Simple Minds Sparkle in the Rain
What was Sparkle in the Rain?
What is the story of the song Sparkle in the Rain?
The next record, Sparkle in the Rain, was produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in February 1984. It gave rise to successful singles like "Waterfront" (which hit No. 1 in a few European countries) and "Speed Your Love to Me" and "Up on the Catwalk". Sparkle in the Rain topped the charts in the UK and hit the Top 20 in several other countries (including Canada, where it reached No. 13). In 1984, Jim Kerr married Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders (who renamed herself Christine Kerr). Simple Minds did a North American tour where they played as headliners supported by China Crisis during the Canadian leg and in support of the Pretenders in the US while Hynde was pregnant with Kerr's daughter. The marriage lasted until 1990. Despite the band's new-found popularity in the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia, Simple Minds remained essentially unknown in the US. The band's UK releases on Arista were not picked up by Arista USA who had 'right of first refusal' for their releases. The 1985 film The Breakfast Club broke Simple Minds into the US market, when the band achieved their only No. 1 U.S. pop hit in April 1985 with the film's closing track, "Don't You (Forget About Me)". The song was written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff; Forsey offered the song to Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry before Simple Minds agreed to record it. The song soon became a chart-topper in many other countries around the world. At around this point, the camaraderie that had fuelled Simple Minds began to unravel, and over the next ten years the band's line-up underwent frequent changes. Jim Kerr subsequently recalled "We were knackered. We were desensitized. The band started to fracture. We were lads who had grown up together, we were meant to grow together, politically, spiritually and artistically. But we were getting tired with each other. There was an element of the chore creeping in. We were coasting and this whole other thing was a challenge." The first casualty was bassist Derek Forbes, who was beginning to squabble with Kerr. Forbes began failing to turn up for rehearsals, and was dismissed. Forbes remained in touch with the band (and soon reunited with another former Simple Minds bandmate, drummer Brian McGee, in Propaganda). Forbes was replaced by former Brand X bass player John Giblin (who owned the band's rehearsal space and was a session musician who had worked with Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush). Giblin made his debut with Simple Minds at Live Aid in Philadelphia, where the band performed "Don't You (Forget About Me)", a new track called "Ghost Dancing" and "Promised You a Miracle". Simple Minds were the first band to be approached to play the Philadelphia leg of Live Aid. CANNOTANSWER
Sparkle in the Rain, was produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in February 1984.
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Other commercially successful singles include "Glittering Prize" (1982), "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" (1982), "Waterfront" (1983) and "Alive and Kicking" (1985), as well as the UK number one single "Belfast Child" (1989).

Simple Minds have achieved five UK Albums chart number one albums, Sparkle in the Rain (1984), Once Upon a Time (1985), Live in the City of Light (1987), Street Fighting Years (1989) and Glittering Prize 81/92 (1992); they have sold more than 60 million albums. They were the most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s. Simple Minds have also achieved considerable chart success in the United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy and New Zealand. Despite various personnel changes, they continue to record and tour.

In 2014, Simple Minds were awarded the Q Inspiration Award for their contribution to the music industry and an Ivor Novello Award in 2016 for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. Other notable recognitions include nominations for both the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction and MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 1985, nomination for the Brit Award for British Group in 1986 and for the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group in 1987. "Belfast Child" was nominated for the Song of the Year at the 1990 Brit Awards.

The nucleus of Simple Minds consists of the two remaining original members, Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (electric & acoustic guitars, occasional keyboards after 1990, saxophone and violin). The other current band members are Ged Grimes (bass guitar),  Cherisse Osei (drums), Sarah Brown (backing vocals), Gordy Goudie (additional guitar & keyboards). Notable former members include Mick MacNeil (keyboards), Derek Forbes (bass), Brian McGee & Mel Gaynor (drums).

History

Roots/Johnny & The Self-Abusers (1977)
The roots of Simple Minds are in the short-lived punk band Johnny & The Self-Abusers, founded on the South Side of Glasgow in early 1977. The band was conceived (initially as an imaginary band) by would-be Glasgow scene-maker Alan Cairnduff, although he left the job of organising the band to his friend John Milarky. At Cairnduff's suggestion, Milarky teamed up with two musicians he had never worked with before – budding singer and lyricist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill. Kerr and Burchill had known each other since the age of eight. After joining Johnny & The Self-Abusers, they brought in two of their school friends, Brian McGee on drums and Tony Donald on bass (all four had previously played together in the schoolboy band Biba-Rom!).

With Milarky established as singer, guitarist and saxophonist, the line-up was completed by his friend Allan McNeill as third guitarist. Kerr and Burchill also doubled on keyboards and violin respectively. In common with the early punk bands, various members took on stage names—Milarky became "Johnnie Plague", Kerr became "Pripton Weird", McNeill chose "Sid Syphilis" and Burchill chose "Charlie Argue".

Johnny & The Self-Abusers played their first gig on Easter Monday, 11 April 1977, at the Doune Castle pub in Glasgow. The band played support to rising punk stars Generation X in Edinburgh two weeks later. The band went on to play a summer of concerts in Glasgow, but soon split into two factions, with Milarky and McNeill on one side and Kerr, Donald, Burchill and McGee on the other: at the same time, Milarky's compositions were being edged out in favour of those of Kerr and Burchill.

In November 1977, Johnny & The Self-Abusers released its only single, "Saints and Sinners", on Chiswick Records (which was dismissed as being "rank and file" in a Melody Maker review). The band split on the same day that the single was released, with Milarky and McNeill going on to form The Cuban Heels. Ditching the stage names and the overt punkiness, the remaining members continued together as Simple Minds (naming themselves after a David Bowie lyric from his song "Jean Genie").

Original line-up settles (1978)

In January 1978, Simple Minds recruited Duncan Barnwell as a second guitarist (allowing for an optional two-guitar line-up while also enabling Burchill to play violin). Meanwhile, Kerr had abandoned keyboards to concentrate entirely on vocals. In March 1978, Kerr, Burchill, Donald, Barnwell and McGee were joined by the Barra-born keyboard player Mick MacNeil. The band got a residency at the Mars Bar in Glasgow and played various other venues in Scotland and rapidly established a reputation as an exciting live act (usually performing in full makeup) and gained a management deal with Bruce Findlay, owner of the Bruce's Records chain of record shops. Findlay also owned Zoom Records (a subsidiary of the Arista Records label), and used his position to get Simple Minds signed to Arista. By early 1980, Findlay would have become the band's full-time manager via his Schoolhouse Management company.

The band's line-up did not settle until the end of 1978. Tony Donald quit in April 1978, before the first Simple Minds demo tape was recorded (he later became Burchill's guitar technician). He was replaced by Duncan Barnwell's friend Derek Forbes (formerly the bass player with The Subs). In November 1978, Barnwell was asked to leave. The remaining quintet of Kerr, Burchill, MacNeil, Forbes and McGee—generally considered as the first serious line-up of Simple Minds—began rehearsing the set of Kerr/Burchill-written songs which appear on their début album.

Initial albums: Life in a Day, Real to Real Cacophony and Empires and Dance (1979–1980)

On 27 March 1979 the band made their first television appearance, performing the songs "Chelsea Girl" and "Life in a Day" on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test.

The first Simple Minds album, Life in a Day, was produced by John Leckie and released by Zoom Records in April 1979. The album's title track "Life in a Day" was released as Simple Minds' first single and reached No. 62 in the UK Singles Chart, with the album reaching No. 30 in the UK Albums Chart. The next single ("Chelsea Girl") failed to chart. While preparing ideas for the next record, they played a support slot for Magazine, following which they went back to the studio with Leckie to work on new material.

Simple Minds' second release, Real to Real Cacophony was a significant departure from the pop tunes of Life in a Day. The album had a darker and far more experimental atmosphere, announcing some of the new wave experimentation that became the band's trademark sound over the next two albums. Much of the album was written in the studio, although Simple Minds had been playing early versions of several tracks during the recent tour dates.

Innovations which the band displayed on Real to Real Cacophony included minimalist structures based around the rhythm section of Forbes and McGee, plus the occasional use of unconventional time signatures. The band also experimented with elements of dub, and included the wordless and atmospheric "Veldt" in which they attempted to create an impression of an African landscape using electronic buzzes and drones, Burchill's improvised saxophone lines and Kerr's chants and cries. The album also generated the single "Changeling". The band toured in Europe and the UK on their "Real to Real Cacophony Tour" and also made a short visit to New York. Their performance of the songs "Premonition", "Factory" and "Changeling" at Hurrah in October 1979 was filmed for The Old Grey Whistle Test.

