This year feels like it has been a long one. I started university back in January and I am now working through the second module of my DipHE English.
There was excitement at the start of the year with some Simple Minds related releases happening. The first being from the band themselves with the release of Act Of Love in celebration of the anniversary of their debut gig at Glasgow’s Satellite City (upstairs from The Apollo on Renfield Street) on 17 January, 1978. The second of the SM themed releases was for my Book of the Year, the stellar Themes For Great Cities by Graeme Thomson. It is, without doubt, the BEST book on Simple Minds that has ever been produced. The only thing that may ever stand a chance of blowing it out of the water will be Jim’s own memoir. He’ll have to do a bloody good job and he’ll have to try and steer away from the desire to make it a work of fiction for me to be convinced he can do a better job than Graeme of telling the story.
My next choice is for Single of the Year. Let’s discuss the contenders. Well, Act Of Love is there as one contender. I played it quite often when it came out. Next was the first single from Sarah Brown’s debut solo album ‘…Sings Mahalia Jackson’ titled I’m On My Way. Two other singles came from her album. The others being Walk Over Heaven and Didn’t It Rain. Along the year there were other Simple Minds singles – Vision Thing and First You Jump and finally (Human) Traffic. The first three SM songs – Act Of Love, Vision Thing and First You Jump all got airings at the gigs that took place this year.
Other contenders are Bryan Ferry’s Fooled Around And Fell In Love from his Love Letters EP that was released back in May. Birmingham (feat. Claudia Brucken and Peter Hook) from Wolfgang Flur’s album, Magazine 1. Bjork had a new album out in September and the first single off it, Atopos, really sounded like it harked back to the Bjork of the early to mid 1990s. Also the track Ovule which was the second single was my favourite of them. But the big single for 2022 for me was from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – a song he collaborated with Johnny Marr with called Pretty Boy. As much as I feel like I am doing the dirty on Simple Minds with this decision, I have to declare that my Single of the Year is – Pretty Boy.
Musical discoveries of the Year came via gig attendances. Two fairly obviously from seeing support acts, but the other from their music being an accompaniment to a journey to/from a venue for a gig.
The first is a band called The Disciples of Spess. I was introduced to them by my friend, Ruth, who played their album to me while we travelled to and from the Nocturne Live gig at Blenheim Palace in June. I was particularly won over by the track Vallorcine. The next group were the fantastic Medicine Cabinet who I saw supporting Franz Ferdinand at the Hydro last month. They don’t have much material out but they did a fantastic short set and had great energy live. I look forward to hearing more stuff from them. Finally, there is the second of the two acts that supported Simple Minds for their Summer Sessions gigs at Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh – Hamish Hawk. So won over by HH in fact that I have booked to see him play at Saint Luke’s in February.
Album of the Year, well, there are contenders-a-plenty! As Long As The Light – a collaboration between Michael Rother and Vittoria Maccabruni appeared in January. Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 by Johnny Marr was released in February. Wolfgang Flur released Magazine 1 in March. Then there was the debut album Sarah Brown Sings Mahalia Jackson released in April. Jack White’s Entering Heaven Alive and Paolo Nutini’s Last Night In The Bittersweet were both released in July. The Disciples of Spess released The Luxury Of Becoming Free in August. Bjork’s Fossora came out in September. Finally, Simple Minds released Direction Of The Heart in October.
So…what’s my Album of the Year? Well, in the past, my allegiance and rose-tinted love would be unswerving and it would go to Simple Minds but there’s a bloody good reason why Paolo Nutini’s Last Night In The Bittersweet made it to number one and spent four weeks in the Top 10 and is still in the Top 100 this week and has spent a total of 13 weeks in the album charts since release. By comparison, Direction Of The Heart spent just two weeks in the chart, starting with a number 4 position in its first week, then dropping to number 36 the next week, only to fall out of the Top 100 after that. That said, Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 spent just a solitary week in the album charts, as did Jack White’s as well as Bjork’s albums. The other’s mentioned made no impact on the chart at all. Of the albums I am highlighting, Simple Minds were the only act to give Paolo Nutini any true competition as far as chart success went. Wow!
So, my Album of the Year (to reiterate) is: Last Night In The Bittersweet by Paolo Nutini. Direction Of The Heart by Simple Minds the runner up.
Finally, let’s look at the contenders for Gig of the Year. By sheer weight of numbers, I think we can safely assume that Simple Minds has this one in the bag! I saw them quite a number of times again this year – a spate of gig going that will need to be culled or curtailed (Kerr-tailed? Lol) in future. But for this year there were eight occasions I saw them; Aberdeen, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle, Paris, Nocturne Live – Blenheim Palace, Summer Sessions – Princes Street Gardens: Edinburgh x2. The best of those were saved until last. Of course, even within them there were strong contenders to try and topple the splendour that was Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens on a mild August night but the fact they played all of New Gold Dream in album track list order did take some beating. Everything about it was beautiful. At the front right near the stage, the weather had been perfect, there with wonderful friends, great food, just all of it. It was a magical weekend and the gig was the culmination of that. Also, I discovered Hamish Hawk at this gig as well, so it is REALLY hard to beat. The runner up is seeing Crowded House at the Hydro in June. They were fantastic! Neil Finn and Nick Seymour were just great on the night. Even the fact that Neil has his sons Liam and Elroy in the band with him is just a wonderful thing too. The crowd singing and Neil’s impromptu song about the bodyguard in the hi-viz jacket was spontaneously hilarious.
Special mentions also for Jimmy Webb in Edinburgh, with the fabulous Ashley Campbell as his support; Roxy Music at the Hydro in October and my last minute free win of Franz Ferdinand at the Hydro last month. Alex Kapranos is quite the frontman! Finally to Sarah Brown for a fabulous intimate gig at Ronnie Scott’s.
Here’s my final list in order of run-through:
Book of the Year: Themes For Great Cities – Graeme Thomson
Single of the Year: Pretty Boy – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Musical Discovery of the Year: Hamish Hawk
Album of the Year: Last Night In The Bettersweet – Paolo Nutini
Gig of the Year: 13 August – Summer Sessions, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh – Simple Minds