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Rogue Catalunian DJ Jordi Tardà continues to broadcast the leaked Simple Minds album on his show. Between a repeat airing of Jeweller To The Stars and End Of The World he described the legal problems between Simple Minds and EMI, pointed out that the album had no release date, but stated that he would continue broadcasting tracks until it was released.



Shaun Tranter's auction is now available on-line. There are 304 lots, some of which are being offered for sale for the first time. The auction also includes four presentation discs, the first to offer such a high number for sale.

The full listing and contact details are here.

Bidding is by post or phone. Check the auction page for phoning times. No bids will be taken over the Internet.

The auction is currently running and will close on Saturday, January 27th.

Good luck.



One of the first fan remixes has appeared on the Internet. Ian Rywalt has put together a great, extended remix of Real To Real, the opener of Real To Real Cacophony.

If you'd like to hear it, an MP3 can be found in the Files section of the Simple Minds mailing list. Browse over to http://www.egroups.com/group/simple-minds and follow the links.

Our Secrets Are The Same
1.Swimming Towards The Sun  (Was available as MP3/CD quality)
2.Jeweler To The Stars(Was available as MP3)
3.Space(Was available as MP3)
4.Death By Chocolate(Was available as MP3)
5.End Of The World(Was available as MP3)
6.Neon Cowboys(Was available as MP3)
7.She Knows(Was available as MP3)
8.Hello(Was available as MP3)
9.Happy Is The Man(Was available as MP3)
10.  Sleeping(Was available as MP3

A couple of weeks ago, Radio Catalunya completed their preview of the new Simple Minds album Our Secrets Are The Same by broadcasting the final song from the album, the slow, acoustic Sleeping.

It turns out that EMI distributed CD copies of the album to its various European offices for each country to offer their choice of singles. It appears that the copy sent to EMI Spain was leaked from the office and is the source of Radio Catalunya's broadcast. This copy has also been offered for a price of $250 US dollars to various fans.

In the meantime, CD bootlegs have started to appear at record fairs. Copies have surfaced in Germany and Scotland. It isn't known if these CDs are simply pressings of the low-quality MP3 files that have circulated or are CD quality from another source.

Over the last week, the now-infamous "Jim Kerr" mails have appeared on the mailing list. In these, the distribution of the album over the Internet has been condemed and the handful of sites which have featured the Secrets MP3s have shut themselves down. The jury is still out whether this is Jim Kerr or a hoax. If Jim could e-mail me to clarify the situation then that would be most welcome.

The legal dispute between Simple Minds and EMI moves on, and resolution is expected early next year. It is hoped that the album will then receive the release it deserves.



Kirsty MacColl with former husband Steve Lillywhite

Kirsty MacColl has been killed by a speedboat while swimming with her two sons off the Mexican island of Cozumel in the Caribbean.

She recorded a clutch of memorable tracks in the eighties, including They Don't Know (which didn't chart but later became a hit for Tracey Ullman), There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop (Swears He's Elvis), A New England (for which the original writer Billy Bragg wrote an extra verse, and which featured Mel Gaynor and Derek Forbes on drums and bass) and Fairytale Of New York recorded with The Pogues.

She also worked as a session backing singer for Talking Heads, The Smiths, The Happy Mondays (on Hallelujah) and Simple Minds. She was the featured female vocalist on Sparkle In The Rain supplying backing vocals for Speed Your Love To Me and Street Hassle. It was at these recording sessions that she met her husband producer Steve Lillywhite for the first time.

She had "the wit of Ray Davies and the harmonic invention of The Beach Boys" - Johnny Marr
"The Noel Coward of her generation" - Bono
"My thoughts go out to her family at this tragic time" - Jools Holland


Need a last minute Christmas present? Mick MacNeil's solo album People Places and Things is still available via the www.mixrecords.com website.
For that extra special Christmas present, have your copy of the album personally signed by Mick, please state if you wish this at time of ordering, and to whom you wish the dedication to be made to. Please note, all orders are sent out by regular mail unless otherwise requested. Guaranteed delivery before Christmas is available on payment of an additional Post Office postal rate, please contact us if you require this and for current additional postal rates. Regular mail will take appoxiamtely 2 to 3 days for UK inland and a week or more outside the UK, depending on the postal service in the destination country and distance of country from the UK. Please also remember that the postal service can get overloaded at Christmas, and unforseen eventualities like postal strikes may occur, therefore we cannot guarantee delivery by particular dates. If you are sending us your order by regular post and not ordering on-line, please ensure to include, all delivery and order details, the dedication, if any, you would like and to make all international cheques or money orders made payable to "Michael MacNeil LTD". Please also use the form which is available for printing out from our website at www.mixrecords.com

We hope to have new developments in place on the website in the very near future, such as the long awaited live webcam!... a live audio feed from the studio, news of new releases and much more, all of which you will be notified of through the mailing list, which I aim to be making more regular.

Thank you for your support at Mix Records in the past year, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.

Yours,
Mick MacNeil

(My sincerely apologies to Mick for taking so long to getting this message onto the website. (It was sent on Mick's mailing list earlier this month.) Obviously it's now just-too-late for Christmas, but a signed PPT album would make a great present at any time of the year - Simon).

Star Jim To Share Secret Of Success With Kids

POP star-turned-entrepreneur Jim Kerr has taken on a new role as a special ambassador in Scotland.

His key task will be to boost the confidence of young Scots to take on the world.

The lead singer of Simple Minds was asked to take on the role by First Minister Henry McLeish as part of a drive to create a "can do" culture and instil the "three Cs" into youngsters - confidence, compassion and competitiveness.

Kerr, who part-owns a sushi bar in his home city of Glasgow and several e-mail firms, said yesterday he was delighted by the challenge.

He said: "I am honoured by the role. Youngsters must be imbued with the self-belief to allow them to prosper in the modern world whether they devote their career to music or microchips."

But he added: "As an artist, I believe we also need to add a fourth "C" to confidence, compassion and competitiveness - creativity."

Kerr also claimed Scotland could do more to sell itself to the world. He said: "It's time the Scots got together to tell people things are happening in our country, that we are a can do, confident nation."

McLeish said: "Jim is a role model for young Scots in terms of his rise to the top. He embodies the kind of Scotland we are striving to create. He has had to be competitive in one of the most competitive industries in the world.

"Jim and other ambassadors, whom I hope to involve, will work with me here in Scotland to help our young people."

Daily Record
November 30th


Many, many thanks to all those who voted for Dream Giver in the dotmusic awards. Last year, the site was ranked at #114.

This year, with 2221 sites registered, and 75,000 votes cast, Dream Giver jumped to #67, putting it firmly in the top 100. Given the fickle nature of the industry and the sheer amount of boy and girl bands (A1, Steps, 5ive and Eminen were all in the top-five), this is a great result. Dream Giver also beat many contemporary acts and kept Simple Minds' name in the charts.

Thanks again for your votes and support.


Mel Gaynor was behind the drums for Roachford when they toured the UK last month. Unfortunately the news that he was touring was only received a day after the final gig!

Mel has a solo album coming out soon. He's not involved with Simple Minds at the moment, but mentioned that there might be a 'best of' album coming out soon. I hope this was a reference to the 25th anniversary box set, and not another compilation of 'greatest hits' that no-one wants.


For 16,000 pounds sterling:

With which band is Jim Kerr associated?

(The contestant had to 'phone a friend').

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
7th December


I'm currently typing in the auction catalogue. There are 304 items up for grabs so this may take a while. Expect the catalogue to be on-line at the end of this week.


Néapolis: Very limited press promo box set

  • CD Néapolis
  • Interview CD
  • Video Tape: Glitterball video and interview
  • 3 large coloured photos (on Kodak photo paper)
  • Press release Neapolis
  • Biography
  • Transcript of interview CD.
All this in a very nice big round (27.5cm diameter) silver movie tape-style case, with Simple Minds engraved on top. Bids for this exclusive item can be made through e-mail at puk_puk@gmx.net. Current offer stands at 93 Euros. (Shipping costs are for the buyer)

Jordi Tardà didn't let anyone down this weekend, and played Neon Cowboys and She Knows from the new album. A couple of hours after the broadcast, the new songs appeared on the MP3 sites.

Additionally, Swimming Towards The Sun, one of the first songs previewed, has also finally been uploaded.

This just leaves Sleeping to go.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Our Secrets Are The Same
1.Swimming Towards The Sun  (Available as MP3)
2.Jeweler To The Stars(Available as MP3)
3.Space(Available as MP3)
4.Death By Chocolate(Available as MP3)
5.End Of The World(Available as MP3)
6.Neon Cowboys(Available as MP3)
7.She Knows(Available as MP3)
8.Hello(Available as MP3)
9.Happy Is The Man(Available as MP3)
10.  Sleeping 

Death By Chocolate was given its first play this Saturday. The first 'acoustic' track to appear from the already diverse Our Secrets Are The Same, it has joined Space and Jeweler To The Stars as a firm favourite.

It was joined by End Of The World which got a repeat airing on Catalunya Radio.

The preview of the album looks set to continue, and many will be tuning in to Jordi Tardà's show next Saturday.

Our Secrets Are The Same
1.Swimming Towards The Sun  (Broadcast - not available as MP3)
2.Jeweler To The Stars(Available as MP3)
3.Space(Available as MP3)
4.Death By Chocolate(Available as MP3)
5.End Of The World(Available as MP3)
6.Neon Cowboys 
7.She Knows 
8.Hello(Available as MP3)
9.Happy Is The Man(Available as MP3)
10.  Sleeping 

Two more songs from Our Secrets Are The Same were played on Spanish radio last Saturday. They included Hello, the song that was finished for the movie The Match but just missed being included on the soundtrack. The other song featured was Happy Is The Man.

Low quaility MP3 files of these songs are currently circulating. Pointers to their location(s) can be found on the Simple Minds mailing list.

Our Secrets Are The Same
1.Swimming Towards The Sun  (Broadcast - not available as MP3)
2.Jeweler To The Stars(Available as MP3)
3.Space(Available as MP3)
4.Death By Chocolate 
5.End Of The World(Available as MP3)
6.Neon Cowboys 
7.She Knows 
8.Hello(Available as MP3)
9.Happy Is The Man(Available as MP3)
10.  Sleeping 

More tracks from Our Secrets Are The Same are expected to be aired on Spanish Radio tomorrow (Saturday). The URL is www.catradio.com (and click on "Directe Catalunya Radio.")

The track listing so far revealed is:

Our Secrets Are The Same
1. Swimming Towards The Sun (Broadcast but not available as MP3)
2. Jeweler To The Stars (Broadcast)
3. Space (Broadcast)
4. Death By Chocolate
5. End Of The World (Broadcast)
6. TBA
7. TBA
8. Hello
9. TBA
10. TBA


(Ultra rare Simple Minds poster originating from the Real To Real Cacophony tour. This poster will be displayed at the exhibition (see below). It's also one of the lots in the forthcoming auction in January.)

Mick MacNeil has recently updated his own web site which can be found at www.mixrecords.com. Included in the site overhaul are two new compositions which can be found in the New Projects section.