Real to Real Cacophony caught the attention of Peter Gabriel who selected Simple Minds as the opening act on several dates of his European tour starting in August 1980.

The next album was Empires and Dance, released in September 1980. Many of the tracks were minimal and featured a significant use of sequencing. McNeil's keyboards and Forbes' bass became the main melodic elements in the band's sound, with Burchill's heavily processed guitar becoming more of a textural element. With this album, Kerr began to experiment with non-narrative lyrics based on observations he had made as the band travelled across Europe on tour. While a modest commercial success, Empires and Dance received enthusiastic response in the British music press and the tour as support act for Peter Gabriel gave the band the opportunity to play at bigger venues.

Move to Virgin and commercial breakthrough: Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call and New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) (1981–1984)

In 1981, Simple Minds switched record labels from Arista to Virgin. The following year, Arista put out a compilation album, Celebration, featuring tracks from the three previous albums. 

Simple Minds' first release on Virgin was two albums: the Steve Hillage-produced Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call. The latter album was initially included as a bonus disc with the first 10,000 vinyl copies of Sons and Fascination, but it was later re-issued as an album in its own right. (For the CD release, it was paired on a single disc with Sons and Fascinationat first with two tracks deleted, but in full on later issues.) Further increasing the band's visibility, the single "Love Song" became an international hit (reaching the Top 20 in Canada and Australia), and the instrumental "Theme for Great Cities" proved so enduring a composition that it was later re-recorded in 1991 as a B-side to the single "See the Lights".

During this period, the band's visual aesthetic was established, masterminded by Malcolm Garrett's graphic design company Assorted iMaGes. Characterised at first by hard, bold typography and photo-collage, Garrett's designs for the band later incorporated pop-religious iconography in clean, integrated package designs that befitted the band's idealised image as neo-romantic purveyors of European anthemic pop. Drummer Brian McGee left the band at the end of the Sons and Fascination sessions, citing exhaustion at Simple Minds' constant touring schedule, and a desire for more time at home with family. He later joined Propaganda.

McGee's initial replacement as Simple Minds' drummer was Kenny Hyslop (ex-Skids, Slik, Zones), who joined the band in October 1981 in time to play the first leg of the Sons and Fascination tour. His interest in New York music (including funk, hip-hop and dance) had an immediate effect on the band's musical development. He stayed long enough to drum on the band's next single, the disco-friendly "Promised You a Miracle" (based on a funk riff from one of the cassettes he played on the band's tour bus) which hit the UK Top 20 and the Australian Top 10. Hyslop "didn't fit in" with the band or their management and was replaced for the second leg of the Sons and Fascination tour in early 1982.

Hyslop was replaced by the Kilmarnock-born percussionist Mike Ogletree (the former drummer for Café Jacques). Ogletree joined Simple Minds for rehearsals in a large converted barn in Perthshire, where he wrote and played the drum parts for the songs that were to become New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84). Ogletree also performed with the band on TV and the second leg of the 'Sons and Fascination Tour'.

The band moved to Townhouse Studios for recording sessions with producer Peter Walsh, who introduced them to a London-born drummer called Mel Gaynor, a 22-year-old session musician with plenty of experience from playing with funk-bands such as Beggar and Co and Light of the World. Working closely with Ogletree in order to capture and maintain the beats from the Perthshire sessions, he played drums on the majority of the record (although Ogletree played drums on three tracks and is credited for percussion across the entire album).

New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) was released in September 1982, combining the results of the Walsh sessions along with "Promised You a Miracle". The album was a commercial breakthrough and generated charting singles including "Glittering Prize" (which reached the UK Top 20 and Australian Top 10). While some tracks ("Promised You a Miracle", "Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel") continued the formula perfected on Sons and Fascination, other tracks ("Someone Somewhere in Summertime", "Glittering Prize") were pure pop. Jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock performed a synth solo on the track "Hunter and the Hunted".

Mike Ogletree played on the first leg of the New Gold Dream tour, but left the band immediately afterwards in November 1982 to join Fiction Factory. Mel Gaynor was recruited (as a full member of the band) for the remaining dates. Simple Minds' first non-Scottish member, Gaynor went on to become the band's longest-standing drummer (and member aside from mainstays Burchill and Kerr) despite thrice leaving and returning in the following decades.

Mainstream success: Sparkle in the Rain, Once Upon a Time and Live in the City of Light (1984–1988)

The next record, Sparkle in the Rain, was produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in February 1984. It gave rise to successful singles like "Waterfront" (which hit No. 1 in a few European countries) and "Speed Your Love to Me" and "Up on the Catwalk". Sparkle in the Rain topped the charts in the UK and hit the Top 20 in several other countries (including Canada, where it reached No. 13). In 1984, Jim Kerr married Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders (who renamed herself Christine Kerr). Simple Minds headlined a North American tour supported by China Crisis during the Canadian leg and supported the Pretenders in the US while Hynde was pregnant with Kerr's daughter. The marriage lasted until 1990.

Despite the band's new-found popularity in the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia, Simple Minds remained essentially unknown in the US. The band's UK releases on Arista were not picked up by Arista USA who had 'right of first refusal' for their releases. The 1985 film The Breakfast Club broke Simple Minds into the US market, when the band achieved their only No. 1 U.S. pop hit in April 1985 with the film's opening track, "Don't You (Forget About Me)". The song was written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff; Forsey offered the song to Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry before Simple Minds agreed to record it. The song soon became a chart-topper in many other countries around the world.

At around this point, the camaraderie that had fuelled Simple Minds began to unravel, and over the next ten years the band's line-up underwent frequent changes. Jim Kerr subsequently recalled "We were knackered. We were desensitized. The band started to fracture. We were lads who had grown up together, we were meant to grow together, politically, spiritually and artistically. But we were getting tired with each other. There was an element of the chore creeping in. We were coasting and this whole other thing was a challenge."

The first casualty was bassist Derek Forbes, who was beginning to squabble with Kerr. Forbes began failing to turn up for rehearsals, and was dismissed. Forbes remained in touch with the band (and soon reunited with another former Simple Minds bandmate, drummer Brian McGee, in Propaganda). Forbes was replaced by former Brand X bass player John Giblin (who owned the band's rehearsal space and was a session musician who had worked with Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush). Giblin made his debut with Simple Minds at Live Aid in Philadelphia, where the band performed "Don't You (Forget About Me)", a new track called "Ghost Dancing" and "Promised You a Miracle". Simple Minds were the first band to be approached to play the Philadelphia leg of Live Aid.

During 1985, Simple Minds were in the studio with former Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks producer Jimmy Iovine. In November, Once Upon a Time was released; former Chic singer Robin Clark, who performed call-and-response vocals with Kerr throughout the album (effectively becoming a second lead singer), and was heavily featured in Simple Minds music videos of the time. The record reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 10 in the US, despite the fact that their major-league breakthrough single "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was not included.

Once Upon a Time went on to generate four worldwide hit singles: "Alive and Kicking", "Sanctify Yourself", "Ghost Dancing" and "All the Things She Said", the last of which featured a music video directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński that used techniques developed in music videos for bands such as Pet Shop Boys and Art of Noise. The band also toured, with both Robin Clark and percussionist Sue Hadjopoulos added to the live line-up.

Because of Simple Minds' powerful stage presence and lyrics that trafficked in Christian symbolism, the band was criticised by some in the music press as a lesser version of U2, despite the fact that both bands were now heading in different musical directions. The two groups were well-acquainted with one another, and Bono joined Simple Minds on-stage at the Barrowlands in Glasgow in 1985 for a live version of "New Gold Dream". Bono also appeared on stage at Simple Minds Croke Park concert and sang "Sun City" during the "Love Song" medley. Derek Forbes also appeared on stage at the Croke Park concert and performed on several songs during the encore. To document their worldwide Once Upon a Time Tour, Simple Minds released the double-live set Live in the City of Light in May 1987, which was recorded primarily over two nights in Paris in August 1986.

