Hi,
As you probably know, Simple Minds have just finished
shooting the video for 'War Babies' in Cape Town (South Africa).
Jim Kerr was kind enough to swing past our studios today
for a great, in depth interview, dealing with his
history, directions in music and interest in the internet.
The first bits are already available in RealVideo
format at http://www.intertainment.co.za/simpleminds/video_setup.htm
(it is also rechable through our 'springboard' navigation tool
at http://www.intertainment.co.za (under music).
Here you will also find behind the scenes footage of the filming of the new video.
Damian Hardy
[email protected]
Thanx Damian!
30/5 Pesaro
31/5 Trieste (?)
2/6 Milano
11/6 Napoli
13/6 Bassano
14/6 Bologna
Pescara (?)
Bari (?)
SIMPLE MINDS
Neapolis / Chrysalis
Jim Kerr e Charlie Burchill cambiano casa discografica e fanno uno, due passi indietro. Delusi dall'esito non proprio esaltante delle ultime imprese e convinti di non poter ripetere le gesta magniloquenti dell'album precedente Good news from the next world, i Simple Minds riscoprono la loro anima "techno". I reduci della band scozzese si ricordano che all'inizio erano fan del "kraut-rock" di gruppi come i Can e i Kraftwerk <<...con i loro cicli lunghi e gli scorci ad ampio resipro>>. E cosi', in piena era ambient e jungle, i Simple Minds richiamano in servizio compagni lontani come Derek Forbes al basso e Mel Gaynor alla batteria e ritrovano le atmosfere ipnotiche di dischi ormai classici come Empires and dance (1980) o Sons and fascination. Grazie anche all'intervento di un altro "vecchio amico", il tecnico del suono Peter Walsh, coproduttore insieme all'inseparabile coppia Burchill & Kerr.
Scritto e pensato "on the road" in viaggio per il mondo, l'album e' stato rifinito sotto l'esaltante sole di Napoli. Cosi' si spiega il curioso titolo, che riprende il nome greco della citta' partenopea.
In tutta umilta', cogli inserimenti subliminali dei Transglobal Underground, i Simple Minds restaurano se stessi per ritrovare le estatiche qualita' che sembravano smarrite. Troppo tardi? Chissa'.
War Babies
Glitterball
Tears Of A Guy
She's A River
Big Sleep
Hypnotised
Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)
Waterfront
Alive And Kicking
See The Lights
I'm not going to review the concert now, since many people still haven't heard Glitterball or War Babies. I'm just going to say that it was absolutely brilliant and leave it at that for now.
 | 28/ 1/98 : il 14 febbraio si svolgera' a Roma (Palaeur) un concerto gratuito organizzato da Amnesty International per celebrare il cinquantesimo anniversario della Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani (10/12/1948). Insieme ai Simple Minds ci saranno Antonello Venditti e l'algerino Khaled. |
Love Song - Philadelphia Blondes
Waterfront - Union Jack
Theme For Great Cities - Fila Brazillia
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Jam And Spoon
'With Neapolis, the Minds have definitely decided to explore a new musical direction as the Lp doesn't sound like anything they have done previously (except some reminiscences of "Take A Step Back" or "My Life"). This time they have focused on rythms and not on guitars: they have used a lot of drum machines, computer drums or electronic percussions. They have also experimented with ambiences. Neapolis is a very 90's record like Depeche mode's Ultra or U2's POP. Those who are expecting acoustic tracks in the SFY mood may be surprised but all the tunes are very catchy and the more you listen to them, the more you like them.'
Singolo: Glitterball, esce il 19.2 Album: Neapolis, esce il 9.3. Titoli dei brani: Song For The Tribes Glitterball Warbabies Tears Of A Guy Superman Five Supersoul (?) Lightning If I Had Wings Killing Andy Warhol Handroginy
"For all of you who entered the competition, THANKS!!! We had thousands of entries and right now we're sifting through all the great ideas you sent in.
The sad news is that due to all the commitments we've had in the last few months with touring and putting the final touches to the new album that we're a little behind with the schedule for Helium. The revised date for the launch is mid January so hang on in there while we work flat out to make it worth the wait.
