Interview: Simple Minds
Hard to believe, but Glasgow legends have been going since 1977, forming from the ashes of punk band Johnny & Self Abusers. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill remain at the helm of this remarkable band who have stayed true to their origins and to the music they make, refusing to join the celebrity/cabaret/retro circuits, instead continuing to release original music that is always heartfelt, and euphoric in tone and atmosphere. Walk Between Worlds is their 18th studio album. Jim Kerr chats with Jeff Hemmings
Walk Between Worlds in your first album since 2014’s Big Music. Was there any different approach to making this one?
Big Music got a really good reaction from media and fans alike. Not just the positive things they said, but the language was good, you know. ‘Back to form’, and all this stuff. We were very buoyed up with the whole thing. So, we’d built up a little head of steam. Then when our last tour rather conveniently finished in Scotland, Charlie and I… we work all the time.
I notice you’re playing some dates with The Pretenders in August.
What can I say!? We’re huge fans (of The Pretenders). To me, Chrissie is one of the true greats. She happens to be family as well in my case (Kerr was married to Chrissie Hyde, lead singer of The Pretenders in 1984 [divorced in 1990]. They have one daughter named Yasmin). We have kids, and grand kids. I see her quite often, but I hadn’t seen her play live for quite a while. And they were on outrageous form. They’re amazing.
Can you tell me about the title track, ‘Walk Between Worlds’?
In a nutshell, it’s about empathy. It’s about this idea of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Can you feel what they’re feeling? Can you empathise? Can you feel for them when they’re going through something grave, some of the worst horrors imaginable? Can you emote? It’s this idea, do we have an empathy gene? Do we have it? if we do have it, how come some people seem to have it more than others! So, the song is about walking in someone else’s shoes.
Can you feel for them when they’re going through something grave, some of the worst horrors imaginable?
‘Dirty Old Town’, which is on the Deluxe version of the CD. It’s live recording, an old Ewan MaColl song. Why did you do that one?
We played it in Manchester the night after the bombing at the (Manchester) Arena. We were in Liverpool that night, which is very close. Had a great gig, jumped on the bus, and somebody said there’s a bit of a hold up going into Manchester. Something has happened. We found ourselves entering Manchester a couple of hours after that tragedy had taken place. No one knew what was going to happen, but we got up the next day and we didn’t know if the gig was on, or even if we should play. But the promoter said the gig was on, and that the city wants to move ahead. It was a great night, but as you can imagine it wasn’t an ordinary night, and at the soundcheck we said, ‘let’s do something for Manchester. Let’s play this Ewan MacColl song that he had written for Manchester. We did it a couple of times at the soundcheck, and then at the gig. The recording you hear is through our desk. The singer, Sarah Brown makes it.
It’s good to see you made headlines again, with your current battle with Justin Timberlake for the number one spot in the album charts!
If somebody told me ten years I’d be battling with Justin Timberlake I would never have believed them. But listen, somebody said to me the other day, ‘chart positions
and all that stuff. Do you care about that’? And I said, ‘ummmmm… NO!!’ He said ‘Liar!’, and I said ‘You’re right’ But, I said, ‘We’re in a different game’. And he said, ‘What do you mean you’re in a different game? What different game is this’? And I said, ‘We’re in the game of trying to be f*****g great. We want to make great records, and play great shows’! We’ll get what we’re gonna get and we’ll be happy.
Simple Minds & The Pretenders, South of England Event Centre, Ardently, Sat 1 September
www.simpleminds.com