By 1988, the band had built their own recording premises — the Bonnie Wee Studio — in Scotland. Following the lengthy period of touring to support Once Upon a Time, Simple Minds began new writing sessions. Initially the band began work on an instrumental project called Aurora Borealis (mostly written by Burchill and MacNeil). This project was then supplanted by an increase in the band's political activism, something which they had begun to stress in recent years (by giving all of the income from the "Ghostdancing" single to Amnesty International, and playing cover versions of Little Steven's "(Ain't Gonna Play) Sun City" on tour), inspired by Peter Gabriel with whom they had toured in the early 1980s.

Simple Minds were the first band to sign up for Mandela Day, a concert held at Wembley Stadium, London, as an expression of solidarity with the then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Bands involved were asked to produce a song especially for the event – Simple Minds were the only act which produced one. This was "Mandela Day", which the band played live on the day (alongside cover versions of "Sun City" with Little Steven and a cover version of Peter Gabriel's "Biko" on which Gabriel himself took on lead vocals). "Mandela Day" was released on the Ballad of the Streets EP, which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart (the only time the band did so). Another EP track, "Belfast Child", was a rewrite of the Celtic folk song "She Moved Through the Fair" (which had been introduced to Kerr by John Giblin) with new lyrics written about the ongoing war in Northern Ireland). The single was also an expression by Simple Minds of their support for the campaign for the release of Beirut-held hostage Brian Keenan, kidnapped by the Islamic Jihad.

Street Fighting Years, Real Life and hiatus (1989–1993)

The next album Street Fighting Years (produced by Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson) moved away from the American soul and gospel influences of Once Upon a Time in favour of soundtrack atmospherics and a new incorporation of acoustic and folk music-related ingredients. The lyrics were also more directly political, covering topics including the Poll Tax, the Soweto townships, the Berlin Wall and the stationing of nuclear submarines on the Scottish coast. The band underwent further line-up changes during the recording of Street Fighting Years. Mel Gaynor and John Giblin both contributed to the recording (and, in Giblin's case, to some of the writing) but both had left the band by the time of the album's release, by which time the band was credited as a trio of Kerr, Burchill and MacNeil. In a new development for the band, various bass guitar and drum tracks were performed by high-profile session musicians. Gaynor's departure from the band was brief (he was rehired for the following tour).

Released in 1989, the album rose to No. 1 in the UK charts and received a rare five-star review from Q magazine. It received a less positive review in Rolling Stone which criticised the band for what the reviewer considered to be political vacuity.  "This Is Your Land" was chosen as the lead single for the U.S., and even with guest vocals from Lou Reed, the single failed to make a mark on the pop charts. Reunited with Mel Gaynor, Simple Minds hired Malcolm Foster (ex-Pretenders) as the new bass player and expanded the live band again by recruiting three additional touring members – Level 42 backing singer Annie McCaig, percussionist Andy Duncan and violinist Lisa Germano). Touring began in May 1989, and included the first and only time that the group headlined Wembley Stadium, where they were supported by fellow Scottish bands The Silencers, Texas and Gun. In September, the concert in the Roman amphitheatre Verona Arena in Italy was recorded for the live video Verona, released by Virgin in 1990.

At the end of the Street Fighting Years tour, Simple Minds laid plans to go to Amsterdam to begin recording a new album. Just before the end of the tour, keyboardist Michael MacNeil announced to the band that he would not be joining them as he needed a break. MacNeil played his last concert with Simple Minds in Brisbane a week later. At the time, MacNeil's departure was put down to health concerns, but he had been gradually suffering disillusionment with the band's lifestyle and touring schedule (as well as what Kerr has referred to as "a number of animated quarrels".)

At around the same time, long-term manager Bruce Findlay was dismissed and over the next few years the band gradually altered to the point where it was a shifting set of musicians around the only remaining core members, Kerr and Burchill. In December 2009, Kerr retrospectively defended the changes in an online diary entry, although he said that MacNeil's departure had been a "colossal fracture". He also paid tribute to his former bandmate and said that MacNeil had been irreplaceable. Simple Minds continued to record, hiring keyboard players as and where required. The first of these was session keyboard player Peter-John Vettese who played live with the band at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Concert and on a short German tour. He was subsequently replaced in the live band by Mark Taylor.

In 1991, Simple Minds returned with Real Life. The album's cover showed a trio of Kerr, Burchill and Gaynor and the writing credits for all songs was Kerr/Burchill. The album reached No. 2 in the UK, where it also spawned four Top 40 singles. In the US, "See the Lights" was the band's last Top 40 pop single. The band toured to support the release, playing as a basic five-piece (Kerr, Burchill, Gaynor, Foster and Taylor) and cutting down on the extended arrangements of the last few large tours. Mel Gaynor left the band in 1992 to pursue session work and other projects, and for the next two years Simple Minds were on hiatus, releasing the compilation album Glittering Prize in 1992.

Good News from the Next World and Néapolis (1994–1999)

Simple Minds returned to activity later in 1994. By now the band was officially a duo of Kerr and Burchill (with the latter taking on keyboards in the studio, as well as guitar). Hiring Keith Forsey (the writer of "Don't You (Forget About Me)") as producer, they began to put together an album which returned to the uplifting arena rock feel of their Once Upon a Time days. With Gaynor now out of the picture, the remaining instrumentation was covered by session musicians (although Malcolm Foster was included among the bass players used for recording).

Good News from the Next World was released in 1995. The album reached No. 2 in the UK and produced the Top 10 hit "She's a River" and the Top 20 single "Hypnotised". The band toured to promote Good News from the Next World, with Malcolm Foster and Mark Taylor as touring bass and keyboard players and Mark Schulman (who had played on the album) on drums. This was Foster's last work with the band, and Schulman returned to session work at the end of the tour. After being released from their contract with Virgin Records, Simple Minds made use of the skills of their original rhythm section, Derek Forbes and Brian McGee (returning after respective eleven- and fourteen-year absences). Although McGee was not involved beyond the rehearsal stage, Forbes formally rejoined Simple Minds in July 1996. The band then reunited with Mel Gaynor for a studio session in early 1997. Gaynor was reinstated as a full-time member for the European tour (which once again featured Mark Taylor on keyboards).

After the tour, album recording sessions were interrupted by Kerr and Burchill's decision to play live (without Forbes, Taylor or Gaynor) as part of the Proms tour (a series of orchestral concerts featuring a mixture of light classical and pop music). The duo played versions of "Alive And Kicking", "Belfast Child" and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" backed by a full orchestra and were billed as Simple Minds.

The new album, Néapolis featured Forbes playing bass guitar on all tracks, and Gaynor on one song, "War Babies". Other drum tracks were recorded by session players Michael Niggs and Jim McDermott, with additional percussion programming by Transglobal Underground/Furniture drummer Hamilton Lee. It was the only Simple Minds album released by Chrysalis Records, who refused to release the album in the U.S., citing lack of interest. The music video for "Glitterball", the album's lead single, was the first production of any kind to film at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. A European tour followed between March and July 1998, undermined by problems with ill-health and contractual fiascos (including a pull-out from the Fleadh Festival to be replaced by British rock band James).

As Simple Minds' main writing team, Kerr and Burchill had continued to demo and originate material by themselves. For the latest sessions they had shared studio space with a band called Sly Silver Sly who featured Jim Kerr's brother Mark (previously the drummer with Gun) and bass guitarist Eddie Duffy, and who were working with American songwriter Kevin Hunter. While in the studio, the two writing and recording projects (including the Hunter co-writes) merged to become the sessions for the next Simple Minds album, Our Secrets Are the Same. Once again, Forbes and Gaynor found themselves out of the band: Mark Kerr became the new drummer and Eddie Duffy joined on bass guitar. The new-look Simple Minds made their début with a short set of greatest hits at the Scotland Rocks For Kosovo festival, with Mark Taylor returning on keyboards. The displaced Forbes and Gaynor, having apparently been told that the band was not appearing at the festival, formed a new band of their own to play the same concert.

Intermittency: Our Secrets Are the Same, Cry, Seen the Lights and Silver Box (1999–2005)

Having delivered Our Secrets Are the Same to Chrysalis, Simple Minds then found themselves caught up in record company politics while Chrysalis, EMI and other companies attempted to merge with each other. Originally due for release in late 1999, the album remained unreleased after the band mired themselves in lawsuits with Chrysalis. In 2000, the situation became even more complicated when Our Secrets Are the Same was leaked on the internet. Discouraged with their label's failure to resolve the problems, and with both momentum and potential album sales lost, the band once again went on hiatus. Eddie Duffy, Mark Taylor and Mark Kerr all moved on to other projects. Jim Kerr moved to Sicily and took up a part-time career as a hotelier, although both he and Burchill continued working together on various business interests and kept the idea of the band alive.

