Simple Minds are on their way back to the Bay Area, set to thrill ‘80s music fans with a songbook that includes such gems as “Alive and Kicking,” “Sanctify Yourself,” “Waterfront” and — oh, yeah, — a little tune called “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”
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You probably know the latter, whether or not you were born when it came out and touched millions of hearts in the 1985 coming-of-age film “The Breakfast Club.” The song was a hit then and it remains one today, having garnered over a billion — yes, billion with a “b” — streams on Spotify alone.
That landmark tune will be a primary reason why tens of thousands of fans will turn out to see the Scottish new wave rock act on its Alive & Kicking Tour 2025.
Yet, there are many other reasons as well — notably, the group’s longstanding reputation as an incredible live act. See if the group can live up to that advance bill when it performs on May 20 at Toyota Pavilion at Concord. The band, which is the subject of the 2023 music documentary “Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible,” is accompanied by fellow ‘80s acts Soft Cell and Modern English on the bill. Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets start at $46; livenation.com.
I recently had the chance to chat (and laugh) with Simple Minds vocalist Jim Kerr, who was in great spirits as the group was about to embark on its North American run.
Q: Hiya, Jim. It’s Jim. Where are you today?
A: Los Angeles — getting ready to rehearse. We just came in from Latin America – we did a few shows there. We have a few things to tighten up before we start these weeks ahead of us in the U.S., which is something we are very much looking forward to.
Q: It’s your biggest North American headline tour in four decades. I guess you just wanted to soak in as much of North America as you could.
A: Yeah, why not? It’s time to go out and prove ourselves. Let’s go out and do it. Let’s go out across the country and reward those people who already like Simple Minds and know Simple Minds and have seen Simple Minds. And let’s try and blow away those who are coming along perhaps not knowing what to expect.
Q: I have to confess that — somehow, someway — I have never seen Simple Minds in concert in all my years going to shows. So, I have to ask: Are you guys as good in concert as people say you are?
A: If I said no that would be weird, right? Let me just say that we relish the challenge of living up to what we know exists — there is a positive image of Simple Minds playing live. From the earliest days, we particularly dreamed about being a great live band. Of course, to be a great live band you have to have great songs and you have to have good records out there if you want people to come and see you.
We ourselves grew up seeing a lot of great live music. And that’s where we wanted to go.
Q: And it sounds like you’ve gotten there. The question is how do you find the motivation to stay there?
A: We’re a band that doesn’t have to try to motivate ourselves on tour — no matter how many nights there are on that tour. We’re a band that manages to rise to the challenge every night, knowing that, for the audience, it is pretty much the only night on that tour and it might be the only night they get to see you — who knows?
And when that’s at stake, you wouldn’t want to give less than 100 percent.
Q: Usually when you hear the “you’ve got to see them live” tag thrown around it’s with someone like Phish or Bruce Springsteen. I’m not used to hearing it connected to an ‘80s new wave act.
A: (Laughs) You say, you’re not used to hearing that about the ‘80s stuff where they all sucked. That’s really what you’re saying. (More laughter) Well, we’re old school. We started in the mid-‘70s, messing around just after school. But you’re quite right — by the time we got any success, we were well into the ‘80s. But prior to that success, we spent four or five years at every dive, every pub, every bar in the U.K. and Europe — building (our career) up through pubs then theaters and clubs, finally arenas. We did it the old school way. And it’s held us in good stead.
Q: In the 80s — thanks in large part to MTV — a lot of new artists were thrust into the bright spotlight right at the start of their careers, usually without the material to back them up. But that wasn’t the Simple Minds story. By the time your band hit it big, you guys were already on album No. 7.
A: That’s right. And we had toured. We had opened for Peter Gabriel for like eight weeks in Europe. We had put in the hard jobs. And I’ll tell you why — because we loved it. And that’s what we wanted to do with our lives.
Of course, you had to have the songs. So, you had to write the songs and make the records. And there was great pleasure in that. But there is something much more visceral to your life when you are getting on the stage that night.
Q: Thus the focus on the live show started way back at the beginning.
A: Of course, it didn’t always go great. We had to learn. We had to fail. We had to screw up. Sometimes you were playing to three men and a dog. But quite often, even if we were playing to three men and a dog, the promoter would say, “I’ve never seen three men and a dog go that crazy for a band.”
Q: And people can get a good taste of the Simple Minds concert experience with the newly released “Live in the City of Diamonds.” You don’t see many live albums these days — let alone double live ones like “City of Diamonds.”
A: Well, again — old school. We grew up when great bands put out live albums. This tour we are about to do here is really the second part of a tour that started last year. And there was magic in the air. Certain gigs — you just knew the band was cooking. So, (we decided) let’s capture it.
Q: I’m glad you did. It’s quite good.
A: This day and age, you don’t usually get a lot of kudos for a live album. But we’ve been getting it. It’s in the Top 10 in a lot of countries. The reviews have been great.
It’s something, I suppose, for super fans — and they deserve it. It’s a good moment captured of where the band is at this point and time. And all I can say at this point is that it’s amazing that it still sounds so kind of vibrant and we’re really into it. There’s no going through the motions, that’s for sure.
Q: Is it satisfying to see people, ones who might only know the band from “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” come to the realization that Simple Minds actually has a really deep songbook?
A: To go out in front of 12,000 people in Europe — and they know every word — is one thing. If that’s not the case, it’s a different challenge.
The proof of the test is that we very rarely tour and then come back and there are less people.
Q: They tell their friends.
A: They tell their friends. And that’s the best publicity. Someone goes into work, or emails their friends, and says, “Man, you missed it. You need to go next time.”
Q: I’ve experienced that myself. I’ve got a friend named Dina who goes to multiple Simple Minds shows, on the same tour, and then comes back raving about the band.
A: What a compliment. You tell Dina I was asking for her.
Q: Is it hard to still get excited about playing “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” for like the 9,000th (and counting) time?
A: Here’s the thing: If you are playing it in a rehearsal room, just you, it feels like the 9,000th time. But as soon as you play in front of someone, it’s not the (expletive) 9,000th time for them. It might be the only time. And you’re only there for the people in front of you.
If you are going on tour for yourself, why bother? Stay at home. You’re going out there to be of service. And when that’s at stake, you want to not only play the song — you want try and play it better than ever that night. That’s our attitude.
Q: Well, I can’t wait to experience that attitude in person when I finally correct my Simple Minds situation and see the band in concert at Concord.
A: Now, you are putting me under pressure.
Q: (Laughs) I think you can handle it, sir.
A: I don’t know about that. After giving you all the high hat here, we’d better deliver.