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for one night only: information

  • "Three solid reasons influenced Simple Minds in their decision to cover For One Night Only. Firstly, the energy and melody of the original recording of the song appealed in the way that many great records do. But we also identified what to our ears sounded like a Simple Minds vibe at the heart of the song. On speaking to the composer King Creosote, he later acknowledged a certain Minds influence in his original. Being so, we felt that it could be a good fit for us to release on record - and a powerful live song to boot - one good enough to hold its own among a set of Minds classics. The title of the song itself, 'For One Night Only,' resonated strongly with our core attitude to playing live. We use that kind of sentiment to motivate ourselves by remembering that although we might play as many as 100 shows or more within a world tour, as far as the audience coming to see you in their hometown is concerned, most likely for them it will in fact be 'For One Night Only'. Bearing that sentiment in mind before each show, makes us want to deliver beyond the odds each and every night. We have been fans of King Creosote throughout his career and had considered for some time the challenge of covering one of his inspiring tunes. On hearing the original of 'For One Night Only' it became instantly clear that this could be a song that we might adopt successfully by further adding some of our own trademark sonics. All in all, it has been a great song to work on. And in our opinion looks set to become a Minds standout whenever played live." - Jim, 30th October 2019


  • For One Night Only was released as a single on the 19th October 2019 to promote the compilation album 40: Best Of: 1979 - 2019.

  • This cover of a King Creosote song was first demoed during the Walk Between Worlds sessions.

  • The song was finished especially for the album during a recording session in July 2019.

  • Designer Stuart Crouch continued the heart motif for the artwork using classic logos from Sparkle In The Rain to create a firework effect.

  • A promotional video was also produced and released on the 19th October. This compilation video featured many of the band's classic videos from the 1980s and 1990s along with contemporary live footage. It was set to an edited version of the title track.

  • Universal pressed up a very limited number of CD promos. These single-track CDs simply featured the album version of the song.



for one night only : quick reference
MP3   For One Night Only Universal
1.  For One Night Only   (3:47)







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