SIMPLE MINDS

written by Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill and Mick MacNeil

produced by Bob Clearmountain and Jimmy Iovine

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I’m making this page on July 10th, 2021, the day after the 62nd

birthday of James (Jim) Kerr, frontman, lead singer and songwriter

of the Simple Minds. Happy Birthday, JK!!

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Jim was born in Glasgow, of Irish descent, and originated in punk rock as a teen. He co-founded the group Johnny & The Self-Abusers, under the pseudonym Pripton Weird. He started writing more and more songs, and a few lineup shifts and a name change later, the Simple Minds were born.

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The Minds signed with Virgin 1980-81, under distribution from PolyGram’s A&M Records, though they debuted with Zoom Records from Arista. As the band’s ’92 compilation Glittering Prize 81/92’s insert narrates, “1981 was a pivotal year for Simple Minds. The quintet’s early aspirations had been captured on three quite contrasting albums, the naïve 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.”

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One of the best ways to expand and maintain a lasting career in the music biz—besides being obsessed enough with it, of course—is to carefully evolve and branch forth with your music, but while at the same time retaining the base and tenets of your musical “personality”—something at which Jim and the Minds have always been rather adept, with a career now spanning over 40 years. The Minds write and perform virtually all of their own material, with the rare exception of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from The Breakfast Club. They’ve been on the charts since, and this includes their most recent effort, 2018’s Walk Between Worlds.

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“Alive And Kicking,” from Once Upon A Time—later the same year as “Don’t/(Forget)”—shows itself to be a soothing and yet engaging 5½-minute ride—one more of my favorite songs, culled from the list of literal hundreds. (The video triggers my fear of heights a bit, but as long as you’re not a beyond life-crippling acrophobic, you should be fine.) Yet I failed to realize this at first, as I collected Glittering Prize 81/92, but not the original Once/Time record. The GP compilation contains the 7” edit of “Alive And Kicking,” at 4¾ minutes. A difference of barely 45 seconds, but 45 seconds I value. I suppose I’m just one of those individuals who prefer the entirety of songs and care little for edits. I wish they needed not be whittled down for the radio edits, but I understand the inclination of artists and airplay stations to not let their listeners grow restless hearing the same bars and phrases for minutes on end.

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As I noted, the Minds have been... um... going at it for 40 years, and so they’re still... you know. I phrase it that way so you can fill in the joke and I don’t have to make it. As much as I do like concluding my notes with little quips and cracks, some are the tiniest bit corny and cliché. So, we’ll leave it at that.

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full version

music video

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The Minds’ official website

Lyrics

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You turn me on / You lift me up, like the sweetest cup, I’d share with you / You lift me up, don’t you ever stop, I’m here with you / Now it’s all or nothing / ’Cause you said you’ll follow through / You follow me, and I, I, I follow you / What’cha gonna do when things go wrong / What’cha gonna do when it all cracks up / What’cha gonna do when your love burns down / What’cha gonna do when the flames go up / Who’s gonna come and turn the tide / What’s it gonna take to make a dream survive / Who’s got the touch to calm the storm inside / Who’s gonna save you / Alive and kicking / Stay until your love is / Alive and kicking / Stay until your love is, until your love is / Alive / Whoa, you lift me up / To the crucial top, so I can see / Oh, you lead me on, till the feelings come, and the lights that shine on / But if that don’t mean nothing / Like if someday, it should fall through / You take me home where the magic’s from / And I’ll be with you / What’cha gonna do when things go wrong / What’cha gonna do when it all cracks up / What’cha gonna do when your love burns down / What’cha gonna do when the flames go up / Who’s gonna come and turn the tides / What’s it gonna take to make a dream survive / Who’s got the touch to calm the storm inside / Don’t say goodbye, don’t say goodbye / In the final seconds, who’s gonna save you / Oooh-oh, ohhh-oh, alive and kicking / Ohhh, stay until your love is, love is / Alive and kicking / Oooh-oh, ohhh-oh, alive and kicking / Ohhh, stay until your love is, love is / Alive and kicking / Oooh-ohhh, alive and kicking / Stay until your life is / Alive and kicking, ohhh / Ba-da-da-da, ba-ba-da-da-da, da-ba-dohhh, ba-da-dohhh / Ba-da-da-da, ba-da-da-da, da-ba-dohhh, ba-da-dohhh / (Ba-da-da-da, ba-ba-da-da-da, ba-ba-da-dohhh, ba-da-dohhh) Stay until your love is / (Ba-da-da-da, ba-ba-da-da-da) Alive and kicking, (ba-ba-da-dohhh, ba-da-dohhh) oh, stay until your / (Ba-da-da-da, ba-ba-da-da-da) Alive, kicking, (ba-ba-da-dohhh, ba-da-dohhh) ohhh, stay until your love / (Ba-da-da-da, ba-ba-da-da-da)/[fade]