Highly recommended, especially Track One which sounds like Alice Deejay versus Simple Minds.



The Modern Institute are preparing an exhibition at Glasgow's Lighthouse of music from the city over the last 25 years. It will open later this month and will run through to February 2001. The exhibition will obviously include Simple Minds and it ties in nicely with Jim and Charlie's 25th anniversary of playing in bands together.


(A sample shot of fanzines I sent to the Modern Institute. Clockwise from left: Original Simple Minds News folder, full set of Simple Minds News, full set of Travelling Man, full set of Colours Fly, full set of Thunder And Rage, full set of Shadowlands, FAB 138 Simple Minds special (dating from Empires And Dance), and Who's Doing The Dreaming Now. The later, the original folder and contents, and FAB 138 will be on show.)

The Simple Minds exhibit includes items from the personal collections of Bruce Findlay (their manager from 1978-1989), Kenny Hyslop (drummer from 1981-1982), David and Jaine Henderson (the 'invisible members' from the very early years of the band) and myself. Emphasis was on the early parts of the band's career.


(Another sample shot sent to the Modern Institute. The large blue poster, which dates from 1979 will be on show along with the Empires And Dance US tour flyer behind it. A framed Jim Kerr red-eye poster dating from 1979 (similar to the one shown top-right) will also be on view.)

It is expected that Jim will be interviewed for the event. The interview will be part of the display, which will also include video material from the band's 25 year career, starting with the Chelsea Girl video through to War Babies, interspersed with rare archival footage.

More details very soon...


EMI Lose Their Minds
They axe Kerr & Co in bust up

Simple Minds have been dumped by their record company after a series of bust-ups.

EMI refused to release the band's new album Our Secrets Are The Same, sparking a legal dispute.

Jim Kerr, frontman of the band which sold 30 million albums in the '80s, said: "Things broke down and we took the plunge by saying to them, 'We would rather not work with you on this record and we'd like to take it back.' They did remix some tracks but it was all very paltry."

"Had there been enthusiasm the record would have come out but EMI weren't very enthusiastic about putting it out. We looked to them for leadership and direction but we felt it wasn't there."

The band, whose hits include Don't You Forget About Me and Alive And Kicking, are now locked in a legal battle with EMI, who last night refused to comment.

Simple Minds' departure comes just weeks after fellow '80s favourites Simply Red were axed by Warner Brothers.

The Sun
Dominic Mohan's Bizarre Column
November 3rd, 2000

(The 1989 promotional shot that The Sun used for illustration. Mick MacNeil hasn't returned!)

After refusing to let EMI release their new album, Simple Minds have been dropped by their record company. After the poor promotion and marketing of Néapolis, the band wanted the best for Our Secrets Are The Same, but didn't find any enthusiasm or leadership from the label.

Simple Minds signed a two-album deal with the record company, but want to take Our Secrets Are The Same back to release themselves. The album is now in the hands of the lawyers.

Therefore Simple Minds' plans for the future are now uncertain. A legal battle over the album now seems certain.

The Scottish Sun's Bizarre column has offered 'big money' for the band to play a month long series of gigs in Las Vegas to celebrate their 25 years in the music business. (But don't hold your breath!)

By coincidence, Liam Gallagher also shared space on the same page after another spat with Robbie Williams. When asked, Jim replied: "All I can say is that any time I have met Liam he has been a gentleman - which is very wise on his behalf... me and my family are from Glasgow and wouldn't stand any nonsense."

"The bad news is Simple Minds intend to be around for ever."


Blow-Up Image Blow Up, the Italian Simple Minds tribute band, will be playing a two-hour set at the Auditorium Flog in Florence next Saturday (November the 11th.)

The set list is:
When Spirits Rise
Street Fighting Years
See The Lights
Changeling
Up On The Catwalk
Book Of Brillant Things
Glittering Prize
Wish You Were Here
New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) (Bono's duet performed by our special guest Gianluca Genovese)
Waterfront
Don't you (Forget About Me)
Mandela day/Saturday girl/Someone Somewhere In Summertime (Acoustic Set)
End Of The World (from Our Secrets Are The Same)
Glory Days (original song by Blow Up)
All The Things She Said
Alive And Kicking
Sanctify Yourself
Sun City

(See the news for October 7th for more information).

No new Simple Minds songs were played on Catalonian radio this weekend. The radio station was supporting a local event and most of the programming was devoted to its support. Expectation is high that more songs from Our Secrets Are The Same will be unveiled next week.


Platinum Disc The Simple Minds auction I mentioned on the 5th October has been postponed. Shaun Tranter, who is holding the auction, was concerned that it was going to run too close to Christmas, so the auction will be held in January.

Adverts have already appeared in Record Collector for the event (p169). All those who have written in will have their auction catalogues sent to them in January.

As I mentioned before, this auction will include four gold disc awards (one is shown on the right, a platinum award for Once Upon A Time), rare posters and other merchandise which has never been offered to fans before.

Shaun's address is:
Shaun Tranter
27 St. John's Road
Weston Hills
Spalding
Lincs
PE12 6DG
England

Please enclose 2xIRC or SAE when writing.

Schoolhouse Christmas Card
Happy Christmas!
(It's come early this year)

Starlight,
Starbright,
I'm the star you see tonight

And I wish I may,
And I wish I might,
Be in your dreams tonight.
Space, Our Secrets Are The Same, Simple Minds

Simple Minds' new album, Our Secrets Are The Same, was completed late last year, but has languished in record company vaults ever since. Some reasons for the continued delay were given in Jim's interview with Todd Richards from earlier this year.

Given this situation, and the lack of any firm release date, it was a total surprise when the first two tracks from the album were exclusively played on a Spanish radio station last Saturday (14th October). The DJ, Jordi Tardà from Radio Nacional de Cataluña previewed Swimming Towards The Sun and Jeweller To The Stars.

The two new songs were eagerly snapped up by Spanish fans, eager for new material since Néapolis. Judging from these tracks, the new album has a hard rock feel with less emphasis on the complex rhythms and textures of Néapolis. It had been described as the 'missing-link' between Good News From The Next World and Néapolis by those record company staff lucky enough to hear it, and after hearing these tracks, it can be heard why.

Three songs were played last Saturday on the same show. Jeweller To The Stars was aired a second time, along with the other contenter for first single, the wonderful Space, and the fifth track from the ten-track album End Of The World.

The show Tarda Tardá was broadcast over the Internet ( www.catradio.es/cr/tarda/) and these three songs have been uploaded as MP3 files. Sound quality isn't perfect, but no-one's complaining. The mailing list has exploded with opinions, with almost everyone excited about the fresh new sound. You can find discussion about the news songs on the mailing list:

Subscribe to Simple Minds
simple-minds archive Hosted by eGroups.com
Swimming Towards The Sun has escaped being uploaded, but if you ask on the list, you'll be given the URLs of Jeweller To The Stars, Space and End Of The World.

The dream is over,
The party's over,
I'm still waiting.
Nothing's falling.

No confusion.
No suspicion.
If you're talking,
I will listen.
Space, Our Secrets Are The Same, Simple Minds

Blow-Up Image "While waiting for good news from the Highlands, the Italian fan club Le Menti is organizing the tribute night Blow Up For Simple Minds that will be held at the Auditorium Flog in Florence on next November the 11th.

Yes! Blow-Up, the absolutely live Italian Simple Minds tribute band, will play a 1 hour 45 minute set including songs as "Changeling", "Saturday Girl, "Theme For Great Cities", "Up On The Catwalk", "New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)", "Book Of Brilliant Things", "I Wish You Were Here" and many many others!

All the Simple Minds fans from all over the globe are formally invited. My band is working so hard for this gig, and all our efforts could be well rewarded only if we play to a real Simple Minds' addicted audience.

There are at least two good reason for attending Blow-Up's gig :

  1. It's a good chance to visit the wonderful Florence with its artistic beauties, and Rome is only 2 hours distant.
  2. BLOW UP will give their hearts and souls on stage, that's for sure!!!
For more info: Lachi's site

Never loose your faith in Simple Minds' music, and keep the pressure on!"

Mimmo - Blow-Up

Vote for Dream Giver!
It's voting time again for the Dotmusic Awards.

Last year, Dream Giver was placed at 114 - this was after 948 sites were registered and 30,000 votes were cast. (See the news of 25th April 1999). It would be great to be in the top 100 this year and every vote counts, so please click on the icon above and show your support for Simple Minds and this website. Thank you!


The merger between Time-Warner and EMI Records has fallen through after concerns from Europe:

"EMI Group and Time Warner Inc. called off a proposed joint venture Thursday after European regulators opposed the deal, which would have created a massive music company, but EMI is expected to try again to forge a new agreement that would gain approval from regulators."

The European Regulators would have passed the deal if Virgin Records was excluded from the EMI Group. Obviously Time-Warner couldn't face losing the Spice Girls so that was the end of that....

Would this help the release of the new album? No - as EMI are expected to try to merge again. If anything, this has made the future of EMI even more unpredictable.

Book Proof What? No new website?

The new Dream Giver site was to eclipse this site in September, timed for release just before the new single and album.

However, it still needs some work. And I could've killed myself trying to get it finished, but there's no sign of the new single and album either. So, I've decided to delay it's launch: it will appear just before the new single and album does.

My apologies to everyone who was waiting for the new site.

As a consolation, here's a preview of one of the many exclusives: Mission In Motion - Inside Simple Minds.

The illustration on the right is the first time that Adam Sweeting's book, Mission In Motion has ever been seen. This proof sleeve indicates that Sweeting's 1984 biography was probably finished: Malcolm Garrett's unique artwork was done, it had been allocated an ISBN, and it was probably ready to go.

But Alfred Bos was quickly chosen as the official biographer, and his book (the quirky and now elusive The Race Is The Prize) appeared in 1984 instead. Sweeting postponed his book, holding on to it and updating it for publication in 1987, after the release of Live In The City Of Light (its title was now just Simple Minds.)

There will be more about this proof sleeve in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #10 and on the new site.



As the new site won't be appearing this side of Christmas, I've decided to finish the bootleg discography on this site. So, I've uploaded the details of one of the 'missing' CD bootlegs: Sanctify. This bootleg is the more common form of the Live USA varient and includes a selection of tracks from the first Mandela Day show and a couple of tracks from their January 1985 performance at the Glasgow Barrowlands.



After almost two years, during which editor Cristina Canciani penned the mighty Una Vita (see the news of 25th April 2000), Le Menti returns with issue six.

This catch-up issue brings the news up-to-date, includes a review of Mick MacNeil's People, Places And Things album, an interview with the man in the sky, the history of the Italian tribute band Blow Up and reviews of Forbes, Gaynor And Friends Italian concert.

It's still a hefty publication, published in English and Italian, and features a new cleaner design. Highly recommended.

Subscription information can be found on Lementi's fanzine page.



Gold Disc A Simple Minds auction is planned for November. This is an incredibly rare chance to pick up some top Simple Minds collectables.

For example, there's some stock items, but they are mint. Absolutely, never played, pristine sleeve, mint. The 7" records on offer stretch through the band's career up to the early nineties.