In the meantime we'll be updating this page regularly to keep you informed on all that's going on with Simple Minds. All of you who entered the competition, sit tight and we'll announce the winner as soon as the site is up and running."Jim and Charlie
19.06.97�ITALIA�ROMA�FESTIVAL�*�
21.06.97 GERMANIA LORELAY FESTIVAL *
04.07.97 PORTOGALLO��SUPERBOCK/ROCK�*
05.07.97 FRANCIA (?)�KARLHACK
11.07.97�SPAGNA��ESCALARRE FESTA�*
12.07.97�SPAGNA� MURCRA��*
19.07.97�BELGIO ZEEBRUGGE�BEECH ROCK FEST.�*
20.07.97�SVIZZERA BERNA�GURTEN�FESTIVAL�*
10.08.97�DANIMARCA��SCANDERBORG�*
10/4/97 : vai alla parte inglese, grazie!
8/4/97 : il nuovo album uscir� a settembre; � stato reso noto anche dalla stampa inglese.
8/4/97 : un secondo singolo uscir� probabilmente ad agosto.
6/4/97 : il nuovo singolo � fissato per giugno; la EMI per il momento non ne ha fornito il titolo.
5/4/97 : � stato ufficializzato il tour estivo; sembra confermata la partecipazione ad alcuni festival europei, tra cui quello di Sonoria, il 20 giugno.
3/4/97 : Mel Gaynor torna a suonare con i Simple. E' sicuramente una delle notizie pi� belle da un po' di tempo a questa parte.
17/2/97 : il titolo del disco, ancora in fase di mixaggio, non si conosce ancora; i titoli che circolavano, cio� "BVT" o "BWT" non sono veri. Ottimisticamente, si pu� pensare a met� aprile come data d'uscita del singolo; per l'album non prima della fine del mese di maggio.
5/2/97 : � stato confermato che i Simple Minds stanno scrivendo la colonna sonora di un film di produzione tedesca intitolato "Sawdust Tales". Per il momento non si sa nulla circa l'uscita del film o della colonna sonora. Il lavoro parla di un circo alla fine del mondo ed � stato girato a Budapest.
20/1/97 : sembra che il nuovo disco segnera' una sorta di riavvicinamento ai temi sviluppati nei primi album della band, in particolare Empires and Dance e Sons nd Fascination, accompagnato da una continua ricerca a livello sonoro, mai esaurita nel corso degli anni.
15/1/97 : il produttore del nuovo lavoro dovrebbe essere Peter Walsh, conosciuto per aver prodotto il grande New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) nel 1982.
6/1/97 : i nostri saranno in Italia il 6 giugno; suoneranno sicuramente a Milano, nell'ambito di Sonoria '97, mentre riguardo alle date di un probabile tour non si sa nulla.
5/1/97 : ottime notizie! Il nuovo album, di cui non si conosce ancora il titolo, � in dirittura d'arrivo e dovrebbe uscire in marzo. Sembra confermato il fatto che saranno della partita anche Derek Forbes e Brian McGee, bassista e batterista in forze ai Simple fino a New Gold Dream; dovrebbero partecipare anche alla scrittura di musica e testi. Derek aveva gi� partecipato a uno degli ultimi concerti tenuti dal gruppo, a Glasgow, il 13 settembre 1995.
28/12/96 : Crysalis, la nuova etichetta discografica dei Simple sta aggiornando le proprie pagine web, su cui sar� possibile trovare notizie interessanti. Sembra che i nostri abbiano firmato un contratto che prevede la realizzazione di cinque album.
[email protected]
ENGLISH VERSION
Hi,
As you probably know, Simple Minds have just finished
shooting the video for 'War Babies' in Cape Town (South Africa).
Jim Kerr was kind enough to swing past our studios today
for a great, in depth interview, dealing with his
history, directions in music and interest in the internet.
The first bits are already available in RealVideo
format at http://www.intertainment.co.za/simpleminds/video_setup.htm
(it is also rechable through our 'springboard' navigation tool
at http://www.intertainment.co.za (under music).
Here you will also find behind the scenes footage of
the filming of the new video.
Damian Hardy
[email protected]
Thanx Damian!
13/ 2/98 : Glitterball is out now, in Italy!
