Jim’s post yesterday. It had me thinking – yes, a photo of Charlie on violin is pretty rare. Certainly not many exist from the period but during 5×5 Live and the later “Hits+” tour, he played the violin again.
So for me, the even RARER photo of Charlie with a musical instrument is him on saxophone. (He’s even in a white shirt too, Jim!)
Virginia only has two of these photos. And she had only two of them as original vintage prints (ones she developed from the negative in the dark room at the time). I have this one. I sent Jim the other. No idea if he got it. I hope he did.
Anyway, just thought I’d share a “rare as hen’s teeth” photo of Charlie.
Me just looking backwards “at thirty frames a second” as I always do.
Where do I start? Well, I start by saying – the blog ends up being my safe place for a moan…a gripe…a whinge. Mostly because I know Jim doesn’t want to hear it. I appreciate that.
Well, I kind of expressed, briefly, in the comments about the use of the phrase “longterm” – like how I had my gripe that got me into a WHOLE HEAP of trouble about “real fans” – ooh, at least he steered clear of THAT! Lol
But I elaborated on my gripe here. I often do. And go on about wishing I could be his “penpal“…in a sense. (I could easily cut his hair. I cut my OH’s hair most of the time.) That I’d love to interview him for the blog. That I wish “discs and doughnuts” could actually be A THING – just one time – between the two of us. Also, I go on about how I miss him pretty much every day he isn’t on Facebook. Lol.
I just crave the connection I felt was there some time back.
I’m a clingy, lovelorn, emotionally retarded fuckhead – I know! (Honestly, Alasdair Gray’s writing speaks sssooo fucking much to me! I’m there most of the time thinking “Know how you feel, Al. You’re speaking my language, friend!” Geez, I wish I had got to meet him now! Damn!)
Something happened though. And when that “something” sometimes happens, I forget to give a word of thanks. A “thanks for listening”…for taking it on board. For making me feel like…I have a voice, I am still being listened to. Appreciated. That my feelings matter. That you still care. Maybe? Hopefully? Perhaps it’s all still just delusional wishful thinking…
But just in case, Jim…thank you! Coincidence, no doubt. Wishful thinking? Most likely. Even if so, the “change of heart” post was greatly appreciated.
And well…hey fans…feel like trying to get your story in the book? Expressing your “Sense Of Discovery” of Simple Minds? Here’s your chance! You have just over a month to submit something. I think this may be one HUMONGOUS book!
Ever since reading this morning’s post, this has been the earworm…
How does one define how ‘long’ the longterm is? I ponder because in Jim’s post today he talks about the “Book Of Brilliant Things” or whatever it’s going to end up being called. The fan-based SM compendium.
“….we are looking to create something to which all longterm Simple Minds fans will hopefully want to contribute their stories.”
Well, that wording makes me feel precluded from it immediately. “Longterm”. How long is longterm?
To me it by its very definition means a substantial number of years. And given that, my not quite six years of fandom would hardly qualify as “longterm”. Thirty plus years, perhaps? Had I stayed with them from 1985, definitely! I have certainly tried cramming 30+ years of fandom into these past near six years. I have probably got a bigger collection of memorabilia and been to more gigs than a lot of “longterm” fans.
But that is by the by, I guess. Because the yardstick seems to be a measure of time. Not money, emotional investment, affinity….or some deluded sense of affinity one felt they may have had.
I’ve told the story so many times now, I’m not even sure I have the heart to tell it any more in all honesty.
It’s all there in my art anyway. And if any of THAT was used or printed? Well…that would be the most amazing thing ever. But even to have had Jim share it on the SM FB page back in the day when he liked it and he wasn’t sick to death of me….
That will always be a treasure. It means more than just about anything else I’ve ever done in my sad, pathetic existence on this sphere.
He replied to someone today about needing a hair cut. “Cut mine and I’ll be your penpal.”
Jesus! Can you just stop being a tease?!
*sigh*
Better still…I’ll try and stop being a “try hard” and go away. Shuffle off…well…at least the SM planet, as someone suggested (and not just of the SM planet, either!) I do some time back.
End this silly “affliction”. I blame John Francis Lawson and David leaving me far too soon.
I need to find that self-worth I had found for myself somewhere along the line. As fake as it was. Sadly some of it came from you, Jim.
An “enthusiast” is good…but an over-enthusiast, no matter how else it appears to the contrary is, ultimately, undesired.
We’ve always had an Art School tag…I don’t even think there is an art school in Glasgow.
Jim Kerr, 1984 on Simple Minds
I do NOT believe for a single second he’d have said that! I mean, geez, the Glasgow School of Art is one of the city’s most famous buildings! They even played there in the early days as far as I am aware. If he said it, he was trying to be contrary and funny, which was obviously lost on the magazine! Lol
Also can I just say – the thing about him saying Chrissie being a friend – and more? Oh…I dream! Well, I dream JUST to be a friend. Geez! Just friendship would do. Anything else is beyond pie in the sky. “Friendship” is pie in the sky enough!
I took close up scans of the pics as well. Pretty sure the one of him holding the mic is one of Virginia’s.
I shared this photo (just a quick snap of it when it arrived by post on my camera, rather than the proper scanned image that I’m sharing here) on FB when it arrived just to share the sheer beauty of this man and show some of the collecting hoard I had got myself.
A friend said “he’s got too much eyeliner on”. Lol. I was like “WHAAAAA? This is NOTHING compared to some make up jobs he’s had.”
I personally thought it was subtle and beautiful.
Jesus though, Kerr! You ain’t half a looker! Don’t be giving me none of that “acne-faced geek” business. Codswallop! You’ve always been gorgeous. You always will be.
And I know it isn’t Kerrsday, but what the hay. Who cares?
I got some magazines and did some scans of the articles and pics and will post some of them shortly. In the meantime…
Jim Kerr – you’re a spunk! (It’s old Aussie slang for someone who’s ‘well braw’ – despite how it sounds. Lol)
I remember this article from around the Walk Between Worlds tour. The photographer – as far as I was concerned – took some really unflattering photos of Jim, but in amongst the more questionable ones was this one. The best of the bunch. I had several goes of tidying it up but I probably didn’t really improve things much. Scanning from newspapers always results in a lot of “artefact”.
Well, for me anyways. Quite a number of photos I hadn’t seen before in the pages of this little booklet.
I’m sharing most of the previously unseen (by me) photos within. A few of them have been around before but I just liked scanning them and having a perhaps better copy than I previously did.
I’ve tried to clean some of them up. The print quality of the booklet wasn’t the best so I’ll try to share good, clean scans of the photos.
