Simple Minds - Glittering Prize 1981 - 1992

Simple Minds - Glittering Prize 1981-1992

1. ALIVE AND KICKING - 1985 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Simple Minds) Colgems-EMI Music Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Jimmy Iovine & Bob Clearmountain

2. SEE THE LIGHTS - 1991 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Kerr/Burchill) Virgin Music, Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Stephen Lipson

3. DON'T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) -
(K. Forsey/S. Schiff) MCA Music Publishing ASCAP
Producer: Keith Forsey

4. PROMISED YOU A MIRACLE - 1982 Virgin Records Ltd.
(James Kerr) Colgems-EMI Music Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Peter Walsh

5. SANCTIFY YOURSELF - 1985 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Simple Minds) Colgems-EMI Music Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Jimmy Iovine & Bob Clearmountain

6. BELFAST CHILD - 1989 Virgin Records Ltd.
(trad. arr. by Simple Minds, lyrics by simple minds)
Producer: Stephen Lipson & Trevor Horn

7. STAND BY LOVE - 1991 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Kerr/Burchill) Virgin Music, Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Stephen Lipson

8. UP ON THE CATWALK - 1983 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Simple Minds) Colgems-EMI Music Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Steve Lillywhite

9. LET THERE BE LOVE - 1991 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Kerr/Burchill) Virgin Music, Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Stephen Lipson

10. ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID - 1985 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Simple Minds) Colgems-EMI Music Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Jimmy Iovine & Bob Clearmountain

11. SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE IN SUMMERTIME - 1983 Virgin Records Ltd.
(James Kerr) Colgems-EMI Music Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Peter Walsh

12. WATERFRONT - 1983 Virgin Records Ltd.
(Simple Minds) Colgems-EMI Music Inc. ASCAP
Producer: Steve Lillywhite

"GLITTERING PRIZE 1981-1992" is a snapshot in time, chronicling a decade in which Simple Minds established themselves on the international stage. It captures a period of aspiration during which the group's beguiling muse was displayed on a series of Number One albums and a string of hit singles. World tours were punctuated by appearances at the era's major cultural events, while the band's character and sound remained both constant and unique. The material gathered herein is a small, but significant, part of that greater picture and displays a group eager to progress while retaining the affection of their loyal following.

1981 was a pivital year for Simple Minds. The quintet's early aspirations had been captured on three quite contrasting albums, the naive debut ('Life In A Day'), its experimental response ('Real To Real Cacophony') and the pulsatant ('Empires And Dance') but, by switching outlets, the band was presented with a sense of rebirth and a chance to reassess its progress. "We found a new lease of life," recalls guitarist Charlie Burchill, "and from there we realised our music could reach a bigger audience." SONS AND FASCINATION and SISTER FEELINGS CALL showed a group still wishing to experiment, yet whilst doing so honed something later defined as their own.

The former set featured 'Love Song', a ringing, propulsive composition which gave the group its first substantial hit, while 'The American', with its dramatic flourishes and insistent chorus, provided a focal point to the latter's less tenuous atmospheres. The expansive mood of both recordings showed the crucial role played by new producer Steve Hillage, who helped bring a new dimension to the quintet's music. A mutual infatuation for experimental German bands Neu! and La Dusseldorf provided the first of several connections, but if this understanding focused the European element already prevalent in Simple Minds' approach, it was merely an adjunct to the dramatic rock/dance patterns the group was also exploring. "We loved Chic," recalls Kerr, "as well as Rober Fripp and Brian Eno." This combination - cerebral and physical - proved highly effective and was a crucial element in the band's development.