In 2001, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill began working with multi-instrumentalist Gordon Goudie (ex-Primevals) on a new Simple Minds album to be called Cry. Mark Kerr also contributed to the project (this time as an acoustic guitarist and Burchill's co-writer on several songs) while Kerr brought in various Italian musicians as collaborators, including Planet Funk and Punk Investigation. In parallel to Cry, Simple Minds also recorded an album of covers called Neon Lights, featuring Simple Minds versions of songs from artists including Patti Smith, Roxy Music and Kraftwerk. Neon Lights was the first to be completed and released (later in 2001). In the video for the Neon Lights single "Dancing Barefoot", the band consisted of Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Gordon Goudie and Mark Kerr. A 2-CD compilation, The Best of Simple Minds, was released soon afterwards.

Cry was released in April 2002. Although the album did not sell in great numbers in the U.S., Simple Minds felt confident enough to mount a North American leg of their Floating World Tour (named after the instrumental track which closes Cry), their first in seven years. With Goudie opting to remain studio bound (and Mark Kerr leaving the band again), Simple Minds once again recruited Mel Gaynor as tour drummer. The live band was completed by the returning Eddie Duffy on bass guitar and by new keyboard player/programmer Andy Gillespie (of SoundControl). 

On 28 October 2003, Capitol released Seen The Lights – A Visual History, the first-ever Simple Minds commercial (double) DVD, featuring over four hours and twenty minutes of archive footage. The first disc includes the majority of the band's promotional videos. The second disc is devoted to Verona, the band's first video which was originally released in VHS format in 1990. It was upmixed to 5.1 surround sound for the DVD, but otherwise remains the same as the original VHS copy. 

On 18 October 2004, Simple Minds released a five-CD compilation entitled Silver Box. This mostly comprised previously-unreleased demos, radio and TV sessions and live recordings from 1979 to 1995, but also included the long-delayed Our Secrets Are the Same. In July 2005, the band embarked on the "Intimate Tour", a series of low-key European and UK gigs at smaller venues which ended in December 2005. Andy Gillespie was unable to appear at all the gigs, and Mark Taylor returned to cover for him on several occasions. From this point onwards, the two alternated as Simple Minds' live keyboard player, depending on Gillespie's schedule with his other projects.

Black & White 050505, brief original band reunion, Graffiti Soul and Kerr's Lostboy project (2005–2010)

 
With the Kerr/Burchill/Duffy/Gaynor lineup, Simple Minds released Black & White 050505 (their fourteenth studio album), on 12 September 2005. The album's first single, "Home", received airplay on alternative rock radio stations in the US. It reached No. 37 in the UK and was not released in North America. The band spent 2006 touring throughout Europe, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand on the Black And White Tour (with Mark Taylor on keyboards). 

2007 marked the band's 30th anniversary and saw the band embarked on a brief tour of Australia and New Zealand as guests of INXS.The band continued to release audio and video download "bundles" through their official website, featuring live music and several short documentary-style videos recorded during their 2006 tour in Edinburgh and Brussels (including the complete show on 16 February 2006 at the Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium as "Live Bundles" No. 1 to No. 5 and 6 tracks from the show on 28 August 2006 at the "T on the Fringe" music festival, Edinburgh, as "Live Bundles" No. 6 & No. 7).

On 27 June 2008, Simple Minds played the 90th birthday tribute to Nelson Mandela in London's Hyde Park. The band then undertook a short tour of the UK to celebrate their 30th anniversary. During these concerts, the band performed the entire New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) album and songs from their other albums in a two-part concert performance. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill also played some unrelated shows across Europe with Night of the Proms prior to those dates. 

In June 2008, Kerr and Burchill briefly reunited with the full original band lineup for the first time in twenty-seven years, when meetings with Derek Forbes, Mick MacNeil and Brian McGee led to a studio rehearsal date. However, the reunion rapidly foundered over disagreements regarding control of the band and equal status for all members.

Reverting to the Kerr/Burchill/Duffy/Gaynor lineup, Simple Minds released a new studio album entitled Graffiti Soulon 25 May 2009. A new record label, W14/Universal label, had purchased the Sanctuary label in early 2009. Former Sanctuary Records A&R head John Williams (who had signed the band to Sanctuary) kept his position with the new label, and exercised the option to pick up the remaining Simple Minds albums owed as part of the previous deal.

In early April 2009, Graffiti Souls first single, "Rockets", was made available on the Internet. On 31 May 2009, the album entered the UK Album chart at No. 10, becoming Simple Minds' first album in 14 years to enter the UK Top 10. The album also entered European Top 100 Album chart at No. 9.

Interspersed with Simple Minds activity, Jim Kerr recorded and released his first solo album Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr on 17 May 2010 under the name "Lostboy! AKA". Explaining the project name and ethos, he commented "I didn't want to start a new band. I like my band ...and I didn't want a point blank Jim Kerr solo album either." A Lostboy! AKA 10-date European tour followed from 18 to 31 May 2010 was followed by a scheduled 12-date "Electroset Radio" tour in August for various European/UK radio stations, although the band ended up playing only four dates in Germany and Spain. A new 25-date European tour (featuring Simon Hayward and Sarah Brown) was scheduled from 18 October to 3 December 2010 but the band had played only nine shows: the rest of the tour was cancelled after the performance on 13 November 2010 in Dublin, Ireland because Kerr's mother had become ill with a recurrence of cancer.

Touring the greatest hits with another new line-up (2010–2014)
The band played a mini-concert on 2 October 2010 at the Cash For Kids Ball organised by Radio Clyde at the Hilton in Glasgow, and a full-length concert on 10 December 2010 at the Festhalle in Bern.

In early October 2010, a new line-up of Simple Minds - Burchill, Kerr, Gaynor, Gillespie with new bassist Ged Grimes (ex-Danny Wilson and Deacon Blue) - completed four weeks at the Sphere Recording Studios in London during which four songs were recorded and mixed for a new compilation album to be called Greatest Hits + and for the new Simple Minds studio album. The sessions were produced by Andy Wright and engineered and mixed by Gavin Goldberg. The four songs recorded were an eight-minute-long version of "In Every Heaven" (originally recorded in 1982 during the "New Gold Dream" sessions) and three new compositions: "Stagefright" and "On The Rooftop" both written by Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr and "Broken Glass Park" originally a Lostboy! AKA song written by Jim Kerr and Owen Parker. From 10 June to 3 July 2011, Simple Minds embarked on the "Greatest Hits Forest Tour", playing a series of seven dates in woodland locations of England, as part of Forestry Commission Live Music.

From 16 June to 28 August 2011, the "Greatest Hits +" tour visited European countries: the UK, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Gibraltar and Serbia mainly at summer festival venues. Simple Minds played several free concerts (on 4 July 2011 in Potsdam, Germany, on 4 July 2011 in Florence, Italy for the opening of Florence's Hard Rock Cafe, on 18 August in Belgrade, Serbia before 110,000 people and on 27 August in Bad Harzburg, Germany before 25,000 people). To coincide with the 2012 "5X5 Live" European tour, EMI Music released on 20 February 2012 the X5 box set featuring the first five albums over six discs: Life in a Day, Real to Real Cacophony, Empires and Dance, Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call and New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) (with Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call as separate discs in a gatefold sleeve as well as bonus material on each disc, including B-sides and remixes).

In a video made the day after the band played Barrowland in Glasgow on 25 February 2012, Jim Kerr announced Simple Minds' first appearance at the T in the Park festival. After a gig on 30 March 2012 at the Døgnvill Festival in Tromsø, Norway, the band embarked on 23 June 2012 in Vienna, on a 25-date tour of European summer festivals which ended on 22 September 2012 in Germersheim, Germany.

On 21 April Virgin Records released the band's first record ever to be released exclusively for Record Store Day 2012. The 12" single contained two remixes, Theme For Great Cities remixed by Moby on side A and the 2012 remix of I Travel remixed by John Leckie (who produced the original version of the song in 1980) on side B. The 12" was limited to 1,000 copies worldwide, of which 100 copies were sold in Sister Ray Records in London, where Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill took part in a record-signing session. EMI released on 19 November 2012 a double live album of the tour entitled 5X5 Live.

