“Review of Simple Minds’ stadium tour showcases their 80s hits success.”

T

Two years ago, the lead singer of Simple Minds, Jim Kerr, spoke to the Guardian about how in the early 2000s, the band would drive past stadiums that they used to sell out just to play at a smaller venue. Today, they are back to performing in arenas, which Kerr sees as “intimate, but not overwhelmingly large”. Their luck has changed as more people have recognized the innovative brilliance of their early albums. With a reconfigured line-up of seven members, including two women, the band brings a fresh energy to their performances. Sarah Brown occasionally shares lead vocals, and Cherisse Osei stands out as a talented drummer. Even decades-old songs are delivered with a refreshed and polished sound, and both the 1995 hit Hypnotised and 2022’s Vision Thing have a modern sparkle.

Beginning the tour in a city that Kerr refers to as “mad, but in a positive way”, the group predominantly showcases songs from their successful 1980s era, pleasing both diehard fans of their chart-topping hits and those who prefer their earlier post-punk roots. The concert starts off strong with an electrifying trifecta of Waterfront, Love Song, and The American. Classics such as Once Upon a Time, the inevitable Alive and Kicking, and Belfast Child are highlights, presented with powerful performances and accompanied by visuals of the Troubles. Other beloved songs like Promised You a Miracle, Glittering Prize, Someone Somewhere (In Summertime), and the album title track from 1982’s New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) are all exceptionally presented. The band also delves into their extensive discography with rarer songs from 1979’s Premonition and 1980’s This Fear of Gods, which have not been played in a long time and add a thrillingly dark, enigmatic, and European element to the concert.

When they were teenagers living in neighboring Glasgow residential buildings, Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill would hitchhike around Europe and fantasize about a future without limitations. Now in their sixties, their grand adventure has never ceased. The slim vocalist strikes rock poses that would leave most men his age with injuries, and playfully remarks that the seemingly ageless Burchill “has a portrait hidden away”. As the audience sways their arms and joins in on the chorus, extending “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” into an amusingly excessive tenth minute, Kerr can’t resist making a joke: “Come on, I don’t want my dinner getting cold.”

Source: theguardian.com