Hedging My Bets, Trev…

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It wasn’t until very late last night did I realise that tickets for the Trevor Horn Reimagines The Eighties Tour at the end of July/beginning of August had gone on pre-sale yesterday.

And in the overtly hopeful notion that Jim and Charlie (and quite possibly even Mick MacNeil – for the first show, at least) may take part in it (as “OTHER special guests to be announced in due course” was said on Trevor Horn’s web site) I have secured a ticket for the first show at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow.

I am starting to have the sneaking suspicion that this may be about the only chance I may get to see anything of the Minds this year.

So, come July 27th (or perhaps the 26th if I need to do the red-eye coach up overnight), I’ll be travelling to Glasgow yet again…and seeing yet ANOTHER gig at the RCH.

The bugger is that Horn plays the Festival Hall in London the following night which could actually cause a problem for me getting back there, if indeed I want to go a second time. At the moment I am happy with Glasgow only. I decided on Glasgow because, frankly, the strongest chance of there being an appearance on stage by Jim and Charlie WILL be at the Glasgow opener. Hame turf – opening night of the tour…it’ll be braw! And if Mick were to take part? Well, that definitely may be a Glasgow only affair. And how bloody special would that be? Had to get a ticket! Had to hedge my bets!

Touring Round (With) The Horn?

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Trevor Horn has announced a tour in the summer. A short run. Matt Cardle is already confirmed on the tour with OTHER SPECIAL GUESTS to be announced…

Jim, Charlie and MAYBE even Mick MacNeil joining in? It’s a short tour. I could see it happening! Only time will tell! Let’s see…

Stay tuned, folks!

And….just as I am compiling this post, we had a little likey likey!

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Is The “Four Letter Word” – Horn?

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A batch of Simple Minds connected new releases today. Phunk Investigation and their multitude of mixes of Four Letter Word (which I am going to assume having listened to the lyrics a couple of times is actually the rather genteel “love” – perhaps I am being naive? At one point Jim admits to being “addicted to the four letter thing” – in that circumstance, I could NEVER imagine him meaning “love”) with Jim on vocals.

Secondly, the Trevor Horn “Reimagines The Eighties” version of Brothers In Arms, featuring “Simple Minds” – aka Jim, Mick MacNeil and (supposedly) Charlie (unless he’s playing violin – or in a strange homage to John Cage, without his Strat plugged in).

Anyway…all Spotify links follow…I am sure all tracks will be on YouTube as well.

Art Of Noise – British Library, March 9th, 2018 – Review

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How does one go about reviewing something they have very little knowledge of? Well, research, for one helps. But it would feel a cheat to do that…so I will review it with a novice approach.

We queued for an hour. Quite WHY we queued, I’m unsure. Just, well, because the sign was there, a guy was there that we spoke briefly to, and then…there was little else to do to bide the time away. And Brits “do” queuing SO WELL! It’s somehow ingrained in the psyche of every Brit, I think. It’s in the DNA. If no queue is formed, a Brit will form one…and others will join uniformly and with a minimum of fuss. And it somehow fitted in to the style of the music we were about to have performed in front of us. Almost as if Paul Morley’s voice spoke from somewhere just out of earshot, “You are about to watch The Art Of Noise, please form an orderly queue.”

Once inside, the music played pre-gig showcased lots of the music of label stable mates from the ZTT days, producers like Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson (who the Other Half reliably informed me was there watching last night) as well as collaborations with other acts. A veritable “smorgasbord” of the pop art music world.

And as Dudley, Jeczalik and Langan walked on stage, there was a wonderful warm round of applause. The kind of applause that you would expect old friends to receive (if we gave out rounds of applause to each other when we greeted each other).

Their music is familiar to me, but not overtly so. And I knew more than I imagined. It has seeped its way in over the years.

Highlights for me:

A Time For Fear (Who’s Afraid) – including the refrain that Anne played as a separate piece later.
Beatbox
Eye Of A Needle
Moments In Love
Paranoimia (which made me think of the Simple Minds “Don’t You” mash up also)
Legs
Close To The Edit (how could you NOT include it? It was the only thing I really knew them for for YEARS)

As a novice to their music…on the edges of my musical knowledge, it really was the most enjoyable of gigs. Sound levels and acoustics were great, and we were to the extreme left of stage (their left, as viewed from the stage). Explanations and talk of tracks from JJ and Anne. A great rapport with the crowd. Lasting rounds of applause between tracks. Loving and appreciative fans. A really good feel to the gig. The setlist flowed well. I would DEFINITELY see them again. If there is ever a next time. They don’t tour extensively but if there is a chance of seeing them again in future, I’m there!

Below, a YouTube clip of highlights from the show…

Behave?!

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How can I? You are FAAAR too tempting, Sir! (I adore you)

“To see *it*”! Lol. I was referring to the Rewind festival he mentioned in his post about Trevor Horn. Of course, before that I left a comment about the line in Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Welcome To The Pleasuredome (which he had shared a YouTube link to)…”In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a pleasuredome erect” – the way Holly Johnson arranges those words so the emphasis falls on the word “erect” – not to mention the way Holly delivers it! It SSOOO appeals to my…suggestive nature. Listen for yourselves…


I also later realised the word I meant was “surveyor” rather than “purveyor”. Oh, well…it still kind of fits.