Unique autographed items, rare promotional videos, ultra rare posters (some dating from late 1979!) and four gold disc awards are up for grabs. (If my memory is correct, there's one silver, two gold and one platinum but I'll have to check on that.)

A full list will appear here in a couple of weeks. The auction will be postal and by telephone. Details will be available from this web site and Record Collector.

(The illustration right shows the gold disc auctioned at the Simple Minds Convention of 1999. The discs for auction in November will be similar - I'll get some shots soon.)



In 1996, Alan Stivell was the subject of a documentary which traced the roots of Celtic music. During his travels around the fringe countries of Europe, he visited Jim and Charlie at Bonnie Wee Studios.

Part of the video includes studio footage of Jim (vocals), Charlie (acoustic guitar) and Alan (harp) jamming Tim Buckley's Song To The Siren (also known incorrectly as the Here I Am song.) It's not the first time that Simple Minds attempted this classic: a copy exists somewhere of another version, recorded in the late eighties by Jim, Charlie, Mick, Lisa Germano and Garth Hudson.

(See Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #4 for screen grabs, transcription and more information about this video.)

An audio copy of the song is now available on the Internet. You can download it at http://www.ida.net/users/sminds/HereIAm.mp3. It's 1.5 MB in size and lasts for a round one and a half minutes.

If you're interested in hearing other rare recordings by the band, a new mailing list has been set up to announce and discuss these songs. To subscribe, send a blank message to songsforthetribes-subscribe@egroups.com (This is run by Mike Simpson and is part of his Song For The Tribes site.)



"This week [early September - Simon] has seen Dave and Stephen in the Rochdale Recording Studio, and I was fortunate enough to meet up with the guys last night. As well, as practicing over 20 songs , the guys got the opportunity to chat to a few of you in Mick's Chat Room, and I was a little worried that it was going to prove difficult to persuade Stephen to drop the mouse and pick up the microphone at one point! However, if you ever want to dangle a carrot in front of these guys, a can of lager will do the job. For over 2 hours, the guys blasted Simple Minds covers dating back to over 20 years ago."

"Like many, I was encouraged by the groups performance in London. However, there's a different meaning to them nowadays, and if you get the chance to see them, I am sure you will agree. Stephen's vocals are more defined, and his real personality comes out in the demos. I was lucky enough to work with Dave Kelly prior to the London gig, and I was interested in his progress to date. He blew my mind last night. Thorsten was absent last night, understandably due to living in Germany - however, from speaking to the rest of the band last night - they are so much looking forward to working with him again - the confidence and enthusiasm for playing live gigs is currently huge within the band and its a dream come true for everyone involved."

"For those of you wanting to view the official BFTT Wap Site, you can go to wappy.to/bftt (WAP devices only). The design for the official web site has already started and will be complete later in the Autumn."

"For some of you thinking of travelling to Dortmund for the gig in December, you may be worried about the cost of it all. Pretty soon, we will have prices for a hotel very close to the venue, and we will be posting out ticket information ASAP. We are aiming to get bulk discount for Hotel accommodation costs soon. Tickets for the venue are likely to be about £5. Hamm, I a reliably informed, is a lovely town and at its best in the weeks before Christmas."

"Also, for those put-off by the cost of flying to Germany from the UK, why not visit www.buzzaway.com for very cheap flights to Dusseldorf. (the closest airport to the gig) Flights are from London. Other flight information will be posted soon."

"If you are serious about going the gig (regardless of what country you are coming from) can you send me a quick email, so I can start to plan for tickets, etc."

Steve Robinson


Those who don't have WAP enabled devices can view the WAP site using a standard browser at http://wapsilon.com/?t=t;f=1::http://wappy.to/bftt/#index.


For those of you prepared to make a provisional booking, we have been able to get discount prices for the following hotel. Its very close to the venue where we are going to hang out for a few days. Its also in the Town Centre.

City Hotel
Schillerstraße 68-72
59065 Hamm
Tele.: Germany (0044)/2381/9206600

A double-bed-room costs 119 DM (about 40 pounds for two people, breakfirst included). A single costs 80DM (about 26 pounds, breakfirst included). The Hotel has got 26 rooms, all are available at the moment for that particular weekend. However, its likely to get booked up pretty quickly so can I ask that anyone wanting accomodation emails me to reserve a room, BEFORE October 9th. The tickets will be 12 DM (about 4 pounds). They will be available on the night at the door. We will reserve a ticket for all those people who request it by emal to me.

Here is a bit of information about Hamm. Its twinned to Bradford (I guess somewhere has to be) , and has got 180.000 citizens. Closest Airport is Dortmund, but the cheap flights all go to Düsseldorf. Go to http://www.buzzaway.com before September 18th to book a cheap return flight from London for the gig. Special offer now on , will cost you around £80 return, inclusive. It will take about 1 hour 15 minutes to go from there to Hamm. You could make a nice weekend out of it. At that time of the year there are a lot of traditional christmas-markets everywhere. There might be good concerts in the area as well, we could find out for you. Cologne as the biggest capital locally and is only 1 1/2 hour drive by train or car away. Dortmund which is a big city as well, is only 20 minutes away. You could even go to Amsterdam in 2 1/2 hours or to Enschede (nice town in Holland) in 1 1/2 hours.

If anyone needs any futher help, please email me.

Steve Robinson



"This week has seen Dave and Stephen in the Rochdale Recording Studio, and I was fortunate enough to meet up with the guys last night. As well, as practicing over 20 songs , the guys got the opportunity to chat to a few of you in Mick's Chat Room, and I was a little worried that it was going to prove difficult to persuade Stephen to drop the mouse and pick up the microphone at one point! However, if you ever want to dangle a carrot in front of these guys, a can of lager will do the job. For over 2 hours, the guys blasted Simple Minds covers dating back to over 20 years ago."

"Like many, I was encouraged by the groups performance in London. However, there's a different meaning to them nowadays, and if you get the chance to see them, I am sure you will agree. Stephen's vocals are more defined, and his real personality comes out in the demos. I was lucky enough to work with Dave Kelly prior to the London gig, and I was interested in his progress to date. He blew my mind last night. Thorsten was absent last night, understandably due to living in Germany - however, from speaking to the rest of the band last night - they are so much looking forward to working with him again - the confidence and enthusiasm for playing live gigs is currently huge within the band and its a dream come true for everyone involved."

"For those of you wanting to view the official BFTT Wap Site, you can go to wappy.to/bftt (WAP devices only). The design for the official web site has already started and will be complete later in the Autumn."

"For some of you thinking of travelling to Dortmund for the gig in December, you may be worried about the cost of it all. Pretty soon, we will have prices for a hotel very close to the venue, and we will be posting out ticket information ASAP. We are aiming to get bulk discount for Hotel accommodation costs soon. Tickets for the venue are likely to be about £5. Hamm, I a reliably informed, is a lovely town and at its best in the weeks before Christmas."

"Also, for those put-off by the cost of flying to Germany from the UK, why not visit www.buzzaway.com for very cheap flights to Dusseldorf. (the closest airport to the gig) Flights are from London. Other flight information will be posted soon."

"If you are serious about going the gig (regardless of what country you are coming from) can you send me a quick email, so I can start to plan for tickets, etc."

Steve Robinson

Those who don't have WAP enabled devices can view the WAP site using a standard browser at http://wapsilon.com/?t=t;f=1::http://wappy.to/bftt/#index.

Tribute band Band For The Tribes will be performing in Germany at the end of this year. After catching their performance at the Simple Minds convention last year, I can highly recommend them.

They'll be playing at The Hoppegarden in Hamm (near Dortmund) on the 9th December. Ticket information and travel/accomodation details will be posted soon - either here or on the band's new web site, which is currently under construction.

They've recently taken on Stephen Robinson at their manager. "I will be working with rest of the group to ensure that the event (and others to come !!) is well promoted and publicised to the best of our ability."

It's simply the best lifestyle


Mamma Mia
Sicily has beckoned for some years now and recently I've spent many weeks songwriting and recording on what I consider to be one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean.

But the art of getting there and back is not always plain sailing - or flying.

Imagine the scene: a sweltering Catania airport and hell breaks loose as the air traffic control computers go down with all departures suspended until further notice. This is a scenario I've witnessed frequently, experience teaching me that complaining achieves zilch. Instead, I stand back, finding it impossible not to collapse with laughter at the spectacle before me on the concourse.

Among the screaming and jostling it was possible to witness sights such as a livid Franciscan brother with gnashing teeth, and a guy with a goose under his arm who was determined to take on anybody in his way.


Happy family
Back in London and as a belated birthday treat I was taken by my ex-wife Chrissie Hynde and my two teenage daughters to a night at the theatre followed by supper at the famous Ivy restaurant. The play was good, and the restaurant surpassed itself. The highlight for me, however, was the company of these three opinionated females - all have a highly developed sense of humour and a merciless talent for mimicry, which was very much on display.

Chrissie is a great mother who more than covered for me during my endless absences touring the world. I am ecstatic that, despite our divorce, we have remained close friends.


Kick off
The football season is well under way and, like many others in this nation, my eight-year-old, James, is full of optimism for the fortunes of his team. I, however, feel strangely nonplussed as this season kicks off.

After thoroughly enjoying so much of the recent Euro 2000 competition, the bog-standard fare of the Scottish Premier League cannot quite get me excited. Or could it be that, in reality, I am not ready to stomach yet another emotional pounding as my favourite underachievers - that's Celtic to the uninitiated - capitulate to the Rangers mean machine. Nevertheless a few tricks from the dreadlocked deity and I am sure I will be as committed to the cause as ever.


Turning Japanese
Over the last two weeks I have been immersed in a new business project, investing in and helping to launch OKO, the new conveyer-belt style Japanese restaurant, aptly situated in Glasgow's super trendy Merchant City. As a bit of a sushi enthusiast, from my days touring the more exotic corners of the globe, I have been delighted at how the city has accepted Japanese cuisine.

I am also overwhelmed by the goodwill shown by all those who have been "exposed" to this exciting new concept. Just the other day a taxi driver taking me home raved about his visit. I asked him how it rated on a scale of one to 10. "We're going back later this week," he enthused. I reckoned that merited at least a nine. Now for OKO2 - Watch out Edinburgh.


Country house
Spent a rare day on the Perthshire estate I want to call home, but sadly I've decided to sell. I've been able to spend very little time there over the last couple of years, a regrettable situation that probably reflects the number of professional commitments I've undertaken. Today was spent hiking and fishing with my son. This evening I cooked, which always gives me pleasure. Tonight's fare was something approaching a Thai style prawn stir fry. Well that's what I told the guests.


The band played on
Spent an hour today on the telephone chatting with my best friend and songwriting partner Charlie Burchill, who lives in Dublin. Charlie is the guitar player with Simple Minds. We have done a lot of growing up together since we first met playing in the street as eight-year-olds. We began making music together at 14 and are now about to make more at 40, purely because we love it . Who wouldn't? Well actually many don't, or can't handle it, or get fed up and miss home.

Charlie and I could never understand why many in our business act as though having a successful music career was something of a burden.

