Simple Minds

WHAT’S STOPPING YOU WRITING YOURS? I like to do some writing work first thing in the morning. No more than a couple of hours or so before going back again early in the evening for more of the same.... Reviewing what I will have done earlier, listening to the sounds and tunes we might have worked on throughout previous days, things always appear differently, with much depending on the mood I’m in and what might have occurred in those hours in - between. Such was the case while writing many of the lyrics for Simple Minds album - Direction Of The Heart.
Clambering up on the big chair during the ‘golden hours’ - taking in the fresh air and those terrace views that stretch towards Mount Etna and beyond. That is quite a different experience from being sat alone late at night at my mother’s kitchen table - where I wrote the lyrics for all those early Simple Minds records. Nevertheless, it is also true that the views from that tower block building in Glasgow where we lived, way back then, were also heavenly to me.
I guess it is fair to say therefore that - in some ways - I’ve always had my head in the clouds! Reaching out. Looking for signals as to where next this mysterious music wants to take me?
The thing is. Be it songwriting or storytelling - we all have some kind of a story to tell. And I really do mean all. For as journalist Colm McCann explains. “Storytelling is, at its core, democratic. The practice is available to, and can be exercised, by all. It spans across borders, genders, economies and divides. Storytelling, when exercised properly, has a healing balm that can help hold a system – even a whole democracy – together.
If the world is held together with molecules, then it is also held together with stories.”

So what’s stopping you writing yours?

Jim Kerr

'Our Secrets Are The Same’, the long-awaited joint memoir by Simple Minds’ founding members and lifelong friends Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill.

Available now in hardback and e-book via link in bio.

Billy Sloan writes. "MY special guests on this week’s show are Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds.
I had the pleasure of hosting an event to launch their great new book ...'Our Secrets Are The Same' in front of a sell-out audience at the @citizenstheatre Glasgow.
We recorded the show live and I’ll be playing highlights from it.
Jim and Charlie look back to their music roots with punk rock band Johnny And The Self Abusers.
They recall the night they were thrown in jail on the eve of recording their 1981 album Sons And Fascination.
The pair revisit their memorable appearance at Live Aid … and yes, we talk about those troosers!
And also reveal why they were starstruck when coming face-to-face with @nelson_mandela_oficial

So join me on the Billy Sloan Show - in conversation with the Minds’ legends - on @bbcradioscot this Saturday at 10pm."

From the streets of Toryglen to the same street in Taormina, Sicily. Watch Jim and Charlie talk about their new memoir ‘Our Secrets Are The Same’ on @virginradiouk.

#OurSecretsAreTheSame

AN EPIC WALK ON THE WILD SIDE!
The autobiography of Kerr and Burchill recounts, from their different perspectives, a friendship lasting the best part of 60 years. The arc of the Minds, from the ...first three albums that didn’t sell, the Miracle Promised that eventually arrived, the fall from grace in the new millennium, to the total redemption of mature men back filling stadia.

‘Our Secrets Are The Same’ is an epic walk on the wild side of life, all whilst tending their tomatoes in Taormina. It doesn't get more introspective than this. Reflecting at 65 why you are still capable of selling-out the Hollywood Bowl with genuine credibility, but maybe finding more peace with Sicilian locals who don’t give a shit about any of that.
Which audience, whose acceptance, do you actually care more about at this point? Isn’t that the real question? Whose “love” do you still need after all you have done? This book is the most human of stories. Disadvantaged at the starting blocks, but with raw ambition and belief, with the courage to test themselves against the world - all done with a code of values and a sense for duty.

Roger Mitchell (Albachiara Journal Meaning Amidst Chaos)

Illustration : Jacopo

Get 'Our Secrets Are The Same' via link in bio.

TALK TALK!
The sound of laughter — what a thing that is! We heard plenty of it across a few nights this past week, and I can say with certainty that, like the sound of applause, it can be ...wonderfully addictive when it’s coming your way.

New experiences have a habit of reinvigorating the spirit, and since we’d never done anything quite like this before, that energy was very much alive as we sat on stage before audiences in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London.

Now, sitting on a stage isn’t exactly what people associate with Charlie and I, yet it felt surprisingly natural — thanks to everyone who came along and listened attentively as we shared the stories woven through our recently published book *Our Secrets Are The Same*.

Would we want to do more of this? Or more poignantly. Would anyone want us to do more of this. Perhaps? Seeing as how much everyone seemed to enjoy, and with us knowing how many stories we never even reached because time simply disappeared on us — there’s still plenty left to tell. Maybe next time then?

Meanwhile, once again, heartfelt thanks to all who came out in support — and above all to our wonderful hosts Billy Sloan, Graeme Thomson, and Mariella Frostrup, each of whom brought both insight and warmth to the conversation.

Jim Kerr

The 40th Anniversary 5CD boxset of ‘Once Upon A Time’ is out now 💿 Bonus discs include original and extended versions of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me),’ single edits, 12” mixes, ...B-sides, unreleased tracks, and the ‘Live in The City of Light’ concert. Plus a 36-page booklet featuring rare photos, interviews and a full track-by-track guide.

#OnceUponATime40

Jim and Charlie joined @christinelampard on @lorraine earlier this month to talk all about their new memoir 'Our Secrets Are The Same'.

Watch the full interview on YouTube.
...
#OurSecretsAreTheSame

“Producer Jimmy Iovine always felt that, apart from being a rock band, Simple Minds also posessed a soulfulness that demanded to be heard. Through this desire to explore another side of our ...creativity, Sanctify Yourself was written.” - Jim

#OnceUponATime40

The 40th Anniversary Editions of Simple Minds’ landmark 1985 album ‘Once Upon A Time’ are available now at the link in bio.

• 5CD Box Set – includes the original album, B-sides, ...rarities, extended mixes, and the full Live In The City Of Light concert over two discs. This box set also contains a 36-page booklet with rare photos, interviews and a track-by-track guide from Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill.

• Limited Edition Vinyl – pressed on ruby red vinyl and housed in a gatefold sleeve featuring Anton Corbijn’s iconic photo of the band at Live Aid. This version also includes ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ on the album for the first time.

#OnceUponATime40

Part 2 of the #OurSecretsAreTheSame official playlist is now live on Spotify.

Curated by co-author @graemethomsonwriter, this second half of the playlist features key Simple Minds songs ...explored throughout the book.

Listen through the link in bio.

#OnceUponATime40 arrives this Friday!

Simple Minds’ multi-platinum album returns in a stunning 5CD box set, featuring the original album alongside the original and extended versions of ...‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’, single edits, 12″ mixes, B-sides, rare tracks, and the full 2-disc Live in the City of Light concert.

This box set also includes a 36-page booklet packed with rare photos, new interviews with Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, and a detailed track-by-track guide.

The album will also be released on ruby red vinyl, featuring ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ for the very first time.

Pre-order your copy at the link in bio.

To celebrate the release of ‘Our Secrets Are The Same’, co-author @graemethomsonwriter has curated a two-part official playlist to guide readers through the book.

Part 1 explores the ...music that shaped Simple Minds, featuring tracks by everyone from The Tornados and T Rex to Kraftwerk and Van der Graaf Generator.

Listen now on Spotify through the link in bio.

Part 2, featuring key Simple Minds songs explored throughout the book, will follow soon.

#OurSecretsAreTheSame