The group continued a rigorous touring schedule throughout 1981/1982 and this was also a pivotal factor in their subsequent success. While acknowledging that playing live provided great encouragement, Kerr is equally aware of the demands it presented. "You also had to go out and prove yourselves," he states, "the audience had to be fought and won." Nowhere was this more than apparent than in Australia, where Simple Minds undertook a tour supporting Icehouse. "Echo and the Bunnymen arrived at the same time," Jim recalls, "and one of the newspapers wrote that it was a toss-up between these bands which was the more obscure." Within those five weeks, however, his group had become a major attraction. "We arrived to that scrap of paper and left with a gold disc," Kerr remembers, "and that gave us encouragement and a focus for the next stage." If SONS and SISTERS showed Simple Minds beginning to thread their disparate elements together, NEW GOLD DREAM was the set on which they sculpted a seamless, instantly recognizable style. "The songs were less

quirky," Burchill confirms, "and the whole sound was more cohesive. It was a phase when we weren't sacred of beautiful melodies." "We still had our influences," adds Kerr, "everyone has, but something new, something 'us' was growing through them. NEW GOLD DREAM was where we came into our own." The album was previewed by two singles, 'Promised You A Miracle' and 'Glittering Prize'. The former's deft hook line and riff helped ensure the group's first UK Top 20 hit when it reached number 13, while its follow-up, a measured ballad, peaked three places below. NEW GOLD DREAM itself was a Top 3 success, a much-deserved accolade, but equally important was the feeling that the group had not only captured their sense of ambition on record, but did so with a warm, almost seductive, music. 'Someone, Somewhere in Summertime' best exemplifies a sound which, although immutable derived from those first recordings, provided a different emotional effect. Gone was the early years' austere, sometimes discordant tension and in its place was a textured, mellifluent rock.

Simple Minds spent much of 1982/83 on the road, and the ensuing album, SPARKLE IN THE RAIN, captured the bravura of their in-concert sound. Producer Steve Lillywhite introduced a dynamic, often contrasting, perspective quite unlike the panoramic standpoint of its predecessor, but there was no denying the resultant brash excitement. Its contrast between opulence and subtlety was typified by 'Waterfront', obstensively a eulogy to Glasgow, but a song which also celebrates much wider aspirations. "You always see your home town differently when you come back," states Kerr as he relates how the lyric evolved among the ruins of the Clyde's once-thriving shipbuilding industry. "It was easy to believe this was the end of something, but it was a beautiful night - there was a fantastic sunset - the river was still moving and I became aware of a grander scheme of things. 'Waterfront' was written within the week and three days later it became the opening number of Simple Minds' set at Dublin's Phoenix Park." Derek came up with the bass pulse that ran right through the song," explains Charlie, "then Mick and I added two counterpoints, which didn't seem to make sense melodically, but nonetheless sprung off each other." Yet, if SPARKLE IN THE RAIN is renowned for this impassioned composition, it was equally notable for the more vulnerable 'Speed Your Love To Me,' a UK hit in early 1984. Newcomer Mel Gaynor was now firmly in place as drummer, and the consistency clearly on display reflected the group's self-confidence. SPARKLE IN THE RAIN reached the number 1 spot and in doing so became the first of Simple Minds' four consecutive chart-toppers.

It was the following year before the quintet's next release appeared. 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' was not written by the band, but they agreed to record it for the soundtrack to the film 'The Breakfast Club'. Its composer, Keith Forsey, had written the song with Simple Minds in mind, although they were initially skeptical of its merit. Burchill admits that the group could not see the connection until they demoed it. "At that point it gained a different shape," he states, but despite inventing a new start and its 'LaLa' refrain, the feeling of collective ambivalence remained. However, the song soared to the top of the US chart when issued as a single and what began as expedience had suddenly assumed a quite different complexion. "It was never going to be the lead tune on the 'Breakfast Club' album," Kerr recalls, "and we thought we'd be tucked away where no-one would really notice. I guess we were guilty of being a little precious at that time and really, if there was any problem, it was because they were not the works I would have written." 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' later repeated its American success internationally and the group now appreciate its significance as the means by which many in their audience discovered them. "I know the amount of pleasure that song has given people," Jim adds, "and played live it takes on a new dimension." It was not, however included on a concurrent release, and the song makes it album debut herein.

