Simple Minds

The band’s origins date back to the mid-1970s, when school friends from Glasgow – Jim Kerr on vocals, guitarist Charlie Burchill and Brian McGee on drums – played cover versions of songs by David Bowie, Patti Smith and many other major rock and pop stars. With their new line-up, called Simple Minds, their first few albums failed to achieve success initially; the songs were too unwieldy and experimental. It was only with the more commercially oriented ‘New Gold Dream’ that Simple Minds really took off, reaching number 3 in the UK charts.

In 1984, they reached number 1 with “Sparkle In The Rain”, and again in 1985 with “Once Upon A Time”. That same year, their legendary hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was released as part of the soundtrack to the film “The Breakfast Club”. Even in the 2000s, Kerr and his bandmates showed no signs of slowing down, releasing nine albums over the past 25 years, including ‘Walk Between Worlds’ (2018) and ‘Direction of the Heart’, both of which reached the top ten in Germany. Simple Minds are well-known figures at the Olympic Park; in 1991 they performed at an open-air concert in the Olympic Stadium and have appeared time and again at the annual Night of the Proms. To mark their 50th anniversary, they are now coming to the Olympic Hall.