Not us. You see, we fancy ourselves as the Real Deal, a real live band that performed world wide in the 1970s, 80s, 90s and are getting ready to play through this decade. There you go, is that enough bad news?


Jim Kerr, front man for the rock band Simple Minds, is an enthusiastic supporter of Scottish young entrepreneurs


(C) Sunday Times Scottish Section: 27th August 2000

It's been two weeks since the last update on this web site. Not for lack of enthusiasm nor lack of support - very simply, it's a lack of news.

Reports from various EMI subsidiaries paint a very confused picture. Dates range from October through to November for an album which is definitely still 'TBA'. Nothing absolute from the record company then. In fact, it looks like nothing's been decided for this album at all. Plus Chrysalis are busy anyway, currently pushing Robbie William's new album.

Additionally the only viable release date is October. Unfortunately, if this was the case, news of a single (last heard to be either Space or Jeweler To The Stars) would have been confirmed by now, with the odd promo circulating. Nothing is happening.

If the album was released in November or December, it would get lost in the Christmas glut of box sets and compilation albums (a similar fate occurred to Real To Real Cacophony.) So these dates should be ruled out.

Given Jim's desire for the album to get the best push possible, it looks like a release in 2000 has been ruled out. The next set of potential release dates would be January/February 2001. Then again, Jim hints in Todd's interview that they're looking into alternatives: "...you know we really have to make sure that the record company is set up to promote the record on a worldwide scale and if not then maybe we're going to have to go somewhere else." If that's the case, it may be further delayed.

There was disappointment with the promotion and sales of Néapolis. It looks like Jim's ensuring that the same fate doesn't occur to Our Secrets Are The Same. If that means waiting longer, then that's the way it's going to be.

Blow Up, the Simple Minds tribute band from Italy, played on the 11th August.

"It's been a fantastic gig with about 500 people clapping their hands and enjoying "our" music, really great! A large stage (60 square meters) with a white cathedral at the back and a 3000 watt P.A., nice lights and a very special guest, our friend Gianluca G. from Chiasso singing "New Gold Dream" (Summertime in Glasgow's version) and "Waterfront" '95 with "Roadhouse Blues" at the beginning.

There were pure Simple Minds fans as Luca Ruffini (Lachi) and his girlfriend from Rome, Cristina Canciani (LE MENTI fan club) from Florence, Lele Merlini and his friends from Bari, and 30 people from France and Croatia there for the Jubilee 2000.

What else can I say? We played 1 hour, we started with a short instrumental track I recorded the day before, then Real Life, See the lights, Changeling, Someone Somewhere In Summertime, Book Of Brilliant Things '86, New Gold Dream, Waterfront, Don't You (Forget About Me), All The Things She Said, East At Easter, Alive And Kikcing (Mandela Day version) and Sanctify Youself. We really enjoyed ourselves. - Mimmo.

Their next gig is planned for the 11th November in Florence.



Stéphane Lemaire is selling a large collection of Simple Minds items - this includes the Themes Volumes and various bootlegs. You can find Stéphane's list at http://perso.club-internet.fr/stef_val/collectors

Collectors should also check out Clive Johnson's list of items - he's updated it recently.

These, and previous set-sales and auctions, can be found in the marketplace.

Those who follow the events on the Italian web site for Le Menti will be familiar with Blow Up, a Simple Minds tribue band from Italy. Band For The Tribes are not alone!

"Simple Minds fans from all over the world, there are 6 mad guys spending their spare time and money playing Simple Minds. Their name is Blow Up and they are a SM coverband since 1989!"

"Every day a lot of Simple Minds fans aske me the instructions for downloading our MP3s, and I'm really glad every one is positively impressed by our performance. I mean, these little things are very important for us, because we don't play for earning money, nor for getting famous: ours is a real tribute to the band we love the most, it's a sign of love." - Mimmo

To download their songs:
1. Go to www.freedrive.com
2. Give 'sunday74' as the membername and 'sociolinguistica' as the password.
3. Click on 'my folder', then 'Blow Up Live Imola' folder, then 'BlowAlive' folder.
4. There are now four songs listed. (Street Fighting Years, Someone Somewhere In Summertime, New Gold Dream and Alive And Kicking
Their next gig is tomorrow (11th August). "My band will play... a 1 hour set-list. We're gonna play for the first time such songs like Real Life, Changeling, All The Things She Said, See the Lights and so on... (Oh sorry, I forgot Theme For Great Cities!). Our Italian friends for Le Menti will be present and for us it will be like playing in a Stadium crowded with thousands of people!" - Mimmo.

Another gig is planned in November. Le Menti are organising a Simple Minds convention in Florence on the 11th November and Blow Up will be playing a two hour live performance.

For more information:
Blow Up's web page: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/6742/blowup.htm
Lachi's site: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/6742/

The final part of Todd's interview with Jim has now been uploaded. You can read the entire interview here.

"Again, what can I say? Keep the faith! We have no intention of giving up ourselves - we've got so much music to bring." Jim Kerr


Those following Derek's managerial career with Angela Capel will be interested on this feature about the singer. (Derek does get mentioned!)


Does anyone have a copy of Summertime At The Top? Jim appeared on this show on the 18th July discussing OKO (see news from the 19th July.) If so, can you get in touch?


Liam Gallagher started Oasis' concert at Wembley Stadium, also the venue's penultimate concert, with the following drunken announcement:

"If you think I'm over the moon to be here you're fucking tripping. 'Cause this [place] is for Bob Geldof, this is for fucking Simple Minds. This is for all these other fucking idiots who started ...

But I am glad you made it.

Fucking Live Aid. I bet you wish it was fucking free and all"
All hail Robbie Williams (who has renewed his feud with Gallagher, and thinks he needs a slap).
And the third part of Todd's interview with Jim is now up. Topics this time include politics, web sites and box sets.

The interview is here.

The second part of Todd's interview with Jim has now been uploaded. The album's line-up, possible US release, and the ideas of a tour with U2 are discussed.

The interview is here.

Jim appeared on Scottish TV yesterday, on a mid-morning magazine show called Summertime At The Top. Topics included his support of Celtic (a big supporter but no longer interested in any financial involvement), the OKO venture, and finally Simple Minds.

Jim confirmed that the band was still his main priority and a tour is being planned for next year. Unfortunately there wasn't any news of the Secrets... album.

The first part of the interview between Todd Richards and Jim has now been transcribed and can be found here.

The album's title is confirmed, and Jim outlines the reason for the delay of the album's release. As Jim says, the band feel "super-creative" and are working on new material, but there's the danger that the second new album may be finished by the time the Secrets... album gets its release: "...another new album but if you're a fan I suppose the more the merrier!"

Unfortunately, Jim doesn't seem sure of the proposed October release date - the last paragraph of the interview is very telling.

The rest of the interview will be published soon.

Further to the most recent proposed release date for Our Secrets Are The Same (which was October 9th) the album has started to appear in release schedules. For instance, on-line retailers, Van Leest Compact Discs from The Netherlands, have the album listed for the 10th October.


A brief summary and pictures of the meet on London can be found here. Did Mick MacNeil show up? Well, he certainly called!
Jim has recently opened his sushi resturant, OKO, in Glasgow.

Whilst the press was quick to list the celebrities at the opening night, the best review of the evening was written by Mick MacNeil on his message board. Charlie, Mick and Derek were there, although Mick mentioned that they didn't talk about getting back together.

Other press reviews of the event (if still on-line, but no Simple Minds content) are:
The Evening Times
The Scotsman

A couple of the reports introduce Jim as 'the former singer' of Simple Minds, which is somewhat alarming. However, it could just reflect the fact that the band's been out of the public eye for a couple of years, and Jim's spent his time in the headlines connected with Celtic, e-commerce and resturants.



Whilst surfing the Internet, I discovered the following reviews of the band's last two albums, which I found interesting:
Good News From The Next World review.
Néapolis review.

Jim appeared in yesterday's Daily Record, an interview that was supposed to feature the opening of his resturant (persumably OKO) but instead concentrated on the recent news that Patsy Kensit had separated from Liam Gallagher.

However, there was some news of interest for Minds fans:

"His band Simple Minds celebrate their 25th anniversary next year, and Jim admits that he has been very fortunate. He said: "Really, there have been very few lows in the past 25 years. Getting the cheque was nice, of course, but the experience of being able to make your life in music is an incredible thing."

He added: "We have to plan an event for our anniversary next year. "There's an opportunity here, if only to work on a back catalogue ... a covers record of bands who influenced us - artists like Roxy Music, Peter Gabriel and Steve Harley. Even The Pretenders! It's something we want to celebrate."

As Simple Minds formed in 1978, someone's maths is slightly out (since the 25th anniversary would be in 2003.) But the covers record idea ties in with either the proposed 25th anniversary box set or, more likely, the mysterious double album (which was suggested for later this year, but has probably been pushed into 2001 by the delay of Our Secrets Are The Same. That's if it appears at all, it was always only a possibility.)

The full interview (if it's still there) can be found here


The London meet-up takes place tomorrow. I'll be attending in the morning and will be posting up some pictures here over the weekend.

All Bar One
48 Leciester Square, W1
Saturday, July 15, 2000

Meet at 10:00 AM

A map of the area can be found here.

The playlist for Some Sweet Day 2000 is now online. It can be found linked to the online flyer for the event.

Todd's also included the online version of the playlist as well (this was the show that was broadcast over the Internet the following Saturday). Apparently playing Jim's interview four or five times sucked up a lot of time!

A full transcription of Jim's interview is being worked on.

Jim's been interviewed by Todd Richards for Some Sweet Day 2000.

I've just been interviewed by Todd, and he's shared some of the details.

The new album is called Our Secrets Are The Same, the working title that Jim revealed over a year ago. Plans are also starting for a Virgin Simple Minds box set to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the band - this is the same box set that Jim mentioned in the previous Some Sweet Day interview. Don't expect that until 2002, but unreleased demos and rare mixes were mentioned.

(Don't confuse this with the double album mentioned in Travelling Man #3 which is a different project.)

A full transcription will be uploaded here as soon as possible.

Jim's latest venture adventure was reported in the Glaswegian press last week. Here's an excerpt from the Metro Life center pages.

(Warning: those of a nervous non-Simple Minds disposition should just scroll down to the Some Sweet Day 2000 section.)

Fishy Suppers

"Glaswegians are becoming very cosmopolitan people and I am convinved the city can lead the way in food as it has done with fasion and music," was the enterprising statement Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr made when he unveiled his sushi production company and restaurant OKO.

Developed in partnership with Stephen Ellis of establised sushi eatery Fusion, OKO will open in two weeks' time, and they hope to open another half-dozen in the coming year.

With drinks served by robots and food delivered by a futuristic self-service conveyor belt system, it should be as impressive as any restaurant that Kerr's globe-trotting career has taken him to, and he admits his decision to open a sushi resaurant reflects his personal taste in food.

"Through travelling with the band I have tried many kinds of world food and sushi is one of my favourites," he says.

Clearly, Kerr is not alone in his belief, with Sainbury's recently reporting that sushi now outsells its four most popular sandwiches combined....

