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"November is here and that means it is one year - this month - since we announced the then forthcoming new album release of Walk Between Worlds. Included in that announcement we gave examples of the new album artwork and a photograph of what would be seen as the new touring line up of musicians - the new look Simple Minds. As always with announcements of a new Simple Minds album or a new tour etc, we received an excited response from many of our loyal fans, via the various social network sites. That was greatly appreciated. Alternately there was more than plenty of hostility from those who on principle did not approve of the changes we had decided to make within Simple Minds. And it was very much on principle. After all, at that point the new music had not been released publicly, likewise no one outside of our group had access to the rehearsal room where we were busy routeining the new line-up."

"To be fair, we were expecting an amount of negative feedback. After all we are not new to this game, and we understand something about the mentality of audiences."

"As in, just as many individuals get excited by change, and the shock of the new. Others are uncomfortable with change. Preferring things to either stay as they are. Some even wishing that the clock could magically to go back to some long gone decade, where they seemingly recall things to have been so much better? I suppose we are all a bit prone to that kind of thinking, albeit to varying degrees."

"No to go and on. We did however suffer some very abusive comments, alongside warnings from people who had probably never written either a song in their lives, or stood on a stage, determinedly telling us how badly we had screwed up etc. And how our attempts to move forward with a fresh new look and sound were doomed to fail."

"How did that feel to us? Well, you might be surprised to know that it felt kind of familiar. Because the fact is that Simple Minds, a band that been constantly evolving - sometimes organically - sometimes strategically - since day one of our formation, has regularly faced hostility from one direction or another as we set out on the criss-crossing of artistic paths on which we have chosen to roam, as we've magically cobbled together this 40 year plus career."

"And yet, we go forward always. Taking little notice of detractors, determined to be the masters of our own failures and successes... of which there has been plenty. What else are we meant to do afer all? Take unsolicited advice from unknowns, with no track record in either making music, or playing concerts professionally?"

"And talking of roads, what a road it has been over the past 12 months. We've enjoyed every step and every moment. And why would we not, considering we have spent most of that time witnessing the pleasing critical and commercial response to Walk Between Worlds, as well as being overwhelmed by the live reaction as the "new look Minds" performed to hundreds of thousand during the summer tour of Europe and UK."

"The cherry on top has to be this current tour of North America. Our first extensive tour of the continent has delivered a response beyond all our expectations, as Simple Minds move on, one year older, and most certainly one year wiser."

"Who would have thought any of this would be possible when we first got in a rehearsal room in November 1977?" - Jim, 1st November 2018