How this site came to be.
2006: I am getting into Spotify, exploring new musical horizons and rekindling old flames. Simple Minds are among those “old flames”. Having said that, I was only ever a “fair weather” fan. One that just on the odd occasion listened to compilation “best of” albums. One time doing this, I found myself thinking “Simple Minds are just so great. Why have I not explored their music more? Why do I just keep sticking to ‘the hits’? This has GOT to change!” And so, I gave Life In A Day a couple of listens, and although there was a few songs I liked, I wasn’t really bowled over. That was that.
The odd listen to a compilation album through the years continued.
2014: July. I am having one of those Minds ‘hits fix’ sessions when I start thinking “That time I tried listening to their back catalogue…a shame it didn’t gel. I’m sure I probably just didn’t give them enough of a chance. I mean, heck, I listened to ONE album, and that was it! Think about it. You owned a copy of Once Upon A Time back in the day. You know you like ONE whole album of theirs. Let’s give this thing a try again.”
And so, I try again. Life In A Day…at first still…meh…but unlike before, this time I thought “Yeah, I hear something. It’s not setting my world on fire…but there’s a spark of something.” And I moved on to listen to Real To Real Cacophony. And I heard a BIGGER spark of something. On again, still listening to these two, but moving on to Empires And Dance. And that was it! That’s what needed to happen! For me to reach EAD. I was completely won over.
I then started to look for old footage – to view old gigs and/or TV performances. I wanted to see visuals. How they looked together. How they performed. The first few clips I watched was the Hurrah’s Club in New York – recorded for Old Grey Whistle Test on the BBC. I was astounded by how tight they were – and floored by Jim. I watched slack-jawed and awestruck. “THIS was how Jim Kerr used to be? Holy cow dung!” The first ignition of infatuation started from those clips.
The rest is pretty much history. And a good chunk of the past four or more years have been played out via this blog. The collecting of music in various formats, particularly more rarified stuff and in particular vinyl, memorabilia – in the form of magazine – whole and article clippings, books, photos, badges, clothing, etc. The beginnings and expansion of the fan art and my artistic pursuits beyond Simple Minds. The concerts and the growing love of live music and “gigging”. I’ve been to (as of the time of writing) 21 Simple Minds gigs with hopefully many more to come.
The blog is my own personal form of expression. Done semi-professionally, it is run solely by me. And it is not monetised. Anything that I may recommend here comes with a personal endorsement and not via product placement or kickbacks. It is my personal space, but I try to provide loads of info on SM both past and present. Sharing articles through my memorabilia collecting that I feel may be of interest, as well as reviews (not only of SM gigs, but of all gigs I attended), info of side projects by band members as well as relevant info on acts linked musically to Simple Minds.
My own art features as well. Mostly Simple Minds and Jim Kerr oriented, but I do also paint and draw.
The site is quite a mishmash of things. It doesn’t try to take itself too seriously. I try to have fun with it. I am prone to swear and of course there is a high emphasis on Simple Minds – and there is that sub-header on the blog that states “may contain a heavy dose of Jim Kerr” – it certainly does that!
Thank you for visiting and reading. I hope you find the site both informative and entertaining.
Priptona
January, 2019
Hey, came to your Blog because I saw you on Facebook and Instagram and was curious. It’s a great side and I really like to read your Blog. Nice videos also…you seem to be a nice person…greetings from Germany…
Hi Kerstin,
Thanks for visiting the blog and for your kind words.I really appreciate and am glad that you like and enjoy the site.
Xx
Really good site and lots of info, came to you via exploring the minds backing vocals on iggy and the bowie cheese eating. Had the good fortune to see them in the early 80s (cacophony at the glasgow tech) onwards till NGD.
I wish I had been around for those early days. Thanks for getting in touch and for the kind words 👍🏻😊
Hey Larelle, love what you’ve created here. From one Mind to another. Excellent! 🙂
Jase
Thank you. Just a personal thing. Not to everyone’s taste. Thanks for the kind words.
Hi – I’ve just came across your Minds Blog – Most impressive, top job!
Thank you 😊
Just randomly decided to listen to hunter and the hunted and that got me listening to some of the back catalog and I stumbled across your site by virtue looking for their Hacienda gig (Having read about it in Peter Hooks book). Unfortunately I was slightly too young to have been there as the set list is something else. I’ve seen them on numerous occasions since but for me anything pre-street fighting years is top drawer. Kudos to you for the site too.
Thanks for getting in touch, Jason. For the kind words and feedback. It’s great to know people are visiting and finding the site useful. Thank you 👍🏻😁
Hey great site! Really enjoyed some of the isolated vocals. I might have a few bits you’d be interested in if you’re interested? All the best
I’m ALWAYS interested….
And there are a few more vocal isolations from NGD left to share…just been away from home for a week.