Simple Minds - latest news

Regular readers will know that I am a big Simple Minds fan, having followed them since 1979.  However, even I have grown tired of the continual re-hashes of old material and "Greatest Hits"-type tours.  For a band that has allegedly got a lot of new material written, they are certainly acting oddly.  So, I really can't summon up much enthusiasm for the recently announced "Greatest Hits+" tour and "Celebrate" compilation.  There are 28 dates on the tour, but no London, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Birmingham shows yet!

Here are the dates announced so far: Waterfront, Belfast, UK 28th March, 2013 Sand Centre, Carlisle, UK 29th March, 2013 City Hall, Newcastle, UK 31st March, 2013 Music Hall, Aberdeen, UK 1st April, 2013 Caird Hall, Dundee, UK 2nd April, 2013 Cymru Arena, Llandudno 4th April, 2013 De Montfort Hall, Leicester, UK 5th April, 2013 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, UK 6th April, 2013 Dome, Brighton, UK 8th April, 2013 Pavilions, Plymouth, UK 9th April, 2013 Engine Shed, Lincoln, UK 11th April, 2013 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, UK 12th April, 2013 O2 Academy, Leeds, UK 13th April, 2013 O2 Academy, Bournemouth, UK 15th April, 2013 Winter Gardens, Margate, UK 16th April, 2013 Cliffs Pavilion, Southend, UK 17th April, 2013 Opera House, Blackpool, UK 19th April, 2013 Empire, Liverpool, UK 20th April, 2013 Corn Exchange, Cambridge, UK 22nd April, 2013 G Live, Guildford, UK 23rd April, 2013 Hexagon, Reading, UK 25th April, 2013 City Hall, Sheffield, UK 26th April, 2013 City Hall, Hull, UK 27th April, 2013 Colston Hall, Bristol, UK 29th April, 2013 Guildhall, Portsmouth, UK 30th April, 2013 New Theatre, Oxford, UK 2nd May, 2013 University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK 3rd May, 2013 Regent, Ipswich, UK 4th May, 2013

Some interesting venues there.  I can recommend Southend.  I remember a wild time in the mosh pit last  time the band played there!  I have seen them at the Colston Hall, Bristol too and that's a good venue with a mix of seating at the back and standing at the front.  Oxford is somewhere I don't remember the band playing before.  However, the venue is a dump with cramped seating.  Avoid!  You'd be better choosing one of the standing venues, perhaps on the coast.  I'm surprised to see Cambridge on the list after the notorious "Show some respect!" debacle when "Mandela Day" was played there last time.

Sadly, right now I'm bored with the band.  I guess really I'm not in the mood to see Jim prancing around the stage, straining to hit the high notes.  Perhaps a backing vocalist will be dragged in again to support his hoarser moments.  Expect omnipresent guitarist Charlie Burchill to be there.  Mel Gaynor is likely to be on drums (though I'm not a fan of his heavy style and much prefer original drummer Brian McGee).  Ged Grimes is the latest in a long line of disposable bass players, and certainly not in the same league as Derek Forbes.  There will also be a keyboard player, possibly Andy Gillespie, again no Mick MacNeil.

On the CD front, there are three new releases to report:  

1.  "Celebrate" a greatest hits album with a couple of new tracks, one of which will be "Broken Glass Park" - but wasn't that on the iffy "Hampton Court" live album?  The artwork appears to be another tired re-hash of the "Empires And Dance" statue, first seen back in 1980, when it was genuinely iconic.     This compilation is scheduled for March 2013.

2.  A double live CD album from the disappointing 5x5 tour.  Disappointing because this current line-up has little feel for the groove of this era.  I didn't go to the shows, but I have heard the bootlegs.

3.  A cheapo 5CD box of "New Gold Dream", "Street Fighting Years", "Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call", "Once Upon A Time" and "Sparkle In The Rain".  This is an odd selection which duplicates some of the terrific 5x5 box.  This new box is on sale now.

All this material is being released by Virgin, so perhaps the band has been dropped by Universal?  That would be a shame as the last album of new material "Graffiti Soul" showed great promise, and returned the band to the Top 10 Albums in the UK.  As a long-time fan, what I crave is new material, but it doesn't seem to be on the horizon at all.  D'Oh!

For the latest Simple Minds information check out the classy and dependable fan site Dream Giver or if all else fails the official Simple Minds site

STOP PRESS:  All is not lost, however, as splinter band XSM featuring Forbes, MacNeil and McGee have recorded a new album which will be released early in 2013.  Great stuff!