Simple Minds embarked in late 2012 on an eight-date Australia and New Zealand joint tour with American band Devo and Australian band The Church starting on 29 November 2012 in Melbourne, and ending on 15 December 2012 in Auckland (the only show played in New Zealand). The three bands played A Day On The Green as well as indoor shows. On 23 October 2012, Simple Minds announced a 30-date "Greatest Hits +" UK Tour (which would begin in Dublin on 25 March 2013 and end in Ipswich on 4 May 2013) and a new greatest-hits two- and three-disc collection entitled Celebrate: The Greatest Hits + released on 25 March 2013 on Virgin Records, including two new tracks, "Blood Diamonds"  "Broken Glass Park"; the three-disc version also includes "Stagefright", a track which has never been available in CD format before, and unreleased single mixes of "Jeweller to the Stars" and "Space". The North American version of the album contains only one disc.

On 26 February 2013, Simple Minds announced a European leg to the "Greatest Hits +" Live Tour for the end of the year, with four dates confirmed in the Netherlands, Belgium and France as of November 2013. On 19 March 2013, Simple Minds announced a second UK leg to the "Greatest Hits +" Live Tour including four arena shows to be held in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London, with guests Ultravox at all four concerts.

Big Music and Acoustic (2014–2017)

On 19 May 2014, it was announced that Simple Minds had just finished recording a new album (with the Kerr/Burchill/Grimes/Gillespie/Gaynor line-up) called Big Music that would come out in October 2014. On 22 September 2014, Simple Minds confirmed the release on 3 November 2014 of their new studio album Big Music and announced a major Winter/Spring 2015 UK and European tour (from February to May 2015).

On 22 October 2014, Simple Minds were presented the Q Inspiration to Music award by Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield and saw the first public outing of new member Catherine AD as part of the lineup. On 2 November 2014, Simple Minds introduced Big Music with a special acoustic session for Radio Clyde's The Billy Sloan Collection. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill co-hosted the show, choosing some of their favourite records – including Jet Boy by The New York Dolls, The Velvet Underground's Sweet Jane and The Model by Kraftwerk – and playing acoustic versions of songs from Big Music, including "Honest Town" and "Let The Day Begin" and David Bowie cover "The Man Who Sold the World".

In December 2014, Simple Minds recorded an acoustic session at Absolute Radio including live unplugged performances of "Honest Town", "Alive & Kicking", "Let The Day Begin", "Don't You (Forget about Me)" and David Bowie cover "The Man Who Sold the World". The band continued to tour throughout 2015. On 14 November 2015, the band self-released a 29-track double-CD live album entitled Live – Big Music Tour 2015. It was recorded during the 2015 "Big Music" live tour and contained a cross-section of the Simple Minds back catalogue.

On 7 April 2016, Simple Minds performed their first unplugged gig at the Zermatt Unplugged Festival in Zermatt, Switzerland, followed by a second unplugged show in Zürich on 29 October 2016, also at the Zermatt Unplugged Festival. This was the first concert to feature a secondary acoustic live-and-recording line-up of Simple Minds, with Jim Kerr and Sarah Brown on vocals, Burchill on acoustic guitar and accordion, Ged Grimes on bass, Gordy Goudie returning on acoustic guitar and harmonica and new recruit Cherisse Osei on percussion. In May 2016, they were given an Ivor Novello award where Kerr noted that: "we just wanted to be in a great band and take it round the world. We’re very fortunate because we get recognition".

In October 2016, the band embarked on a promotional tour of the acoustic material, including a live concert on 10 November 2016 at the Hackney Empire, London that was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. On 7 November 2016, Simple Minds announced they would embark in Spring 2017 on their two-month (47-date) "Acoustic Live '17" UK & European tour due to last from 8 April to 8 June 2017. On 11 November 2016, Simple Minds released Acoustic which was recorded with the new line-up during Summer 2016 and which featured acoustic re-recordings of songs spanning their career. On the lead single, 1982's "Promised You A Miracle", the band were joined by fellow Scot KT Tunstall. The two-disc vinyl version of the album was released on 25 November 2016, including three extra tracks: "Stand By Love", "Speed Your Love To Me" and "Light Travels".

On 16 November 2016, Simple Minds were given the Forth Best Performance Award at the Radio Forth awards ceremony in Edinburgh.

Walk Between Worlds and line-up changes (2017–2019)

Since September 2014, Simple Minds had been working on new material with the electric Kerr/Burchill/Grimes/Gaynor line-up (minus Andy Gillespie), including the songs "Fireball" and "A Silent Kiss". The new release was expected in 2018. On 21 March 2017, Kerr wrote that the new album was finished. "Today is Charlie's last day of recording on what is destined to be our new album - Simple Minds 17th to date. With the exception of the odd backing vocals to be added at a later date, I have also finished with my involvement in the recording. And so that is that!" On 19 October 2017, Kerr posted on Facebook about dining with producers Andy Wright and Gavin Goldberg in London. Kerr referred to Wright and Goldberg — who helmed the well-received Big Music album — as the band's producers and friends, indicating the team returned to produce Simple Minds' untitled new studio album, due in early 2018.

On 15 November 2017, the new album title and track listing leaked on Amazon UK. Entitled Walk Between Worlds, the album features eight tracks while the Deluxe edition includes three bonus tracks (one live and two studio tracks). On 20 November 2017, a 20-second promo video was released on the band's Facebook page, promoting the album. The video featured a snippet of Magic, the lead single, as performed by the six-person Acoustic line-up (now including Catherine AD. Produced by Simple Minds, Wright and Goldberg, Walk Between Worlds was released on 2 February 2018 via BMG and entered at #4 - their highest UK album chart position in over 23 years - and #2 on the Scottish albums charts, the album's highest chart position in all.

In Spring and Summer 2018, the band extensively toured Europe as part of the Walk Between Worlds tour, promoting the new album. Having performed on three tracks on the album, Cherisse Osei now became the band's full-time drummer, replacing Mel Gaynor; Catherine AD also joined the live band on additional guitar, vocals and keyboards. The band notably performed Walk Between Worlds in its entirety during the eight Spring concerts that occurred from 13 February at the Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK to 22 February 2018 in Berlin, Germany. After a unique show in Mexico City on 20 September 2018, the band extensively toured North America (now minus Catherine AD) from 24 September in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania up to 11 November 2018 in Orlando, Florida as part of the Walk Between Worlds tour.

Live in the City of Angels (2019–2020)

On 20 August 2019, Simple Minds announced the forthcoming release on 4 October 2019 of Live in the City of Angels, their new live album capturing the band on their biggest ever (2018) North American tour. Mostly recorded on 24 October 2018 at the Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, California (i.e. the City of Angels), the live album was made available on multiple formats. The standard CD and vinyl format feature 25 songs while the Deluxe CD and digital formats feature 40 songs. The album title can be seen as a reference or a nod to their milestone first (1987) live album Live in the City of Light which was (mostly) recorded in Paris, France (i.e. the City of Light). The 40-song collection is spanning, to date, a 40-year career. 

On 30 September 2019, Simple Minds announced the forthcoming release on 1 November 2019 of a new compilation album entitled 40: The Best Of 1979-2019, a comprehensive overview of 40 years of the band's recording career that includes a new track: "For One Night Only", a cover of King Creosote's 2014 song.

On 30 September 2018, Simple Minds also announced that they are due to celebrate 40 years in music by embarking in early 2020 upon a major (11-month) world tour entitled "40 Years Of Hits World Tour 2020". The European & UK dates legs were due to cover 38 shows across 12 countries and to culminate with a homecoming show at Glasgow's SSE Hydro on 25 April. On 17 January 2020, Simple Minds announced that Berenice Scott was joining the band on keyboards and vocals for an upcoming year-long tour to start that year.

