I was looking through the new Classic Pop special on the New Romantics movement and wondering if Simple Minds would even get a mention anywhere. Of course they wouldn’t describe themselves as New Romantics…but they were certainly on the fringes of the scene, if not directly involved in it. And certainly their music fitted in with the sound of the period.
In particular, I had hoped to see them be mentioned in the feature of the magazine called “40 Essential Tracks of The Scene”, because if nothing else their sound was right in the frame (as far as I am concerned) for the period. I started to get a bit disgruntled as I turned the pages. I mean, if Duran Duran’s Planet Earth is there, how the fuck could I Travel NOT be?
Finally…and right next to Iggy Pop’s Nightclubbing (at a lowly 39! Fucking hell. I wonder about some of these music mags sometimes…) – was this (see below). I am actually finding Changeling a curious choice given what else is in the Simple Minds canon at the time of the New Romantics movement. I mean…HELLO! I Travel, anyone? Celebrate? Love Song?
But having said that, great that they chose a bit more of a curveball and highlighted Real To Real Cacophony right on its anniversary. I’ll give them that.
sm certainly aligned wi’ (possibly prefigured?) new romanticism (not that any of the progenitors necessarily embraced the label) – this begins to feel a very nr comment – especially, imhho, between “empires and dance” (surely among the greatest nr titles, jockeying with “systems of romance”?) and “new gold dream”. is it possible their later one hit wonder status obscured their earlier work? perhaps their overt religiosity? (i’m aware, alas, that i’m commenting years after the post. i maintain hope you’re still interested!)
I think the ?religiosity? was only perceived to exist in the ears of listeners – and wasn?t consciously put there by the band. Then again, perhaps it was with titles like ?This Fear Of Gods, Seeing Out The Angel, Somebody Up There Likes You and In Every Heaven – just within the Empires And Dance – New Gold Dream NR period.
Did the song Don?t You (Forget About Me) lead them to ?one hit wonder? status? Perhaps maybe only in the U.S. But even that is a tenuous suggestion as there was extended success with the release of Once Upon A Time – albeit if only shortly sustained – it went beyond a mere solitary single. But Don?t You certainly overshadowed things and probably did drown out most of what came before it, especially with the audience in the U.S.
Also true that probably quite a number of bands at the time saw the ?new romantic? label a stigma. There?s no denying the strength of the trend though, as a byproduct of punk, really. Especially in a fashion aesthetic.
Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your views. The site is still active and I always welcome feedback and comments.
If we’re talking genres I’d class Changeling as ‘new wave’ or ‘art rock’ . Similar to Roxy Music or Talking Heads of that era.
That’s more inline with where I’d place it too.