Photo of Jim Kerr of Simple Minds by Laura Tucker
Jim Kerr’s knees are in really good shape—for his sixty-five years old, for my forty-five years old, for any age in adulthood, really. They say that performing, touring, singing, etc. is a muscle that benefits from consistent, intentional practice rather than long periods of dormancy, and Kerr is walking evidence of this principle. Simple Minds have been steadily producing music and touring over their nearly-five-decades-long career, though most of us at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater that night wouldn’t know it. The many friends and acquaintances I knew who attended had all been waiting a lifetime to see Simple Minds live. Kerr himself said he couldn’t remember the last time they played in “St. Louie,” but he assured us it would be worth the wait: “We’re here to give you 100%” and that they did. Founding members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill sounded and appeared as spry as ever, with Kerr leaning forward into some deep lunges and leaning all the way back—shins and upper back flat on the stage—in some saddle pose-like yoga moves. “Don’t try this at home!” Kerr warned us. Seriously, not without a winch to hoist you back up. Someone has been practicing, and it really, really showed.
In uniform black and sunglasses, opening band Soft Cell nailed the evening’s vibe with their first song, “Memorabilia,” a 1981 original, followed a bit later by “Nostalgia Machine” from a more recent 2022 album. Attendance was overall of a certain age when John Hughes ruled the big screen and electronic duos such as the self-declared “Most Influential” Soft Cell and “Most Successful” Pet Shop Boys ruled the airwaves. Lawn seating was closed off for the night and reassigned to seated sections, which flowed with a stream of throwback band shirts—Flock of Seagulls, The Police, Cocteau Twins, The Dead Milkmen—and nods of cool recognition.
While Simple Minds have continued to create new music since their ’80s heyday, into the ’90s, and as recent as 2022, this was the Alive & Kicking Tour, and the song selections were all appropriately from 1991 or earlier. The first selection, “Waterfront,” was a brilliant choice to set the mood: “Get in, get out of the rain/ I’m goin’ to move on up to the Waterfront” rang through the amphitheater like a gathering call to shelter together. It was the beckoning we had been waiting for, dating back to 1984’s Sparkle in the Rain, with Kerr’s compelling voice and the distinctly ’80s-UK-activist-rock-guitar that Burchill shares with U2’s The Edge.
The early ’80s were a productive and prolific time for Simple Minds. As they played one hit single after another over the course of the night, I started to wonder just how many of their songs were featured on a soundtrack. It felt like such a perfect time capsule of a specific romantic ethos, and I could visualize the characters who played out these archetypes. Turns out, Simple Minds appeared on just the one: “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” featured in 1985’s The Breakfast Club. But that film was a landmark, and the song, which solidified their place in the hearts of all teens in the ’80s and years to come, resonates in history with it. It encompasses so many of the themes in Simple Minds’ hits catalog: longing, unrequited love, tenderness, vulnerability, romantic gestures in the rain. These themes came to be hallmarks of John Hughes’ and others’ films for a teen audience in that era. There are traces in his 1984 film Sixteen Candles, with the Thompson Twins’ single “If You Were Here,” and it crescendos in the Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark’s climactic “If You Leave” from Hughes’ 1986 hit Pretty in Pink. It was an era of star-crossed lovers, just out of reach, where social obstacles (especially social class) stood in the way of true connection and understanding. The heroes were the ones who stepped outside their station and fought to fulfill their romantic destiny.
To me, this is the essence of Simple Minds’ peak years. The thread ran through most of their selections for the tour, and it brought all those meltingly nostalgic feelings of teen angst and righteous love right to the fore. Seen another way, Simple Minds are also a rare example of success in blurring the lines between Christian and mainstream pop rock music, so the messages of faith, hope, and love can be read a number of ways. They came to me by way of overlapping meanings—a mixtape from my teenaged boyfriend, who learned about them from his Christian-rock-loving dad and his friends, all in gleeful attendance that night. No matter how you look at it, their music is full of powerful emotion that hits on multiple levels—probably part of the secret to their timelessness.
In discussing their approach to imagery, Kerr has quoted his longtime manager, Bruce Findlay, as saying “You need to send Simple Minds’ vision out to the world in any way possible. Music alone is rarely ever enough.” Fittingly, the band used the multimedia resources at the amphitheater to good effect, primarily showing close-ups of individual band members with graphic effects superimposed. Never have I ever seen so many hearts in stage decor! Hearts were the vision Simple Minds were sending: hearts that blossomed from lotus-like flowers, heart containers borrowed from The Legend of Zelda, and the classic heart-hands-crown Claddagh ring symbol incorporated into the band’s logo. Their revamped logo, trading hands for wings, graced the front of the keyboard.
The camera most often fell on Kerr, followed closely by the impressive drumming skills of Cherisse Osei, whose teeming energy at times brought her to her feet behind her massive drum kit. She seemed a natural with the material, as did the rest of the band—a testament to their years of working together. While only Kerr and Burchill remain from the original lineup, the current touring musicians have been a part of Simple Minds since at least 2017. The unstoppable Osei was the only band member to never take a break, trading hers instead for a drum solo that was perfectly entertaining, not a minute too long, and shared the joy of her craft with an awestruck audience.
Though they have continued to release new albums every three to five years or so, the biggest years for Simple Minds were ‘82 and ‘85. From that canon, we were treated to “Glittering Prize,” replete with sparkly backdrop; “New Gold Dreams (81-82-83-84),” which had the crowd boisterously counting along with him; “Promised You a Miracle,” with hearts and crosses on screen as he sang about a “pearl of great price”; and “Someone Somewhere (In the Summertime),” with more of that chasing-love-in-the-rain imagery that I just can’t get enough of.
From 1985, we heard in “All the Things She Said,” with all its patient and faithful belief in the conquering power of love, and then the set closed with the anthemic “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” resulting in the longest and hardiest ‘la-la-la’ singalong ever witnessed.
After a brief departure, the band returned with Sarah Brown on vocals to deliver an inspiring version of “Book of Brilliant Things,” one of only two selections from Sparkle in the Rain. She had provided spot-on backups in all the places you looked for female vocals, but this gave her a chance to interpret the full song on her own, and it was a perfect choice. She delivered powerful lines with reassuring wisdom, an encouraging smile in her voice.
The encore concluded with two more selections from 1985’s Once Upon a Time: more jubilant ‘la la las’ in “Alive and Kicking” and the closer, “Sanctify Yourself.” In this “age of the thunder and rage,” love is indeed what we need most, and Simple Minds were there to preach the message to “open up your heart.” True to his word, Kerr and the band gave us more than 100%—they played for a solid hour and a half with all their initial vigor from start to finish. I left the venue flowing back out in the stream of heartened fans, lifelong dreams fulfilled. My eyes were glittering and my heart was brimming with reminders of a more innocent and vulnerable phase of life, when relationships were everything and the important battles were won by putting all your feelings out on the table. To quote Brown’s message, “Thank you for the voice, the eyes and the memories shine.” | Courtney Dowdall
Due to a mix-up at the ticket booth, Courtney missed the opening set from fellow ’80s new wave survivors Modern English (of “I Melt With You” fame). Fortunately, photographer Laura Tucker was there to capture their performance. Check out her pics below!