(The rest of the article is concerted about sushi and other Scottish resturants offering Japanese fare. The address of OKO is 68 Ingram St, Glasgow.)



Of far more interest is Some Sweet Day 2000 which is taking place this week.

"..all is going according to plan for Some Sweet Day 2000 on Thursday July 6th. I have spoken to Simple Minds Limited and it is expected that Jim Kerr will again be our guest (over the phone) for the event.

Saturday July 8th I will be online from the RRHOF&M studios that uses Microsoft Media Player. Anyone wishing to listen in can find the link at the online flyer (www.rrhofm-radio.com). I will rebroadcast any interiews that happen on the 6th.

Aaron and I are looking forward to another successful day of SM music."
Todd Richards

The online flyer for this years Some Sweet Day 2000 can be found at www.runninglate.freeservers.com/marathons/sm. I hope to get a transcript of the interview up on the web site as soon as possible.




Work is progressing steadily on the new web site. At the moment, I'm devoting most of my spare time to the creation of the site's contents and graphics - it won't just be a new pretty version of this site. Expect much more.

The graphic on the right shows the new background graphics for the Life In A Day sections.

As news comes in over the next couple of months, it will be uploaded here. But the rest of this site won't be updated again - until it's all replaced by the new Dream Giver. I'm currently working towards a September release date.

The whole of Jim's interview with Scotland's Sunday Herald Magazine (11/06/00) has now been uploaded. It's accompanied with some new shots of Jim.

The interview can be found here


There's an addition to Christian Sinn's Set Sale: French promotional CD of Don't You (Forget About Me) and Love Song, SA 3271. Mint conditions. Offers please.

Mention has been made on the mailing list of the cover of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) by The Utah Saints.

Appearing as the opener on Utah Saints self titled debut album (FFRR 828379.2) in 1993, it's an uptempto dance track as expected from The Saints, joining other melodies and samples across the album. (Some of which were taken from Eurythmics and Kate Bush releases.) New Gold Dream appears to be the only cover version on the album - the rest being the band's own compositions, albeit with piles of samples.

Their interest in Simple Minds lead to Utah Saints remixing I Travel for the European War Babies CD release.

When asked about the various covers and samples of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) (ranging from the legal Utah Saints interpretation to the illegal samples in Open Your Mind by U.S.U.R.A), Simple Minds were tight lipped at the time only offering "No comment".



The final Real Live bootleg has now been uploaded. The double CD release, Real Live covers the concert at Eissporthalle, Grefrath, Germany, recorded on the 17th September 1991.

This leaves only six CD bootlegs to go, which cover the Good News From The Next World and Néapolis tours.



Whilst on the subject of bootlegs, have you ever wanted to purchase a copy of the Silver And Gold triple coloured vinyl boxset (Once Upon A Time tour) or the ultra rare Steve And Nelson Day! (Street Fighting Years tour)?

Christian Sinn has these items for sale in his updated Set Sale in the Marketplace, included in a large list of interesting rare Simple Minds items.



An interview with Jim was published by The Sunday Heald yesterday. It mainly concentrated on his business deals, and ventures into e-commerce.

"Instead he's buying and on the shopping list so far are loft complexes, bits of restaurant chains, chunks of Internet start-ups, shareholdings in football clubs and an interest in a film company. It's as if Kerr, having done that New York-Tokyo-Paris rock star thing with Simple Minds, has returned with a goodie bag of ideas and concepts for his home town."

There were references to the new album, still with an Internet-angle, since Jim mentioned the the AOL purchase of the record company, and the current battle between the 'free' Internet distribution of music and the traditional record companies:

"He's also keeping a weather eye on developments in the music industry/e-pioneers face-off which threatens the royalties of the big bands and major labels. 'It's quite intriguing for us because we have handed over what could be our last contractual album for EMI and they've sat on it for seven or eight months while they were bought by AOL, so we're waiting to see what's going to happen,' he says. 'So on the one hand you'd say, 'Well, what a great time to be independent', if that indeed is the case. But on the other hand it's like, 'Mmm, music for free - someone has to pay for it or else how's it going to get made?'"

(In 1996 Q Magazine reported that Simple Minds had signed a five album deal with Chrysalis Records. Not the most accurate piece of reporting - the deal was always for two albums, which have now been delivered.)

"...A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in the car, the kids were in the back we were talking about some plans we had for next year and Yasmin says 'Are you putting out a new record next year' and I say 'Yeah, looks like it' and there's a silence. Then Natalie says 'Are you going to be on TV' and I say 'Well I hope so'. Again there's a silence. Then I definitely heard one of them say 'Oh fuck'."

The whole interview can be found on the Waterfront web site.

The online flyer for this years Some Sweet Day 2000 has now been uploaded. You can view it at: www.runninglate.freeservers.com/marathons/sm.



Updates to the Marketplace: Ashraf Sayed is after a copy of the Verona video. Can you help out?
Guido Slagen has a large list of Simple Minds items for sale. "I had some items for sale on Dream Giver, back in 1998. Response has been great. Now however I would like to sell the remaining 268 items of my collection."

The list of Guido's items can be found in the Marketplace or you can directly download it here.

"I will consider every reasonable offer, accept cash only, and will calculate shipping cost according to the amount and size of items I have to ship."

Chorus Of Calls For Scotland’s Own Eurovision Song Entry

It was an appropriate title. Now, the embarrassing failure of Don’t Play That Song Again, Britain’s Eurovision Song Contest entry, has prompted politicians and musicians to demand that Scotland be allowed its own entry in future.

Pop stars including Jim Kerr, the lead singer of Simple Minds, have joined the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats in demanding that Scotland be allowed to avoid such shame after Britain finished 16th out of 24 on Saturday night, behind countries such as Latvia.

They believe that Scotland could do no worse - and that the example of a Celtic neighbour proves we could do significantly better. "As the Irish know, if you do it well and get success it brings you a lot of popularity," said Mike Russell, the SNP’s culture spokesman. "It can cost a lot, but I’m quite sure we will take part. We have to use the talent of the very best Scottish song-writers."

Mr Russell said a Scottish entry would be viewed by about 200 million people in 30 countries, plus an estimated six million others on the internet. "Those figures represent an economic opportunity not to be missed," he said.

A culture spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Ian Jenkins, said Scotland had every right to take a place in the competition and described the notion as a "lovely idea", but the Borders MSP said it could pose problems for the organisers.

"We could enter and we could very well win, but if we were admitted other regions like Bavaria and Catalonia might also look to join. If that happened the contest would be a week long and, to be honest, three to four hours is enough."

Jim Kerr said Eurovision’s traditional use of political voting meant Scotland would have a great chance of winning. He said: "We should enter it. Scotland is a popular nation, and just being Scottish brings a lot of goodwill. We would probably get all the points that England wouldn’t get, and, with the Auld Alliance, we could expect 12 points from the French every year."

Scottish artists have entered before under the British banner. Lulu triumphed in 1969 with Boom Bang A Bang.

The contest has been held in Edinburgh, when Moira Shearer hosted it at the Usher Hall in 1972, but there have been failures too. Kenneth McKellar was Britain’s entry in 1966, but his song, A Man Without Love, sank without trace.

Ronnie Browne, who, as part of the Corries, made Flower of Scotland the country’s unofficial national anthem, agreed it was a chance to sell "Scotland the Brand" to the world. "Riverdance came from a performance at Eurovision, and if you look at what that has done for Irish music across the world you can see how powerful the event can be," he said.

The debate over an independent Scots entry comes amid increasing concern, however, that the Eurovision Song Contest is being devalued. The most successful Eurovision entrant ever, the Irish singer Johnny Logan, said the event had been turned into karaoke because competitors had this year been allowed to use backing tracks.

Mr Russell said: "It’s become a bit devalued in recent years because a lot of the entries appear to have been written by formula.

"Countries that have been successful are those that have been individualistic, and we are certainly individualistic."

Fish, the former lead singer with Marillion, said entering Eurovision would be political suicide for a young band. "A lot of these songs seem to have written by tired writers who have nothing better to do than write a song for the Eurovision Song Contest. Until it gets through to a different age group, it’s never really going to work.It’s a middle-aged view of what pop music should be."

Scotsman Newspaper
15/05/00

Dave Kelly posted the following message to the Simple Minds mailing list:

"Me and Steve flew to Hamm, Germany to record a demo for Band For The Tribes with our drummer Thorsten this weekend.

Whilst having a meal outside an Italian restaurant on Saturday night, the owner came up to me and asked if I would play the piano. Steve joined me on vocals and we treated the public in the town square in Hamm to renditions of Street Fighting Years, Belfast Child, Alive and Kicking, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, I Don't Like Mondays by Boomtown Rats, PPT and Interlude from Mick's album. It was great, Steve got everyone clapping and was a great part of a really eventful weekend."


People-Places-Things
MIXMUSIC MIXCD001

Ex-Simple Minds keyboardist produces bumper package of "evocative instrumentals"

Mick MacNeil quit Simple Minds in 1990 and is at pains to point out that he has had other things on his mind since, as photographs of dogs, motorbikes and children indicate. But MacNeil clearly believes in this solo debut. Limpid piano ballads, faux-techno and a fairly shameless attempt at emulating the success of Karl Jenkins' Adiemus : all immaculately tailored but to what end?

The mood remains one of quality foyer music, or the accompaniment to a wistful section in a drama about the fishing industry. Many tracks were indeed commissioned thus, and if Genny isn't already the theme to BBC Scotland's bowls highlights, it soon will be. Deftly executed then, and an imaginative venture in marketing, but musically merely pleasant, and the merely pleasant soon becomes a bore.

Available from www.mixmuzik.com

Q: June 2000
Stuart Maconie
2/5
The June issue of Q Magazine reviewed Mick MacNeil's People, Places And Things album in their recent June issue - not the best of results.

Elsewhere the magazine lists the 100 Greatest British albums ever. A list that included Rio by Duran Duran, Dare by The Human League and The Lexicon Of Love by ABC didn't stretch to including anything by Simple Minds (where New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) would've fitted in well).

U2 weren't listed either, but Q were at pains to point out that the band weren't 'British'. I'd like to think that Simple Minds sound wasn't considered 'British' enough - whatever that is.

The band did get a mention, and a small picture in the Scottish section (a crop of a Jill Furmanovsky shot taken in 1983).


Those on the mailing list will know that a collection of Simple Minds items are up for offers. This includes the limited edition Street Fighting Years limited edition box set and the rare Simplemente compilation LP.

You can find the list of items here.


Again, those on the mailing list will know about the informal meet which will take place in July. After it was discovered that some fans from around the world were in London at the same time, it became a natural suggestion to meet up.

The day starts at All Bar One in Leicester Square, London on the 15th July at 10 AM. In the evening, a meal and visit a club has been suggested.

E-mail Clive Johnson for more information.

The latest news from Chrysalis is: "The new album does not have a firm release date yet, so there isn't very much solid info that I can give you at the moment." So it looks like the dates published here on the 30th March were incorrect.