Work on the seventh Simple Minds' album was punctuated by their appearance at Live Aid. Their set comprised of 'Don't You (Forget About Me)', 'Promised You A Miracle' and the exhilarating 'Ghostdancing', a brand-new compostion which provided a glimpse of work-in-progress. Released in October 1985, ONCE UPON A TIME was the group's most powerful selection to date wherein the joint production skill of Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain combined to create an unambiguously forthright sound. The pairing's recording techniques certainly brought a transatlantic burr to Simple Minds' talent, yet this proved flexible enough to contrast the anthemic quality of 'Alive And Kicking' with the melodic twists of 'All The Things She Said' and the ebullient charm of 'Sanctify Yourself'. "People suggested that the album sounded American," Charlie Burchill recalls, "which we found strange because most of the songs were written in Britain. In retrospect they were probably right, but it opened us up to new areas we had never dreamed of."

It was during this mid-80s period that the group openly associated itself with Amnesty International, dedicating concerts, songs and the proceeds of 'Ghostdancing' to its humanitarian cause. Simple Minds was also one of the first acts to declare its participation in 1988's Mandela Day and suddenly a group whose sentiments, although voiced, had been largely implicit was now making unequivocable statements. "I felt like most people with an eye on the world around them," Kerr explains, "and didn't want these feelings to pass us by." 'Mandela Day' written for, and previewed, during the concert itself, played an integral part in this development although, as lyricist, Kerr avoided pinning the song to temporal events and opted instead to proclaim a growing awareness of Mandela's ideals. "Instead of singing about him being in jail," Jim later recounted, "I wanted to sing about freedom, meaning you can't lock up his legend, his myth and his values." Two years later a second concert was undertaken, this time to celebrate Mandela's release. Although there were no plans to issue the song as a single per se, 'Mandala Day' was subsequently included on the "Ballad Of The Streets" EP with 'Biko' and 'Belfast Child'. Released in February 1989, the set rose to the number 1 spot in Britain. However, despite its collective title, the trilogy is best-recalled for 'Belfast Child'. The song itself was based on a traditional Irish folk tune 'She Moved Through The Fair', the melody for which group bassist John Giblin introduced to Kerr. Its poignancy was self-evident and the singer began putting new works based on his reactions to the continued strife in Northern Ireland.

"Rather than documenting it," he explains, "I was thinking about the future Belfast - the kids born that night - and what was in store for them." Such aspirations spilled into STREET FIGHTING YEARS, Simple Minds' first studio album for four years, in which the group addressed global issues in an uncompromising manner. They had come off the road - an era encapsulated on IN THE CITY OF LIGHT, LIVE - and were excited by this personal and musical liberation. "We didn't know what was going to happen, "Kerr recounted to writer Alfred Bos, "but whatever it was would take us by surprise." Changes in the group's lives and careers also affected the final outcome, and the album is - arguably - the group's most controversial release. "Every song seemed to be about conflict," states Kerr, "and (the set) describes this age of chaos, the battle to try and remain intact with all this hurricane around us."

Each new Simple Minds' release has progressed from, and contrasted to its predecessor, and the same was true of REAL LIFE. Part of the ensuing difference was due to a break with composer Mick McNeal but although Kerr admits to an initial nervousness, this was quickly assuaged. "Charlie began writing songs on keyboards," he states, "and when we played them to people no-one said "this doesn't sound like you". "We could have branched out in any direction," Burchill adds, "but we loved that certain noise we made, and it gave us great confidence as songwriters." The material was, once again, more personal, but the majesty of'Let There Be Love' and 'See The Lights' showed the duo firmly in control of their art. "For me it was the most enjoyable album to record," states Burchill. "It was like being back at the beginning when we wrote our first album, but with much more experience. We still didn't really know where we were heading, but it put a seal on the '80s mythology, clearing the way for something else."

GLITTERING PRIZE ends as Simple Minds prepare to develop new avenues. The Group was always reticent about dwelling on past achievements, preferring to look to the future, but this pause for reflection allows everyone the luxury of placing the era in context. Yet having considered, and celebrated that past, it's time to anticipate what has yet of unfold...

~~Brian Hogg, July 1992