Simple Minds fans living in North America have been a patient lot, as the band hasn’t toured here in more than a decade. But there is renewed hope today, thanks to a message from Jim Kerr and Co. that reveals the group plans to new record music this summer for an album due next spring and “hopefully” will tour the U.S. and Canada this fall.
The new album would be Simple Minds’ first in five years, following up the 2009 collection Graffiti Soul, and any North American tour would be the band’s first since a 16-date trek in the summer of 2002 — including a couple dates with INXS — in support of that year’s Cry album.
On Facebook today, the band posted an out-of-focus photo of guitarist Charlie Burchill and wrote:
“Tour starting now..Recording in summer….Hopefully US/Canada to follow…Arena tour to finish the year…New album next spring…No wonder Charles is in a blur!”
The band already has a busy 2012 on tap, with an unusually extensive U.K. tour that begins Monday and runs through early May in support of its Celebrate — The Greatest Hits+ best-of collection and a just-announced U.K. arena run in November with support from Ultravox (see full dates).
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Simple Minds enlists Ultravox as special guests for U.K. arena dates in November
- Simple Minds reveal tracklists for ‘Celebrate — Greatest Hits+’ double-, triple-disc best-ofs
- Simple Minds to release ‘Celebrate’ best-of in March, embark on 28-date U.K. tour
- Simple Minds detail ‘5X5 Live’ album featuring songs originally recorded from 1979-1982
Who Cares? Derek Forbes is playing with Big County and Mick is not in the band either. Those other 2 suck so I don’t consider this Simple Minds at all. In fact when Derek and Mick were playing SM songs, they sounded more like Simple Minds than this band. Simple Minds is my favorite band, but this band listed here is NOT SIMPLE MINDS! Not spending any more money on them till they re-form the real band again. They are all still alive and kicking.
Great to hear Jim and the lads are still making new music – all the “Greatest Hits” stuff can be a tad worrying… – but let’s hope it is more up with the quality of “Black And White 555” and “Neapolis” and less like “Cry” and “Graffiti Soul”. For mine, Jim, Charlie and Mel is enough to make it SM. And quite frankly I thought Andy G and Ged were actually really, really good on the “5×5 Live” double-disc set from last year’s tour.
Whatever Stuart – Jim, Charlie, and Mel have stuck to their guns and are doing great! USA is ready.