Jim Kerr had forgotten all about it.
The vocalist for Scottish rock band Simple Minds had only vaguely remembered when a somewhat inebriated guy had handed the band a cassette backstage after an Los Angeles gig. On it was a song he really, really wanted the band to record, and this was a second attempt after initial approach had proven a dead end.
“We weren’t sure who this guy was. He seemed like a good guy and we said our hellos. He said ‘Yeah, we’re gonna work together!’ We didn’t think anything of it,” Kerr says today via Zoom.
So Simple Minds keyboardist Mick McNeill accepted the tape, tossed it in a bag, and it promptly slipped the collective group’s mind. They never listened to it.
About two months later, the band was told the guy had been producer/songwriter Keith Forsey, who had along with Steve Schiff written a song they’d demoed on that tape they wanted to interest the band in. Something for a film project about American teenagers stuck in a school on a Saturday.
They heard the demo, but really being interested in recording only originals, they demurred. Others either offered the song or who it was suggested it included Roxy Music, Corey Hart, and Billy Idol.
“It just didn’t seem like a big deal to us. But then we met Keith when he was a little more coherent and talked to [Director/Screenwriter] John Hughes on the phone. He had such enthusiasm; it got us thinking more.”
A final push suggested by Kerr’s then-wife, Chrissie Hyde of the Pretenders, eventually convinced the band to give it a shot. Three hours in the studio with the band “Simple-Mindifying” the song, they laid down “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” It would play over the pivotal ending scene (to actor Judd Nelson’s defiantly raised fist) for the wildly popular movie The Breakfast Club.
The song would go to No. 1 on the U.S. charts in May 1985, providing the breakthrough here that the band had long sought, and has since become a true, giant ‘80s anthem. The band also performed it that year at Live Aid.
“Even when it was finished, done and dusted, no one in the world could have figured out it would be such a generational song,” Kerr adds. “And with MTV hammering the hell out of it, it became a monster. And now it’s ended up in other movies and even been parodied. It’s a cultural thing, and that’s been amazing to watch.”
To prime listeners’ ears—and especially American ones—for an upcoming tour, Simple Minds just released the double disc Live in the City of Diamonds.
Recorded last year in front of 17,000 fans at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome, its 24 tracks provide not only a varied summation of the band’s career to date, but how they sound in today’s context.
The current group now includes Kerr and fellow co-founder Charlie Burchill (guitar), along with Gordy Goudie (rhythm guitar), Ged Grimes (bass), Cherisse Osei (drums), Erik Ljunggren (keyboards) and Sarah Brown (vocals).
“You always want to know if there’s going to be magic in the air or reintroduction of magic in the air and if it sounds good. So we said, ‘Let’s capture this and get it out,’” Kerr notes of the live album. “The set list ticked all the right boxes. Let’s be honest, it’s a fan thing or a super fans thing. And the cliché is true, it’s a snapshot in time, of what I think is a great live band. And the [Ziggo Dome] was built for music.”
He adds that there were only minor tweaks made to the sound because he absolutely wanted to keep some of the “rough edges and warts” intact.
The upcoming summer tour will find Simple Minds playing 22 U.S. dates while also traveling to Canada, the UK, and Europe before wrapping up in Italy (where both Kerr and Burchill live full time). It stops May 31 in Houston at the Woodlands Pavilion with fellow ‘80s traveler opening acts Soft Cell (“Tainted Love”) and Modern English (“I Melt with You”).
It’s also their first major headlining tour on these shores in some four decades. It was kickstarted by a very well-received appearance last May at the California Cruel World Festival that included fellow MTV-era icons like Duran Duran, Blondie, Adam Ant, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. They played alongside ‘90s acts inspired by them like Interpol and Placebo.
“Promoters within days were asking us to put on a [larger] tour,” he says. “It will get us across the country in front of as many people as possible so that we could come back more often like we do in other places.”
In the U.S., Simple Minds are best and most known for a handful of hit singles including the aforementioned “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” “Sanctify Yourself,” “Alive and Kicking,” “All the Things She Said” and “Promised You a Miracle.”
And those same Americans would likely be surprised to know that the band has had far greater popularity outside this country, charting many more singles and putting out (to date) a whopping 20 studio albums. It’s a gap that Kerr is acutely aware of.
“We had five or six albums out in other places before we even got a deal in the U.S. We had a great ‘80s but by the middle of the ‘90s, things were tough for us everywhere. If you’re a band for one generation, the next one wants their own,” he offers.
“We never gave up, but we just weren’t that busy. But that whole thing about patience being a virtue is true. The lights were getting dim, but by the beginning of this century, the phone started ringing again. We got our mojo back and had good management. It’s brought the band back.”
Through the years, Simple Minds (with the bulk of their material written by Kerr and Burchill) have always included songs that address political and social issues like “Mandela Day,” “Belfast Child” and “This is Your Land.” So, if the band was putting together a new album today, what current topics would motivate Kerr’s pen (or keyboard)?
“The world changes and the geography changes but the issues are always the same. Human rights and power against the powerless. Thankfully, there’s no more wars in Belfast and apartheid ended,” he says. “There would be plenty to write about, but the difference now is perspective. I have no idea what it’s like for a kid who is born in the post-internet or post-social media age. But that’s for them to find out.”
And while the lineups have come and gone over the years, Kerr and Burchill have been there since Day One. Both also today live in Italy, with Kerr falling in love with the country after first visiting it at age 14 during a school trip. Burchill at one point also had an Italian girlfriend.
Finally, when asked how the relationship between the two of them differs—or is deeper—than it could possibly be with the rest of the band, it comes down to language. But not that of music.
“We met in the street when we were eight years old. And people say we have an unspoken dialogue between us,” Kerr says. “But we both live in Italy and we both speak Italian. So, when something is pissing us off, we speak to each other in Italian. And everybody goes ‘Oh, fuck! There’s problems and someone’s going to get sacked!’”
Laughing, Kerr continues “We had a rehearsal yesterday, and Charlie and I had this huge screaming match! It was so embarrassing at this stage of our lives! But it shows that we still have passion for the music. And ten minutes later, it’s forgotten!”
Simple Minds play 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins. For more information, call 281-364-3024 or visit WoodlandsCenter.org. Soft Cell and Modern English open. $40.25 and up.
Select shows are part of Live Nation’s $30 Ticket to Summer Promotion.
For more on Simple Minds, visit SimpleMinds.com
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