There may be a single in the late summer, but that's not definite. The album looks like being released in September or October now.


Some Sweet Day 2000 is happening! This marathon 18 hours radio show, hosted by Todd Richards and Aaron Burke, is back-to-back Simple Minds. Album tracks, singles, rare B-sides, live material, bootlegs - if Simple Minds have released it, then it gets played.

Since last year, Todd's been increasing the size of his Simple Minds collection, which now includes all four Theme volumes and more bootlegs (including Art Appeal). Last year a number of rare tracks were broadcast (including New Warm Skin - probably a first time broadcast for that) and Real Live 91. The highlight was an exclusive interview with Jim (which can be found in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #9 and here).

The date for your diaries is July 6th, 7AM - 1AM ESP. There will be an online flyer soon.

Information about Todd and Aaron can be found on the Running Late web site.



As mentioned in a previous new page, Mick MacNeil was interviewed by The Scottish Sun and the Evening Times as part of the launch of People, Places And Things.

The Evening Times interview (published March 31st) can now be read here. Differences from the Sun interview include a mention of his collaboration with Eddi Reader for a recent ScotRail advert. Not only did he turn down working with Annie Lennox but Kate Bush as well. Plus there's the telling quote: "In retrospect, if we'd all taken a year off I might still be in the band to this day."

MacNeil and Jim Kerr have been in contact in recent months and there is a strong possiblity the old bandmates will team up again soon. "Nothing has been set in stone, however, but hopefully something will come off."

An interesting interview, less sensational than the Scottish Sun piece.



I interviewed Kevin Hunter by e-mail for Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? #9. This took place was early last year, before he was confirmed as the co-producer of the new album.

The interview can now be found on the Wire Train website at www.wiretrain.net.



The cost of Simple Minds Una Vita is £10 for Italy, and £12 for Europe (this is for both volumes.) Translation of the book into English is a possibility, but Cristina's next priority is issue #6 of Le Menti fanzine.

You can e-mail Cristina at lementi@libero.it and find more details at the Le Menti web site.



The bootlegs covering the band's 1991 LA gig have finally all been covered (although there's more out there.)

The bootleg discograpy continues and documents a double CD release Real... Real Live which features the band's Milton Keynes gig.



Fila Brazillia have released a double CD album: Brazilification Remixes 85-99. Collected with remixes of Radiohead and Moloko is Fila's remix of Theme For Great Cities (incorrectly stated as Theme From Great Cities on the sleeve.)

However, like many things with connected with Fila Brazillia, it's not that clear cut.

Three remixes of Theme For Great Cities by Fila Brazillia have already appeared across various Simple Minds releases. The most ambient appears on the 12" promo for Glitterball, the single version is different including samples of the original track and the edit version, which appeared on the promotional remix CD, has extra overdubs.

This new version sounds like it's continued evolving from the edit version, with still more overdubs and a new ending and with new ambient melodies. Those who enjoyed Fila's remix should search this album out:

Fila Brazillia: Brazilification Remixes 95-99
Kudos Records KUDCD013
www.kudosrecords.co.uk



With the release of the new album now pushed to September or October, the launch of the new Dream Giver web site has also been delayed. Expect it to launch in the late summer.

Dear All,

I haven't been inactive since you last heard from me... I have signed Angela Capel and Sound Buggy to my management company (MAYHEM MUSIC MANAGEMENT). I'm recording demos with both acts at the moment... next stop... London.

Sound Buggy have a single out at the moment on their own label... it's called Lovelord, it can be purchased for £5 + p&p if you e-mail me here... or Simon can get in touch...

Angela Capel will be in the Scottish Daily Record on Friday, and also The Evening Times.

I have been asked to do bass on three tracks with Jane's Addiction in Los Angeles, and also, two tracks with Japanese band Zilch... there's also a gig in Italy for the Terence Higgins Trust with Sham 69. The band will include Mel and myself, Angela Capel and Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell from WET WET WET... It's for charity.

Keep yer haun oan yer ha'penny,
Derek Forbes

It's been quiet from The Lementi team over the last year but this doesn't mean that they've been inactive.

Cristina Canciani has been writing a Simple Minds book. 367 pages spread across two volumes, this book documents the whole of the band's career to date. Drawing from sources ranging from the official and unofficial biographies, newspaper and magazine interviews and Who's Doing The Dreaming Now?, the book collates information for every album, song (including lyrics), known bootleg and band member. It's a huge piece of work.

Published in Italian, this will become an undisputed source of information about the history of the band.

I have no idea of availability or cost, but Le Menti's web site can be found here.



The final two bootlegs from the Los Angeles gig have now been covered in the bootleg discography. Live USA covers the Westwood One presentation of the gig, but swaps the track order in an attempt to differentiate the bootleg from all the others. Real Live is more interesting as it's taken from an audience recording, features a different selection of tracks, and reveals some censorship of the Westwood One broadcast.

The bootleg discography can be found here.


One of the missing CDs in the discography finally gets its entry. Back in 1997, Simple Minds appeared in the Proms, a series of concerts across Europe which combined classical with rock and pop. The Promised[1] was hastily put together by Virgin as a limited edition to sell at the gigs - really a repackaging of Glittering Prize 81/92.

However, it's Night Of The Proms '97 which is far more interesting. A sample of the concerts, it features orchestral versions of Belfast Child and Don't You (Forget About Me). A 'must-have' for the completist, it's appeared with a variety of covers and sometimes appears for sale on eBay.

It's entry in the discography can be found here.

[1] Also called The Promised Night or The Promised Night Of The Proms. Depends on how much of the title you read.

Hello, This update is to inform you of the changes in the MIXMUZIK website.

www.mixmuzik.com has now become... www.mixrecords.com. We have taken the opportunity to improve the website during this changeover to add new features such as a live chat area, message board and hopefully a fully functioning webcam! and in the future we aim to bring you regular updates and MP3 downloads.

Everybody who has put their name on the MIXMUZIK mailing list will automatically be moved over to the MIXRECORDS mailing list. If you wish to be removed from this list, please do so through the MIXRECORDS website. My instrumental double-album, 'PPT' is still available ONLY through the MIXRECORDS website, priced; £16.50 inc P+P (U.K. orders) and £17.00 inc P+P (orders outside the U.K.) (per copy). You can order online through www.MIXRECORDS.com or by mailing us the order form which you can print out from our website, with your credit card details or cheque/IMO or similar, made payable to 'Mix Records LTD' and send it to us at:

MIX RECORDS
P.O. BOX 25098
Glasgow G3 7XL
Scotland

Our e-mail address has changed from mix@easynet.co.uk, to mail@mixrecords.com or direct to myself at mick@mixrecords.com.

Apologies for any inconvenience or delays during this transition period. Thank you for your continued support and interest.

Mick MacNeil

The last part of Mick's Scottish Sun interview has now been uploaded. (The final column titled "Demon Life Of The Band That Loved To Party.")

You can read the final parts here



The next issue of Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? has been printed and dispatched. This issue catches up with all the news from 1999 and covers the Kosovo gig, the convention, Forbes/Gaynor And Friends and more.

It's been 21 years since Simple Minds' debut album, Life In A Day and Who's Doing The Dreaming Now? looks back to the recording of the album, the evolution of the songs, the events leading up to the band's disillusionment with the recording, discography and more. Gigs, reviews, curios and photographs are also included in this section.

The fanzine also features a short, exclusive interview with Kevin Hunter, where he talks about his involvement with the new album.

The subscription price and more information about the fanzine can be found in the Fanzine section.



Yet more recordings of the LA Amphitheatre gig have been documented in the bootleg discography. The full details of Minds Travellers and Stand By Me can be found here.

More additions have been made to the Simple Minds Marketplace. Check out the Wants Section for the listings.
Simple Minds Project Here's the first tenative dates for the forthcoming releases. These have just been pencilled in and are subject to change:
12th June: New single
28th June: New album

There are NO plans for any shows this year. There may be some selected promotional performances but don't expect a tour.


The new Dream Giver website has now appeared and features a tongue-in-cheek Shockwave promo which poses the question as to what's happened to Jim and Charlie. The first sample pages will be uploaded on the 8th April and will give a feel as to the design and direction of this site's replacement.

I hope to get the full site uploaded for June 28th. And you'll find the new Dream Giver at www.simpleminds.org


The next part of Mick's Sun interview has now been uploaded. This details the circumstances of Mick MacNeil's deparature from Simple Minds and his work in the meantime.

The article can be found here



Still more CD bootlegs from the LA concert. There are three different versions of The "Real Live" Tour and they're now all featured in the bootleg discography.
I've started to uploaded the full Scottish Sun interview with Mick MacNeil. The introduction is now available: the main part of the interview will be available soon.

You can read it here


The next couple of bootlegs from the Real Life tour have been added to the bootleg discography. They cover the same Universal Amphitheatre concert as the previous recordings and there's still more to go.


The marketplace has been updated. Check it out for a new wants list.


Ten more New Gold Dream mail digests have now been uploaded. They can be found here. This leaves around one hundred to go.
There's much excitment around the widely touted June/July release date for the new Minds' album. I've been in touch with EMI:Chrysalis who've stated that the album does not have an official release date as yet. The June/July date is an educated guess and that's it.

Obviously, it still could be released in these months, but don't be too disappointed if it doesn't appear. When an official release date has been confirmed, it will be posted here.


After the Kawala interpretation of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84), there's apparently a sample of Ghostdancing appearing soon. Artist and song unknown.

By coincidence a recording of a Italian song from the latter half of the nineties has recently turned up. This also samples Ghostdancing as the main riff throughtout the song. It can be found at: http://www.xdrive.com/share/95264678009xsavoPWO3ZE17kVWBjVwM

Be quick. It won't be on the Internet for much longer. If you can identify this song, then please let me know.


The final two LP bootlegs, both covering the Minds show from the Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles from 19th June 1991, have now been uploaded. This completes the LP discography as far as I know. Apparently there's another version of In Summertime on the The Amazing Kornyphone Rebirth Label and an LP called Up All Night. If you know anything about these two releases, or any other Simple Minds LP bootlegs that don't appear on the site, then let me know.

The CD bootleg discography will be continuing. There's still around 17 to go.

The bootleg discography can be found here.


The single list has been complete. This allows the single, release date, highest UK chart position and number of formats to be seen in one list. For more information on the single, click on it's sleeve.

The single discography can be found here

Mick's first newspaper interview appeared in The Scottish Sun on March 2nd.

"Ten years ago Mick MacNeil walked out on No1 Scots group Simple Minds and just vanished. Today he explains why." Georgina Reid asked the questions every fan's wanted to know since 1989, and Mick came up with the answers.

"The American leg of the tour had been pulled and Jim decided we were going to Amsterdam to start writing a new album after Christmas. At that point, I just said "Well you can go. I'm going home." We all got very angry and it got a bit nasty. Jim accused me of splitting the band up. Charlie told me I was a rat leaving a sinking ship.".

"I didn't say I was chucking the band. I just told them I wasn't going to Amsterdam. I was going home and I'd sort something out from there."