New album and touring (2020–present)

The first Europe & UK (Winter–Spring) leg of the "40 Years Of Hits" World Tour 2020 kicked off on 28 February 2020 in Stavanger, Norway but was interrupted with the cancellation of the show due to take place on 11 March 2020 in Herning, Denmark and the cancellation of the rest of the tour due to the coronavirus pandemic. Except for the two shows in Herning cancelled but not yet (if ever) rescheduled, the 30 other cancelled shows were later rescheduled to 2021. Most of the 32 cancelled shows from the second Europe & UK (Summer) leg of the "40 Years Of Hits" World Tour 2020 were also later rescheduled to 2021. All the nine cancelled shows from the third Australia & New Zealand (Fall) leg of the "40 Years Of Hits" World Tour 2020 were also later rescheduled to 2021.

According to Kerr in September 2017, the next Simple Minds studio album would be released in 2021. On 18 October 2020, he announced that Simple Minds were due to finish (over the following week) the recording of the latest Simple Minds album. On 24 October 2020, Kerr confirmed that this very day was the last day for Simple Minds of recording (in Germany) the new album.

On 17 January 2022, Simple Minds released a new recording and one-off single entitled Act Of Love to mark the anniversary of the band's very first performance: at Glasgow's Satellite City on January 17, 1978. "Act Of Love" is synonymous with the beginning of the Simple Minds story as was the first song played at this first (ever) show.

Concert tours

Discography

 Life in a Day (1979)
 Real to Real Cacophony (1979)
 Empires and Dance (1980)
 Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)
 New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) (1982)
 Sparkle in the Rain (1984)
 Once Upon a Time (1985)
 Street Fighting Years (1989)
 Real Life (1991)
 Good News from the Next World (1995)
 Néapolis (1998)
 Our Secrets Are the Same (1999/2004)
 Neon Lights (2001) 
 Cry (2002)
 Black & White 050505 (2005)
 Graffiti Soul (2009) 
 Big Music (2014)
 Acoustic (2016)
 Walk Between Worlds (2018)

Selected videography
The release dates are the original ones and the formats mentioned are the most recent versions officially available (not necessarily the original release formats).

 1990: Verona 
 1992: Glittering Prize 81/92 
 2003: Seen The Lights – A Visual History 
 2014: Celebrate – Live at the SSE Hydro Glasgow

Awards and nominations

{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result !! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| rowspan="2" | MTV Video Music Awards
| rowspan="2" | "Don't You (Forget About Me)"
| Best Art Direction 
| 
|-
| Best Direction 
| 
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1986
| American Music Awards
| rowspan="4" | Themselves 
| Favorite Pop/Rock Video Band/Duo/Group
| 
|-
| Brit Awards 
| Best British Group
| 
|-
| Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
| Next Major Arena Headliner 
| 
|-
| Smash Hits Poll Winners Party
| Best Group
| 
|-
| rowspan=2|ASCAP Pop Music Awards
| "Don't You (Forget About Me)"
| rowspan=2|Most Performed Songs
| 
| 
|-
| 1987
| "Alive and Kicking"
| 
| 
|-
| 1989
| Music & Media Year-End Awards
| Themselves
| Group of the Year
| 
| 
|-
| 1990
| Brit Awards
| "Belfast Child"
| Best British Single 
| 
|-
| 1991
| rowspan="2" | Q Awards
| rowspan="3" | Themselves
| Best Live Act
| 
|-
| 2014
| Q Inspiration Award
| 
|-
| 2016
| Ivor Novello Award
| Outstanding Song Collection
| 
|-
| 2018
|Best Art Vinyl
|Walk Between Worlds
| Best Art Vinyl
| 
| 
|-
| rowspan=2|2019
| rowspan=2|Classic Pop Readers' Awards
| rowspan=2|Themselves
| Group of the Year
| 
| rowspan=2|
|-
| Live Act of the Year
|

Personnel

Current members
 Jim Kerr – lead vocals 
 Charlie Burchill – electric & acoustic guitar, occasional keyboards 
 Ged Grimes – bass guitar 
 Sarah Brown - backing vocals 
 Gordy Goudie - additional keyboards & guitar 
 Cherisse Osei - drums 
 Berenice Scott - keyboards

Former members
 Brian McGee – drums 
 Tony Donald – bass 
 John Milarky - lead guitar 
 Allan McNeill - rhythm guitar 
 Duncan Barnwell – rhythm guitar 
 Mick MacNeil – composer, keyboards (piano & synthesizers, accordion) 
 Derek Forbes – bass guitar 
 Kenny Hyslop – drums 
 Mike Ogletree – drums 
 Mel Gaynor – drums, percussion, backing vocals 
 John Giblin – bass guitar 
 Eddie Duffy – bass guitar 
 Andy Gillespie – keyboards 
 Catherine AD - keyboards

Live and session musicians
 Paul Wishart – saxophone – Empires and Dance tour 
 Robin Clark – vocals – Once Upon a Time tour 
 Sue Hadjopoulos – percussion – Once Upon a Time tour 
 Lisa Germano – violin – Street Fighting Years tour 
 Annie McCraig – vocals – Street Fighting Years tour 
 Andy Duncan – percussion – Street Fighting Years tour 
 Malcolm Foster – bass guitar 
 Peter-John Vettese – keyboards 
 Mark Taylor  – Keyboards 
 Timothy Scott Bennett – drums 
 Mark Schulman – drums – Good News from the Next World tour 
 Mark Kerr – drums , guitar 
 Sarah Brown – vocals

Timeline

Notes

References

External links

 Simple Minds official web site

1977 establishments in the United Kingdom
A&M Records artists
Arista Records artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
British synth-pop new wave groups
Chrysalis Records artists
Eagle Records artists
Musical groups established in 1977
Musical groups from Glasgow
Scottish art rock groups
Scottish new wave musical groups
Scottish post-punk music groups
Sire Records artists
Virgin Records artists
Sparkle in the Rain is the sixth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released on 6 February 1984 by record label Virgin in the UK and A&M in the US.

A breakthrough commercial success for the band, the record peaked at number 1 in the UK Albums Chart on 18 February 1984, and reached the top 20 in New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, and Australia. Receiving mostly positive reviews in the United Kingdom and the United States, Sparkle in the Rain was ultimately certified double platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry, and significantly increased media interest in the band.

Background
Signs of a possible change in musical direction into a more stadium-oriented sound first became apparent during a series of live performances in the summer months of 1983 by Simple Minds to large European crowds. Lead singer Jim Kerr returned to a natural, unadorned facial and hair style, as "whatever they would have to say would be in the music." "Those gigs brought us back to the rawest kind of state, I think," Kerr said. "In places like that, 50,000 people, there's just no room for subtlety, and there's no need for it, there's no want for it." This foresaw the band coming into direct contact with U2 for the first time at the Belgian rock festival Torhout-Werchter; upon meeting the two bands immediately developed a strong liking for each other. Kerr remarked, "we saw a lot of ourselves in them and vice versa," and refuted the accusation that Simple Minds were merely joining the "new rock" led by U2. "We get this thing levelled at us of being influenced by them, but they're equally influenced by us. It might be in a much subtler sense, in dynamics or some of the sounds."

A new song, "Waterfront", was performed by the band when selected as "special guests" of headline acts U2 at Dublin's Phoenix Park in August 1983. "The song's throbbing pulse and enormous sense of space suggested the way the band were thinking," Adam Sweeting commented, "the elaborate, almost ornate arrangements of New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) were receding into the distance. Simple Minds were making bigger music for bigger occasions." Shortly afterwards, the band were looking for a producer for their forthcoming sixth album; initially Alex Sadkin, of the Compass Point All Stars, was sought after due to his work with Grace Jones, but his schedule was incompatible with that of Simple Minds. Steve Lillywhite however, had wanted to produce for the band for a long time, and ultimately Simple Minds completed a three-way Celtic grouping along with U2's War and Big Country's The Crossing under Lillywhite.

Recording
In September 1983, Simple Minds travelled to Monnow Valley Studio in Rockfield, near Monmouth in Wales, for three weeks to work on some new material; Lillywhite accompanied them for the last two weeks to meet the musicians and suggest some modifications to their music. This material consisted of around six tracks developed during a session the band had spent at a recording studio called The Chapel in Lincolnshire in January, and other initial samples recorded in London's Nomis Studios before their performance at Phoenix Park. At Rockfield, most of the tracks were dramatically changed, as they had begun as demos consisting only of work by Mick MacNeil and Charlie Burchill, with some drum and bass machine sounds overlapping. With drummer Mel Gaynor now having fully integrated himself into the band, the songwriting was beginning to be influenced consistently from all group members.