Love Song remixed by the Philadelphia Blondes
'With Neapolis, the Minds have definitely
decided to explore a new musical direction as the Lp doesn't sound like
anything they have done previously (except some reminiscences of "Take
A Step Back" or "My Life").
This time they have focused on rythms and not on guitars: they have
used a lot of drum machines, computer drums or electronic percussions.
They have also experimented with ambiences. Neapolis is a very 90's
record like Depeche mode's Ultra or U2's POP.
Those who are expecting acoustic tracks in the SFY mood may be surprised
but all the tunes are very catchy and the more you listen to them, the
more you like them.'
"For all of you who entered the competition, THANKS!!! We had thousands of entries and right now we're sifting through all the great ideas you sent in.
The sad news is that due to all the commitments we've had in the last few months with touring and putting the final touches to the new album that we're a little behind with the schedule for Helium. The revised date for the launch is mid January so hang on in there while we work flat out to make it worth the wait.
In the meantime we'll be updating this page regularly to keep you informed on all that's going on with Simple Minds. All of you who entered the competition, sit tight and we'll announce the winner as soon as the site is up and running."
As we knew, it's a 2 cd set including the edit and album version and four (useless, I think!) remixes.11/ 2/98 : "Simple Minds are VH1 Artist Of The Month in March. As part of a series of programmes with the band, Simple Minds played to around 75 people at a "secret gig" at MTV/VH1's London offices. [la trasmissione si chiama Sonic e va in onda il giovedi alle 21:00]
The set list was as follows (guess who 'removed' Charlie's set list at the end of the gig!):
War Babies
Glitterball
Tears Of A Guy
She's A River
Big Sleep
Hypnotised
Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)
Waterfront
Alive And Kicking
See The Lights
I'm not going to review the concert now, since many people still haven't heard Glitterball or War Babies. I'm just going to say that it was absolutely brilliant and leave it at that for now.
I also exclusively interviewed Jim after the show. I talked to Jim for around 15 minutes in a dressing room (only interupted by Stan Tippins!) about a range of subjects including the recording of the album, the meaning behind the songs (in particular Killing Andy Warhol), the forthcoming tour and the future plans of the band."[Source: Simon Cornwell]
10/ 2/98 :Brussels, 10 February 1998 Press release: Simple Minds World Wide New Album Launch, live at CyberTheatre, Brussels.
On Wednesday, February 25th 1998 9:00pm CET, the Simple Minds will present their new album N�apolis with a live set of 45 minutes at CyberTheatre in Brussels.
The official Simple Minds website (http://www.simpleminds.com) will be presented to the international press at CyberTheatre at 9:00pm.
At 9:15pm, the Simple Minds will present their new album live on stage, cybercasted in Real Audio/Video on Nirvanet (http://www.nirvanet.com).
This is the first Simple Minds concert that will be broadcasted on the Internet.
Between 11:00pm and 12:00pm, a chat will take place with the members of the band on irc.nirvanet.net.
An exclusive live interview with Jim Kerr will be broadcasted in Real Audio/Video during the evening (hour to be confirmed).
The interview and the live concert will be archived on www.nirvanet.com so people who missed the live gig can view the concert afterwards.[Source: nirvanet]
9/ 2/98 : Charlie's become father of a baby boy in December (15th we guess).
[Source: Katrin Baumbach]
28/ 1/98 : on february, 14 is scheduled in Rome (Palaeur) a free concert, wanted by Amnesty International to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10/12/1948). Together with Simple Minds there will be the italian Antonello Venditti and the "rai" music champion Khaled.
You can see the concert on Canale 5 (italian tv station) and Radio Dimensione Suono (italian network) on february, 18 at 22:30.[Source: EMI and la Repubblica]
28/ 1/98 : probably, there will be 10 live dates along Italy, in June.
[Source: EMI]
27/ 1/98 : Neapolis will be out on march, 16, because of changing in cover design.
[Source: EMI]
26/ 1/98 : Glitterball is a massive remix release. The following remix artists have reworked the following:
Waterfront remixed by Union Jack
Theme For Great Cities remixed by Fila Brazillia
Don't You (Forget About Me) remixed by Jam And Spoon.
[Source: Simon Cornwell]
25/ 1/98 : War Babies is going to be the second single, scheduled for release on the 20th April 1998.