The article covers more ground. From Mick's decision to leave Simple Minds whilst in Dublin as a tax-exile with Belfast Child at Number One in the UK charts, his return to Scotland, leaving Simple Minds, how is departure started a massive upheaval for Simple Minds which included Bruce Findlay leaving, Mick bumping into Jim in an L.A. hotel, his tour with The Pretenders, turning down a tour with Annie Lennox (which he really regrets), his marriage, and the setting up of the recording studio and his new album.

There's a lot here.


Under the misleading sideline of "Demon life of the band that loved to party", Mick relates several stories about life both in, and out, of the band. Here's a taste:

On The Love Of His Life
"My Triumph motorbike. I suddendly decided I wanted a Harley Davidson.
I was Mick MacNeil, rock star. No way would the examiner fail me but I was crap and he did.
I went straight to the nearest bike shop, bought a 125cc scooter and a full set of leathers. I'd wait till midnight then go down to the Safeway carpark and practise all night.
I passed and ended up with my wee Triumph which I adore."

Bono And U2
"Our paths crossed a lot. There was always great cameraderie between us. We were the same kind of guys doing the same kind of thing.
We were equal up to a point, then we kind of stayed in second gear and U2 went into overdrive."
Beg or steal a copy - it's a great read.

"Jim asked me to get involved in a couple of things, but either they've never come to anything or the timing's been wrong. But I hope some time in the future we could do something together. Time cures a lot."

Band For The Tribes

"With it being unlikely that there will be a convention this year. I was just wondering who would be interested in a Band For the Tribes gig in Germany?

NOTHING has been planned yet, but we were intending to play Germany as a warm up gig for any convention.

If we get enough people SERIOUSLY interested in this, then we could possibly ahead and arrange a date.

We would of course try not to clash the date with any Simple Minds gig or Euro 2000, we could perhaps plan it around any German dates. I have completed about 20 new songs since the last convention and there is of course the new album to come.

The proposed set would be approximately 2 hours and would only have 3 songs from the Camden Underworld set.

Please e-mail me if you are interested."


Dave Kelly
Band For The Tribes
PPT Artwork Mick MacNeil's interview (are those in Scotland watching Scotland Today today?) has been published as a two page spread in either yesterday's or today's Scottish Sun. Whether it filtered down to the south, and was featured in The Sun, is unknown.

Sorry about the delayed notice. Hopefully those in Scotland will be able to get hold of a copy.


The still untitled new album by Simple Minds has tentatively started to appear on release schedules for May, June and/or July. The record company is remaining tight-lipped at the moment, but things are finally starting to happen.


simpleminds.com finally gave up yesterday. There was much excitment, and bemusement, as the domain name was mapped to writernet, Eating And Drinking In London and, finally, settled on MotionPixels web site. (They originally designed and implemented simpleminds.com.)

There is a new official web site, but I guess it won't appear until the new album is about to be released.


Hell has been added to the Simple Minds Unreleased section.


The next round of ten New Gold Dream digests have now been uploaded. They can be viewed from the mailing list section.

PPT Artwork As reported on the 24th February, Mick's TV interview will be broadcast tomorrow and/or Saturday. His chat with Billy Sloan will be shown on Scotland Today (which is only available on STV in Scotland.) This is a daily local news show which will be repeated throughout the day.

Mick will also be doing some interviews for some newspapers and/or magazines. Publication dates will be posted here once they're known.



After identifying the intro tape of the Once Upon A Time gigs, Intro Tape 85-86 has been entered into the 'songs' section, with links into the bootleg discography. This heralds the start of a new section which deals with the murky history of unreleased Simple Minds songs and covers.



Another 'mystery' from the back catalogue has also be solved, thanks to Mick. This concerns Iain Banks, a somber, majestic (and very short) instrumental from Then Jerico's Orgasmaphobia album.

Although the song sounds like classic Mick MacNeil, the album's credits only listed author Iain Banks who narrates a passage from one of his books over the piece. But, it turns out that this song is another Mick MacNeil original, which is exclusive to this album (it doesn't turn up on People, Places And Things.)



Veldt Logo Veldt have uploaded three new demos on their website. Listen out for the short Film Theme sample in the first song.

(Brighton based Veldt named themselves after the Simple Minds song, and have used samples from the Minds in their earlier work.)

The new Veldt website is at www.veldt.co.uk.



An archive news page has now been created. Maintaining the links to each news page, on each news page, was getting too unwieldy. So, the Archives section has been created. This also allows you to view the key events of each news page.

Speculation is high at the moment that the new album will be released sometime in April. At the moment, there's no concrete information, definitive release date or album title as yet.
The next round of bootlegs have been uploaded. This finishes the bootlegs covering the Once Upon A Time tour (including the triple LP box set Silver And Gold), the first London Mandela show, and the only vinyl bootleg covering the entire Street Fighting Years tour: the rare Steve And Nelson Day!.

They can be found listed in the bootlegs section.

PPT Artwork The interview with Billy Sloan and Mick MacNeil went well, although the PC transmitting to the Internet kept crashing. This was the reason why people watching the set-up, including myself, lost the connection. However, the PC was rebooted and reconnected; plus I've received mails from people who saw the whole interview taking place and also saw Mick playing the piano.

The whole interview has been recorded on a camcorder for later Internet broadcasting.

The interview will be aired on Scotland Today, STV and is scheduled for Friday 3rd March, and/or Saturday 4th March, repeated on the same daily news program.


Assumed lost, I've recently discovered 117 digests from the original Simple Minds mailing list, which was called New Gold Dream. It ran from 1993 to May 1998, and the digests I've found date from late 1996 to 1997.

I've begun to archive them, and they're available on the mailing list page.

Mick on the webcam Mick's broadcast started earlier than advertised, with the webcam operating at around 12:45 PM. Those who tuned in were treated to Mick and Richard Wong setting things up, and then what looked like Mick and Billy Sloan talking about the forthcoming interview.

Then, as the major activity started with the TV crews setting up lights and cameras, the webcam seemed to die at 1:30PM. So, we got to see the preparation but not the actual interview.

The interview will be broadcast on Scottish TV later this week, and then repeated over the Internet at a later time.


Bad news for those hoping for chart success for Kawala, the latest single that's sampled New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84). It didn't repeat the success of the Ursura remixes, and only reached a lowly 68 in the UK singles chart. I don't expect it to climb any higher.

PPT Artwork The webcam will be turned on at MIXMUZIK today at 1:00 GMT to witness the recording of an interview for Scottish Television (STV). Mick MacNeil is going to be interviewed by music journalist Billy Sloan for the show Scotland Today which is expected to be broadcast on Saturday 26th February (although check back here for confirmation).

Only video will be broadcast over the web. Legal and technical reasons prevent the tranmission of the audio until the television broadcast has aired. As many won't be able to watch Scottish TV when the show goes out, the interview will also be broadcast over the Internet again at a later date; this time with the audio.


"I would just like to take a moment here to thank everyone who has bought my CD and responded with such kind and complimentary comments about the contents. I am truly overwhelmed by your views on my music, thank you very much. Thank you also for your continued support of Mix Records through MIXMUZIK, making future releases of new/established artists, material and projects more possible."

Yours Sincerely,
Mick MacNeil

Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon Controversy reigns! Unknown Song #2, posted on 4th December 1999, wasn't as clear-cut as Hell. Mick wrote: "The other wav was just something that I had programmed on my Kurzwiel keyboard for an intro tape to start the gig."

After relating the story to the Simple Minds Mailing List, David Johnson mentioned that the song was actually Time from Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.

"I have just been looking at the Simple Minds messaging page and see that there seems to be some dispute over that Kurzwiel tape intro. Well as I remember now the music was not of my own. The roadie that I had at that time (the wonderful Vince) had actually programmed this for me, all I did was to change the sounds of the various instruments, so as David Johnson says, this may well be a Pink Floyd song indeed."

Listening to both the songs, there is a similarity in the arrangements: Sparse percussion overlayed with a majestic chord progression. But the melodies appear different. As far as I'm concerned, the jury remains out on this one.

(Another odd coincidence: Simple Minds' earliest shows started with a montage of clocks and chimes - much like the intro to Time.)

Many thanks to Mick for providing the background to this song.


Kawala CD Single A week later than expected, Kawala's Humanistic has finally been released. A CD and 12" are in the shops, but only one track includes the New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) riff, and a reproduction of Derek's driving bassline throughout the song. The Souled Out! Radio Edit is the one to look out for, is available on the CD, and is the mix getting the radio play.

Hopefully, this means that Simple Minds will be in the chart again on Sunday.

Note to Virgin Records: this is the third time New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) will enter the UK charts as a remix by another artist. If a double compilation is planned at the end of this year, perhaps New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) would make a good single? Rant over.

Kawala Humanistic Pepper Records 9230022
Humanistic Souled Out! Radio Edit [3.37]
Humanistic Album Version [2.43]
Humanistic Future Breeze Remix [6.41]
Humanistic Nylon Filtered Mix [6.38]
CD in slimline jewel case with colour insert. Track #1 is based on New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)

Recommended.
PPT Artwork Mick is planning some TV and newspaper interviews in the near future. The focus is expected to be on Mick's departure from the band, his view on what happened, what he's done since leaving, his future plans and, obviously, the release of People, Places And Things.

Once the broadcast and publication dates are known for sure, then they will be posted here.



Mick has also identified both of the unknown songs that were posted here back on the 4th December 1999.

Unknown Song #1, which appeared at the start of a bootlegged Simple Minds 1979 concert, is a previously undocumented song called Hell. It was written especially for the band's first BBC radio session, which was recorded at the BBC's Manchester Studio's on the 2nd April 1979 for DJ Kid Jensen.

(This means that both Rosemary's Baby and Sweet Things remain unbootlegged, and unheard by the majority of fans who weren't lucky enough to catch the band in 1978 and 1979.)

The second song, the original intro tape from the Once Upon A Time shows, is also turning out to have an interesting history. I just need to check some other facts before posting.



Jim appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live this Saturday morning, discussing the current situation at Celtic. Unfortunately, the show had been prerecorded, so flooding the presenter's mailbox with questions about the new album didn't quite work. The only news about the album was: "it's finished".



The listing of Simple Minds' album releases has changed: you can now instantly view most of the album's details (such as release date, UK chart position, producer as so on.) This will make it easier to see the all the albums' main details, without having to load each page, and provides a 'quick' discography at a glance.

The bootlegs and singles listings will also changed to use this format in the near future.

After hearing nothing for ten years, except for small number of collaborations with other artists, Mick MacNeil triumphantly returns with a double CD set of 27 songs, called People, Places And Things.

This compilation gives a glimpse of his work over the last decade, separated into two sets called Night and Day. The Night Disc reveals a previously unheard mellow and reflective side of Mick MacNeil working mostly with just piano and accordion, whilst the Day Disc reaffirms the Mick MacNeil of old, with strong, driving melodies that you just can't get out of your head.

Those expectiving a package of revamped Simple Minds standards will be disappointed. Except for The Accordion Song which slyly uses Soundtrack For Every Heaven as a base, Mick has moved on, and this set represents a body of unreleased work. Echoes of the past are apparent, with the high synth work in Festival reminiscent of Soul Crying Out, or the arrangement of In The Footsteps Of Our Ancestors reflecting Belfast Child, but these are the exceptions.

