Simple Minds are a rock band from Glasgow, which had its greatest worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early-1990s. The band, from the south side of the city, produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s, and later went on to produce some politically inspired and critically praised work.

Simple Minds have secured a string of successful hit singles, the best known being its number one worldwide hit single Don't You (Forget About Me), from the soundtrack of the John Hughes movie The Breakfast Club.

Founding members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, along with drummer Mel Gaynor, are the core of the band, which currently features Mark Taylor on keyboards and Eddie Duffy on bass guitar.


History

Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr formed a punk band in 1977. They were influenced by Lou Reed, and after one unsuccessful single as Johnny & the Self Abusers, they shuffled the line-up to include former Abusers Brian McGee on drums and Tony Donald on bass guitar, the latter of whom was quickly replaced by Derek Forbes. In addition, keyboard and synthesizer player Mick MacNeil was also recruited. The band's name was changed to Simple Minds, which was taken from a line in the David Bowie song "Jean Genie": "...so simple-minded, he can't drive his module."

Their album, New Gold Dream, released in 1982, was a major turning point for the band. With a slick, sophisticated sound thanks to producer Peter Walsh, they were soon categorised as part of the New Romantic outgrowth of New Wave (along with Duran Duran and others), and the record generated a handful of charting singles includingPromised You a Miracle andGlittering Prize, which both hit the UK Top 20, continuing the band's early success in that region.

Despite the band's popularity in the UK and Europe, they remained essentially unknown in America. The movie The Breakfast Club changed all that. Released in early 1985, this Brat Pack drama from writer/director John Hughes was a box-office smash and made household names of many of its young stars, including Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez. It also broke Simple Minds into the US market almost overnight, when the band achieved their only number-one U.S. pop hit with the film's opening track,Don't You (Forget About Me). In the UK, the song was also used to advertise milk of all products, the song also featured on an episode of Futurama.


Discography

Life in a Day (1979)
Real to Real Cacophony (1979)
Empires and Dance (1980)
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)
Celebration (1982)
New Gold Dream (1982)
Sparkle in the Rain (1984)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
Live in the City of Light (1987)
Street Fighting Years (1989)
Real Life (1991)
Glittering Prize 81/92 (1992)
Good News from the Next World (1995)
Neapolis (1998)
The Early Years 1977-1978 (1998)
Our Secrets are the Same (2000)
Neon Lights (2001)
The Best of Simple Minds (2001)
Cry (2002)
Early Gold (2003)
Silver Box (2004)
Black & White (2005)