The group relocated to Townhouse Studios in London by October, by which time their updated material retained "only a bassline or keyboard melody from the original four-track demo". As a producer, Lillywhite differed from Peter Walsh on the previous album by going with "the feel of the moment" rather than following "any preconceptions about how he wanted the album to turn out". He tried to emphasize musical unity between the band members; for instance, he pressed Jim Kerr to write lyrics for songs as soon as he could, such that his vocal melodies were influenced by the instrumentation. "On their earlier records, everyone's parts didn't really bear much resemblance to everyone else's," said Lillywhite. "Mick would be fiddling away like this, Charlie would be going like this, then Jim would come in and sing something completely different to what the other two were doing. Whereas I now think Jim is taking some of the melodies from the guitar and the keyboards, which he didn't use to, which makes it more like a song."

Burchill likened Lillywhite's producing style and manner to that of the film director Werner Herzog. Generally starting studio work at eleven o'clock in the morning, the band found the recording process repetitive, as each track was meticulously refined and sharpened through multiple iterations. With this leading to the group becoming tense and distracted, Lillywhite occasionally asked the band members to vacate the studio while he worked on mixing. The album's working title was Quiet Night of the White Hot Day, which eventually survived as a lyric in the complete album's seventh track "White Hot Day". The recording process drew to a completion with Lillywhite and the band adding some finishing touches to "Up on the Catwalk"; Jim Kerr sang some additional lines that had been stored in his notebook instead of name-dropping some extra famous people towards the song's end. Minor imperfections in phasing and pitch were then corrected to complete the album.

Music and lyrics 
Sparkle in the Rain is a generally rock-oriented album, a departure from the new wave aesthetic of its critically acclaimed predecessor New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84). Kerr, before its release, described the forthcoming Sparkle in the Rain as an "art record—art without tears with masses of muscle". The band's new drummer Mel Gaynor, who had contributed for some tracks on the previous record, agreed on the album's aggressiveness: "On this album I'm getting a few of my ideas across, not only in the drumming field but in other fields as well. It's a lot different from New Gold Dream, both sound-wise and material-wise. The last one was very smooth, very polished. This album's got a bit more dirt in it." Regarding the role of producer Steve Lillywhite, Brian Hogg wrote that Sparkle in the Rain "captured the bravura of their in-concert sound" and Lillywhite "introduced a dynamic, often contrasting, perspective quite unlike the panoramic standpoint of its predecessor, but there was no denying the resultant brash excitement." Adam Sweeting described how, during the recording process of "Up on the Catwalk", "Forbes and Gaynor had combined to create a steamrolling rhythm track which came hammering out of the opening chorus like a runaway train."

MacKenzie Wilson of AllMusic retrospectively described the album's musical style thus: "Synth-beats throb over Charlie Burchill's new wave third-chord guitars and swooning basslines...Piano vibes are pinch-hitting and Kerr's songwriting thrives on celebrity and the falling grace that coincides that." The overall effect of the instrumentation is a "densely packed juggernaut of an LP", with Adam Sweeting describing the "big, spacey feel" of "Waterfront" as atypical. Other slower tracks include the instrumental "Shake Off the Ghosts" and the "pensive" "'C' Moon Cry Like a Baby", while the punk-revivalist "The Kick Inside of Me", "straining vocal and stinging guitar" of "Speed Your Love to Me", and "pounding percussion and keyboards" of "Up on the Catwalk" and "Book of Brilliant Things" emphasize the album's more intense sound. Matt White of PopMatters described the band's transformation into "soaring, grandiose rock": "The electronic elements are pared down in favor of more standard piano flourishes, the guitar now having won the battle of dominant instrument."

A review of the album for Rolling Stone discussed how many of Jim Kerr's lyrics can be interpreted as religious references, such as The Bible in "Book of Brilliant Things", or redemption at the Christian cross in "East at Easter". "Simple Minds find religious illumination in the vertigo of their fertile imaginations," wrote Parke Puterbaugh, "and it comes out as psychedelic testifying – all fast movement and kaleidoscopic repetition – that builds to a crescendo of ecstasy and release." Hence, the subject matter on Sparkle in the Rain can be seen as more outward-looking and aspirational than on more introspective tracks such as "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" on the preceding album. For example, "Waterfront" was written as both a eulogy to their place of origin Glasgow and as a celebration of much wider aspirations to recover its once-thriving industry. Jim Kerr, stating that the song's lyrics were inspired by the ruined shipbuilding sector on the River Clyde, said "you always see your home town differently when you come back...I became aware of a grander scheme of things," although Puterbaugh speculated that lyrics such as "Get in, get out of the rain" and "...move on up to the waterfront" may relate to "baptismal immersion or death".

Jim Kerr's vocal performance on "The Kick Inside of Me" was described by Dave Thompson of AllMusic as "a Saint Vitus frenzy", where he "attempts to shake the ghosts right out of his body. Are they the specters of punk's past, the spirits of inspiration now gone? Or the shades that dwell in our deepest recesses, set free by the power of music?" "Speed Your Love to Me", meanwhile, concerns "people running to meet each other, unable to focus on anything other than a reunion that keeps receding." Noel Murray, writing for The A.V. Club, speculated, "While the guitars twinkle and Kerr yells, "You go to my head," it's hard to know whether the moment is ecstatic or desperately manic." PopMatters' Matt White described the song's lyrics as managing "to make a line like 'She would like to make a wish / Twenty-four cannot be this' sound both sad and triumphant." The album also contains a cover version of Lou Reed's song "Street Hassle", a song the band had previously played live a number of times during the 1982–1983 New Gold Tour.

Release
Due to a desire to release the album worldwide simultaneously, Simple Minds decided not to put the record out for sale before Christmas 1983, instead releasing Sparkle in the Rain on 6 February 1984. The first UK pressing was issued on white vinyl and the first Canadian pressing was issued on transparent vinyl; all other foreign editions were initially issued on black vinyl; the album immediately entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1 to become the band's first chart-topper, and it remained in the charts for 57 weeks; among the band's records, only Once Upon a Time has bettered this chart run. The first Canadian pressing was issued on transparent vinyl (but using the standard green/red Virgin label instead of the custom design); the album peaked at No. 14 in the Canadian RPM national album chart. Sparkle in the Rain was certified gold in Canada for selling over 50,000 units in that country, and topped the New Zealand Albums Chart for two weeks, further remaining in their charts for eighteen weeks. Sparkle in the Rain also peaked at No. 2 in both Sweden, charting for six weeks, and the Netherlands, charting for thirty weeks. By 1988, Sparkle in the Rain had sold approximately one million-and-a-half copies worldwide.

Sparkle in the Rain produced three UK Top 40 singles. The first was "Waterfront", peaking at No. 1 in the New Zealand Singles Chart and charting for thirteen weeks. It also reached No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart, and remained in the charts for ten weeks. It remains one of the band's signature songs to this day. The album was also preceded by the release of "Speed Your Love to Me" which reached No. 20 in the UK, although "Up on the Catwalk" fared less well; released in March 1984, the single peaked at 27.

Virgin Records reissued Sparkle in the Rain as a remastered edition on 21 October 2002; this edition features improved sound quality and faithfully reproduced artwork and packaging from the original record. Around 2006, a set of eight demos for the album from 1983 were leaked to the internet. The drumming for "Speed Your Love To Me" is less dramatic, while "Book of Brilliant Things" is driven by a much stronger bass line than the album version. "White Hot Day" is at a slower tempo, and "Shake Off the Ghosts" sounds more related to the instrumental B-side "Brass Band in Africa" at this stage.

On 16 March 2015, a new 4CD/DVD deluxe remastered boxset of Sparkle in the Rain was released, containing B-sides and remixes on Disc 2 and live performances and radio sessions on Discs 3 and 4. The DVD features both a regular DVD-Video layer and a DVD-Audio layer. The DVD-Video layer contains a surround sound mix of the album in both 5.1 DTS and 5.1 Dolby Digital, along with a new, high resolution stereo mix. The DVD-Audio layer contains a new, high resolution, MLP stereo mix and a high resolution, MLP 5.1 mix, as well as the three promotional videos for the singles and three TV performances. These new stereo and 5.1 mixes were created by Steven Wilson in 2014 and mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Andrew Walter. A manufacturing error resulted in faulty DVDs and a missing paragraph in the liner notes in the early copies of the deluxe boxset release. Universal sent out replacement discs and booklets and subsequent copies of the box set featured the corrected DVD disc and booklet.