[Source: Simon Cornwell]
24/ 1/98
the first NEAPOLIS Review
by Luc Hubert (thanx Luc!)
' I had the opportunity to get a promo copy of neapolis. It's the cd album
in a silver cigar box with a tiny booklet.
Here is a review of the 9 tracks:
1) Song For The Tribes starts with a heavy drum machine beat, then
Charlie is playing acoustic guitar throughout the whole song.
It sounds fresh and new. Interstingly a string loop ends up the track.
2) Glitterball, you know it already, very close to the live version.
Beautiful bass line (too discreet).
3) War Babies: the guitar chordin the chorus are a bit different from the
live version. The synthetiser parts seem to have been replaced by real
cellos and violin. Beautiful break with an orchestra playing. Best
strack of all.
4) Tears Of A Guy is an up-tempo track with echoes of Criminal World an d
My Life. Personal references to jim's separation from patsy suspected in
the lyrics: "The tears of a guy is all I ever see, too many rivers run
through me"
5) Superman V. Supersoul is a more peacefull song which melts drum boxes,
celtic instruments and ... scratches !
6) Lightning is reminiscent of Waterfront and Travelling man. Powerful
chorus :" I want to live were you live, I want to see what you see, I
want to go where you are..".
7) If I Had Wings countains a lot of percussion; Perfect as a film
soundtrack (for Sawdust Tales).
8) Killing Andy Warhol: We can hear a sort of Mandolin in the intro.
Strange lyrics:"A.W. is a saint, A.W. is a thief.." SM seem to be more
and more into modern art.
9) Androgyny is an instrumental full of old analog synthetisers. Until
SFW It was a tradition for SM to end an album with an instrumental
track.'[Source: Luc Hubert]
22/ 1/98 : the site is built in two versions: 'Standard', and 'Enhanced'. For the 'Enhanced' version you will need to obtain the 'Flash' plug-in. If you do not have this plug-in then click on the button below and you'll be able to download it. (171kb)
22/ 1/98 : credits on Glitterball promo are:
written by Kerr & Burchill,
produced by Charlie Burchill & Pete Walsh,
mixed & engineered by Pete Walsh.[Source : Wouter Desmet]
6/ 1/98 : good news from Italian EMI!
Single: Glitterball, out on 19.2
Album: Neapolis, out on 9.3.
Songs' titles:
Song For The Tribes
Glitterball
Warbabies
Tears Of A Guy
Superman Five Supersoul (?)
Lightning
If I Had Wings
Killing Andy Warhol
Handroginy
29/12/97 : Glitterball has been confirmed as the new single. It will be released on the 23rd of February as two CDs. The new album is still set for release on the 9th of March. The title is given as Minneapolis.
[Source : HMV Record shops, UK]
12/12/97 : Helium is updated
Jim and Charlie
27/11/97 : directly from SM mailing list, Wouter wrote: "Jim was at the FNAC record store, Antwerp (Belgium). I had a very short chat with him, though, & told him what an excellent song War Babies is in my opinion. Jim's reply was: "Well, that's PROBABLY going to be our new single". That's pretty good news, huh ? And very nice of Jim to tell me! But don't blame me for writing this if Jim & Charlie or the record company choose another one in the end." Thank you, Wouter!
14/11/97 : Reviews page has been added to the site! It will contain personal impressions of Simple Minds friends about concerts, shows, Helium site and all recent facts. E-mail me your ideas!
20/10/97 : Helium is now updated! On the site there's a cool graphic and the form for a great contest: you can win a lovable Charlie's guitar.
4/10/97 : it's out now a new compilation, based on Glittering Prize, called The Promised (LC 3098) to celebrate the Night of the Proms 1997 tour. The album is on sale only in a few states where the band play for this event. The new songs added are She's a river and Hypnotised.
1/10/97 : it seems sure that Mick McNeil is playing for the new work, but it's not so sure that he will follow the band during the next tour.
30/9/97 : EMI communicated that the single release (Glitterball?) is postponed and the new album could be out on january or february 1998.
1/9/97 : EMI didn't confirmed 22 of september as release date of the new single; there isn't also nothing confirmed about live activity before the next year.