Hundreds of years ago, Simple Minds ruled the planet. While the '80s raged, Jim Kerr leered Don't You (Forget About Me) from every transistor in Christendom, and right-minded music lovers vowed that one day, they'd do just that.

Twenty years on it is time for an amnesty. Simple Minds may have been among the most cringeworthy of the stadium dinosaurs (think a Scottish version of U2 circa The Joshua Tree) byt like many such bands their early stuff was fab.

Chelsea Girl is Bowie on a student loan; Promised You A Miracle epic tosh to match Bono on mushrooms. Life In A Day even got played at London's Nag Nag Nag last week, which says it all really.

Scarily good.

Paul Moody
NME, June 28th 2003