Released at the same time as the box set was a Blu-Ray Audio package that contained the original 1984 stereo mix along with Steven Wilson's 2014 stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes. Initial copies of this Blu-Ray had a mono mix instead of Steven Wilson's 2014 stereo mix, and there were also problems with the 5.1 mix. Universal supplied a corrected disc to owners and subsequent copies of the Blu-Ray featured the corrected disc in the box.

Critical reception

Upon release Sparkle in the Rain received mostly favourable reviews. In the U.S, Parke Puterbaugh writing for Rolling Stone awarded the album four stars out of five, describing the record as the band's finest, and their playing as weaving "a complex web of sound from the unlikeliest parts: churchy, staccato keyboards; lacelike, arpeggiated guitar lines and soaring wisps of feedback; and metallic-sounding drums." Puterbaugh summarized Sparkle in the Rain as "Roxy Music-gone-2001". A review in the College Music Journal complimented how Lillywhite's production gave the band "a grand sound to match their lyrical ambitions", drawing comparisons with the sounds of bands such as U2 and Big Country and how "it helps Simple Minds sound more cohesive...the words and music forming a complete whole rather than two antagonistic elements as in the past." Sparkle in the Rain was listed by CMJ at No. 20 in their "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1984".

In the UK, meanwhile, where the album met with much greater commercial success at No. 1 in the charts, Don Watson of the NME felt such a grand, rock-oriented sound compared unfavourably with those aforementioned bands, dubbing Simple Minds "U3" in his review. This moniker went down badly amongst members of the band. Nonetheless, listeners of the Toronto-based radio alternative radio station CFNY-FM voted Sparkle in the Rain the third best album of 1984, behind Mirror Moves by The Psychedelic Furs and U2's The Unforgettable Fire but ahead of Echo & the Bunnymen's Ocean Rain and Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome.

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, MacKenzie Wilson awarded the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying the record marked "the band's best effort thus far, capturing thick seascapes of illustrious lyrical visions". The review continued: "Sparkle in the Rain is a glimpse of what's to come from Simple Minds. Kerr's heart-wrenching vocals soar and such emotion only leads to earning a global following." Noel Murray of The A.V. Club called it "an album that surrounds listeners with pounding percussion and resonant chime" with songs that explore "the intersection of surface glitz and raw human need."

Legacy

In his biography of the band, Adam Sweeting looked back on Sparkle in the Rain as a "transitional album, a step away from the mesmerizing, instrumentally based travelling music they'd become identified with towards an outsize form of rock. Their new music was harder, heavier, and less subtle. They knew they were moving on towards a new phase, but they hadn't got it quite right yet, which was why Sparkle seemed rooted in the past while straining to see into a future which still wasn't entirely clear."

Simon Price of The Independent, agreeing that the album was a departure, asserted that although "something horrible happened" later in Simple Minds' career, Sparkle in the Rain was not the cause: "Their post-New Gold Dream decline didn't immediately make itself obvious. Sparkle in the Rain pioneered a new "Big Music" whose full stadium-sized horror had yet to become apparent, and there was something attractive about the clattering majesty of "Waterfront". Peter Walker, writing for The Guardian, went against this view, describing "the thudding, plodding backdrop to "Waterfront", lead single for the follow-up album, 1984's Sparkle in the Rain. The song was their first major hit but heralded a new, lumpen Simple Minds, who in pursuit of U2 and world domination shed all that was good about their sound."

Sparkle in the Rain was listed as the 100th greatest Scottish album of all time by a 2003 issue of The Scotsman newspaper, who praised the album thus: "Released in 1984, Sparkle in the Rain was the album by which Simple Minds became a 'stadium' band. Lillywhite conjured a more direct sound in which former subtleties were shrouded in power and dynamism. New drummer Mel Gaynor thrived in this environment, best exemplified in "Waterfront", a homage to Glasgow as seen through the changing face of the River Clyde."

Track listing

Note
The 'deluxe edition' of Sparkle in the Rain comprises disc 1 (The Original Album) and disc 2 (B-Sides & Rarities).
The 'super deluxe edition' of Sparkle in the Rain comprises all 4 discs.

Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes.

Simple Minds
 Jim Kerr – vocals
 Charlie Burchill – acoustic and electric guitars
 Derek Forbes – bass, vocals
 Mel Gaynor – drums, vocals
 Mick MacNeil – keyboards, vocals

Additional personnel
 Kirsty MacColl – voice on "Speed Your Love to Me" and "Street Hassle"

Production
Adapted from the album's liner notes.

 Producer – Steve Lillywhite
 Engineer – Howard Gray
 Assistant engineers – Paul Cook and Gavin McKillop
 Studio equipment – Matt Dunn and Paul Kerr
 Sleeve production – Assorted Images
 Coordination – Gemma Corfield
 Management – Bruce Findley and Robert White at Schoolhouse Management

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References

Further reading

External links

Simple Minds albums
1984 albums
Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite
Virgin Records albums Rockland Records was an American record label founded by R&B recording artist and record producer R. Kelly in 1998, having distribution from Interscope Records. The label was home to recording artists such as Kelly himself, Sparkle, Boo & Gotti among others. The label has released four albums  certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The label is known for songs like Fiesta (Remix), Fortunate, Be Careful and What Would You Do?. Rockland Records main producers are R. Kelly and Trackmasters. The label is currently inactive but Kelly still owns the Rockland Records imprint.

History

Kelly founded Rockland Records in 1998, in conjunction with Universal Music Group, shortly before releasing his fourth album (R.).
Rockland's artists included Sparkle, rappers Boo & Gotti, Talent, and Vegas Cats (the latter two groups never released an album) among others. The soundtrack to the 1999 Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy movie Life was released on the Rockland label, and Sparkle was the first artist to release an album on the label. Despite various conflicts between Sparkle and the label, her debut album performed well, going platinum. The album's most popular track was a duet between Kelly and Sparkle titled "Be Careful".

The label's roster included artists Sparkle, Boo & Gotti, Talent, Vegas Cats, Lady, Frankie and Secret Weapon, and Rebecca F.

On October 13, 1998, a posthumous single by 2Pac was released featuring label group mate "Talent", the song was Changes and is now known as one of the greatest rap songs of all time. Talent later released their own single called "Celebrity" from their album "Bulls Eye", which was a minor hit, peaking at number 90 on the R&B/Hip Hop chart.

In 1998, the label's first artist, Sparkle released her debut self-titled album, Sparkle. In addition to producing and writing the project, Kelly made vocal contribution to the hit duet "Be Careful," which contributed largely to the album's success. The album was certified platinum in December 2000. In 1999, Kelly wrote and produced the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy movie Life, which features tracks from K-Ci & JoJo, Maxwell, Mýa, and Destiny's Child. The soundtrack was released on the Rockland label. Rockland artists Sparkle, Talent, and Vegas Cats all appeared on the Life soundtrack.

Sparkle was dropped from the label for refusing to show up to work unless her boyfriend, Steve Huff, was allowed to work on her next project. In addition, she was released several times for insubordination.

Later, Sparkle was released for good and she went to Motown to record the album Told You So. The album's only minor hit was "It's A Fact" which reached #62 on the R&B charts. Sparkle tried to team up with Kelly once more but was unable, due to past issues. After Kelly refused to work with Sparkle, she claimed her niece was in a sex tape having sex with R. Kelly, which Kelly, the girl, and her parents all denied.

Boo & Gotti and Vegas Cats appeared on R. Kelly's albums, R. and TP-2.com, as well as a freestyle from Boo & Gotti on The Fast and the Furious soundtrack, making several references to Rockland. Production duo Trackmasters (also known as Poke & Tone) were a part of the label at that time, producing many of the songs from Rockland Records.

In 2001, R. Kelly shelved the label and focused on producing and writing songs for other artists. The label is currently inactive but Kelly still owns the Rockland Records imprint, the last time an album was released from the label was in 2004, with the second Jay-Z & R. Kelly collaboration album, Unfinished Business.

Artists

Former acts

Discography

See also
 List of record labels

References

R. Kelly
Record labels established in 1998
American record labels
Music production companies
Defunct record labels of the United States
Vanity record labels
Contemporary R&B record labels