorded: Saschall, Florence, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (6th November 2009) (5:41) Recorded: Neon Concept Club, Ancona, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (18th November 2009) (5:14) Recorded: La Riviera, Madrid, Spain Mixed By Concert Online