Well, what the Simple Minds fandom really needed was yet ANOTHER Facebook group.
Sigh.
I’m already in f*** knows how many. But the latest is “official”. Excuse my initial cynicism but…what’s the objective?
Simple Minds Official for band news only? Jim posts there. Fuck all the wonderful interactivity that used to happen? No more visitor wall? All that is now meant to happen at Simple Minds Official Group (aka SMOG…aka Fans In The Mist)?
Only today did I look on my blog as to what I am pretty sure was my last piece of interactivity with Jim. I’d posted on the visitor wall about a review of a gig from back in the day from a guy called Johnny Waller. Jim had responded and talked about Johnny, saying he’d run a local fanzine and also mentioned Lindsay Hutton too. He said he’d wondered what happened to them. Of course, like a good little researcher/investigative journalist I went on a search and found out for him.
As always, it was a lovely exchange that I’m always so appreciative of. That was in February. It’s now nearly September.
I know he has his dad’s health to consider. I am always mindful of it.
But even at his most busy times, Jim always seemed to take the time to interact. I mean hell, one exchange we had he was in the middle of the Night Of The Proms stuff in Germany leading up to Christmas 2016. I had mentioned an interview in which Noel Gallagher sang the praises of David Bowie’s latter work. Something Jim has rarely expressed being a fan of.
He replied to me…with a rather extensive response, and it was amazing. Those exchanges I absolutely cherish!
I worry that SMOG is the signalling of change…and not necessarily for the better.
It feels like the magic is being slowly sucked out of things.
I shall see how things go…but unlike when I first started to be around the fanbase and Jim was around and as he got more aware of me things just…evolved and there was that great chunk of interactivity…it has all but dried up. Yesterday’s news is now today’s fish supper wrapping.
Adios amigos…
Flown off on those angel wings.
As for me interacting with fellow fans? Well…there’s…oh, take your pick…SMI, New Gold Dreamers, Fans, Fans Club, Fans Club Italia, Sardinia, Spain…on and on and on…
Not to mention fan pages just for Jim…
And one on one and private chat, etc, etc.