Another surprise is the high quality of the packaging. The CDs arrived in a Mix round tin, with a circular insert which flips through from the Night artwork, round to the Day artwork, and so on. Whilst both the covers for Night and Day have already appeared on Mick's site, the rest of the artwork includes illustrations of the People, Places And Things that inspired the album: pictures including his family, Triumph and Shuggy.

The CDs can only be ordered from Mick's website at: http://www.mixmuzik.com.

A full list of the songs can be found on the album's entry in the main discography.

A great start to the year.



The latest update to the discography features exclusive Simple Minds tracks that have never been released as part of their main discography. These include an instrumental version of King Is White And In The Crowd, a BBC session of New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) which dates back to 1983 and an exclusive performance of She Moved Through The Fair.

Check out the Misc Items area of the discography for details of these releases.

(At the moment, there's one CD missing: the 1997 Proms CD which features two orchestral tracks. Once I've got hold of a copy, I'll update the discography.)

Still Spooky Artwork There's been a slight delay in sending out the forthcoming debut album from Mick MacNeil. The factory pressing up the CDs won't be delivering the album until either today or tomorrow. So, for those in the UK at least, expect the album in the post early next week.
Simple Minds' record company has merged with Time Warner to become the biggest music company in the world. There is expected to be some artist sackings, and staff redundancies, when the two companies combine.

How this could affect Simple Minds is open to conjecture. There's alreay been discussion on the mailing list about this subject.

The distinctive riff from New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) has been sampled in the forthcoming single release by Koala. The single, called Humanistic, will be released in the UK on February 7th. Further news when I get it, but the song, which features the couplet "He's my mystic, Go ballistic" sounds great, and may displace Usura's Open Your Minds as my favourite song featuring a Simple Minds sample.



Mick MacNeil's discography, which was featured in Who's Doing The Dreaming Now #7, has now been uploaded onto the web site. This includes System 7 by System 7 and Orgasmaphobia by Then Jerico. Obviously People, Places And Things will be added as soon as I get it. Surf over to the discography section for Mick's own page.

Lyrics, where appropiate, have been added to the lyrics section.

The new simple-minds mailing list is up and running. It doesn't look like the bulk resubscription of the members of the Néapolis worked, so you'll have to subscribe to the new list yourselves.

To subscribe, follow the instructions below:

Subscribe to Simple Minds
simple-minds archive Hosted by eGroups.com
There's also a tongue-in-cheek poll: when will the new album be released? Follow the link to the archive and cast your vote.

Once I've rescued the archives for the Néapolis mailing list, they'll be restored on this website. I also thought that all the archives for the New Gold Dream mailing list had been lost - but I've since discovered 117 digests in my mail box. So I'll be getting them in HTML format and creating an archive for that list.



Still Spooky Artwork Hello again from Mixmuzik,

Firstly I must apologise for the delay in sending the CD's, this is due to the redesigning of the packaging to accomodate the two CD's. We hope to have this corrected as soon as possible and will despatch your order at the end of next week, we still aim to be within the 28 days as first quoted.

Thank you for being patient,
Mick MacNeil

Those who've visited Mick's website recently will have realised that the album is a double. This is good news indeed!


Travelling Man #3 The final issue of Travelling Man has arrived. This black and white fanzine features separate interviews with Jim and Charlie (which took place a month after the Kosovo gig) and a fanview feature written by myself.

"Simple Minds wish to thank all who joined this fan club abd all who worked behind the scenes, especially - Rob Ayling and Stuart MacKenzie."

It doesn't look like there will be another official Simple Minds fanzine as the emphasis has been pushed onto the Internet: "Everyone should look out for the new simpleminds.com website which will inform the latest news and plans of Simple Minds"

Whilst the fanzine itself didn't live up to expectations, I'll miss the fanclub-only CDs, which were originally promised with every set of subscriptions. Real Live 91 was the only release offered.



Travelling Man #3 also suggested a January 2000 release date for the album, but this simply shows when it was originally written. The official response from EMI:Chrysalis is "[There's] nothing as yet on our forward release schedule."

So, still no release date, and still no title.



"Next year [2000] will kick off with the release of a new Simple Minds studio album, then possibly a double compilation with some new material towards the end of the year." This quote, from Jim, was printed on the last page of Travelling Man #3.

Are Virgin dusting down the master-tapes for a retrospective of Simple Minds career? Or will Mindmood be putting together an archival release? It's not known at the moment, but hopefully this exciting project will go ahead.

Today is the last day of the Néapolis mailing list.

All subscribers to the 'normal' version of the list have been moved to the new simple-minds list; you should receive your welcome mail today. Unfortunately, there's no digest version of the new list, so all those subscribed to the 'digest' version of Néapolis have been invited to join the new list. You will have to subscribe, using instructions given in the mail sent to you.

Everything should be up and running today - I'll post more extensive information and update the mailing list page tomorrow.

Over the last eighteen months, the Néapolis mailing list has been run from a Linux box in the west coast of the USA. Unfortunately, and due to events beyond anyone's control, the hosting of the mailing list has suddendly had to end. Many thanks to Kevan and Robin Heydon who ran the Majordomo software and made this service available.

So, many apologies, but the list will shortly be ending in its current guise. I'm moving it onto a new provider as fast as possible. Please watch this space for announcements of the new list.



The next round of dubious Simple Minds product includes all the Once Upon A Time CD bootlegs. Interestingly the bootleggers have turned their backs on the rich selection of vinyl LPs and have all packaged the Rotterdam 1985 gig, which was recorded and broadcast as a Westwood One show, in a variety of different ways. The quality of all of them is excellent - it's a matter of which CD includes the whole show in the right order, or the number of bonus tracks that are thrown in, which differentiates them.

Westwood One Radio Show, Ghost Dancing, Alive And Kicking and Don't You Forget About Me are all catalogued in the bootleg section.



Endless River The final issue of Endless River has arrived. Monique gives the whole story, and reasons for it's demise, in the Editorial and Epilogue. As I stated previously, the loss of Endless River will be felt by many fans: the editorial team managed to get some great interviews with Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes, and they got their issues out on time, every time. Good luck to Monique and the team for the future.

The contents, and final update to the Endless River page, can be found in the Fanzines section. Please note that the fanzine section now includes current fanzines (Who's Doing The Dreaming Now?, Mission In Motion and Le Menti) plus a new section detailing fanzines out of print. This will provide a historical bibliography of ex-fanzines.



Esprit Records have created a special Simple Minds page so you can view their list of Simple Minds items directly. I have been an Esprit customer for years, and recommmend them extremely highly. To access the special page, hit the logo below:

Mel Gaynor Fans of Mel Gaynor in the UK will be pleased to know that the Robert Palmer tour is coming to these shores on the following dates:
Jan 26, Royal Concert Hall, Nothingham
Jan 27, London Dominion Theatre, London (Sold out)
Jan 28, London Dominion Theatre, London (Sold out)
Jan 29, The Apollo, Manchester (New Date)
Jan 30, The Playhouse, Edinburgh (New Date)
As many fans know, Mel is providing the drums during this tour. For further Palmer dates, check out the various websites on the Internet.



As mentioned on the 5th, it's now fifteen years since those Glasgow gigs that spawned the bootleg Summertime In Glasgow. I've now covered the three CD versions of this concert in the bootleg discography: Plus, corrections to date information, have been made to Life In A Day, Live In Glasgow 82 and Dutch Daze. Thanks to Cristina Canciani, Stefan Schmidt and Dave Kelly for the updated information.



Apologies to Christian Sinn, whose e-mail address wasn't correctly formated on his set-sale page - this has been fixed.

There's a great list of items for sale. Fancy a promo video of Glitterball or War Babies. Or concert posters? Or shop displays? Check out Christian Sinn's set sale of Simple Minds items in the Marketplace.

Endless River Endless River, the Simple Minds fanzine published in the Netherlands, has now wound-up.

The magazine's editor, Monique Tonino, explains that a lack of time has mainly lead to the fanzine ceasing. Their web site will also be closing, although it's still currently on-line. Additionally, she warns that any future use of the name Endless River should be viewed as misuse.

Endless River was one of several fanzines that started publication in 1996. After an initial free issue, it grew to become a dependable, frequent, clean publication, published in two languages (English and Dutch) and featured many exclusive interviews and scoops. Their most recent 'firsts' were to interview Mick MacNeil and Alfred Bos. I shall miss it.

Apparently, a final issue is on it's way. As for those with subscriptions, or additional concerns, then please contact Monique.



Summertime In Glasgow It's the fifteenth anniversary of January gigs in Glasgow, imortalised by the LP bootlegs Summertime In Glasgow and Live In Glasgow and by the CD reissues of Summertime In Glasgow (cow sleeve or cross sleeve) and Scotland 85.

These concerts were recorded for a possible live album after the success of the Sparkle In The Rain tour. The band put in a great performance, and unveiled unique versions of I Travel, The American and belted out a huge version of New Gold Dream 81,82,83,84 with Jim and 'special-guest' Bono sharing vocal duties.

Unfortunately, the majority of the show remains unreleased except in bootleg form. If you ever get the chance, check it out.

(Thanks to Moisés for reminding me of this!)



Wall Of Sound have placed Don't You (Forget About Me) at number 52 in the 100 singles of the century. Simple Minds don't normally do well, or get included in these polls, so it's nice to see its inclusion.

Apparently it's popular at high-school proms.

(Thanks to Kevin Baggett)

Happy New Year!. And this year will see the release of Simple Minds new studio album and hopefully a tour. So watch this space! Current estimations for the release of the still untitled album range from February to April.

Considering that Simple Minds weren't particularly active during 1999, I updated the news section on the web site more frequently than any other year - expect more of the same this year!


Spooky Artwork You can now purchase the first solo album by Mick MacNeil, which is called People, Places And Things. The album can be bought by either mail order or secure on-line ordering. Full details, plus contact addresses, are available on Mick's Web Site.

Hello,

I hope you all have had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I know that I said the album would be ready by the end of last year, and really it was but I had a little delay with the artwork for the sleeve and with all the holiday stuff in the middle it has held me back a little. But not to worry we are ready to go now.

As I have already said that we will put a PO Box number in place for anyone who feels a little apprehensive about leaving personal credit card details on the secure server which is perfectly understandable, even though I believe more and more people are using such services. Or please feel free to contact me directly if you have any quarries on anything.

This just leaves me to say thank you to all of you who with your kind comments have encouraged me to complete this collection of ideas. I do hope that you find some enjoyment from these pieces of music.

Fondest Regards,
Mick MacNeil


One of my mail boxes reached critical mass during the Christmas holidays. If you mailed me between 10th December - 24th December and have yet to receive a reply or acknowledgement then can you please resend your mail. I know I've lost mails from Cristina, Stefan, Moises and some questions about the film version of Don't You (Forget About Me). Apologies.


And for those who took an early Christmas break, you may have missed the last updates on this site from Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes. The news from the previous months can be found here.
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