Latest news with #JimKerr
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
A major 1980s nostalgia concert, Canadian pop punk and an imploding submersible: what we're obsessed with this week
Concert: Simple Minds Sure, everyone knows that song from that movie. But there's a lot more to Simple Minds than meets the eye, beginning with their fantastic early albums, on which they merged David Bowie's flash with the Velvet Underground's verve and Kraftwerk's Euro-cool grooves. And in a live setting, the band, featuring original members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, are simply thrilling and uplifting. They're bound to play a few deep cuts along with their latter-day stadium fillers at Budweiser Stage on Wednesday night. Opening are two equally credible one-hit new wave wonders: Soft Cell and Modern English. John Hughes would definitely approve. —Doug Brod
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Simple Minds live up to name of Alive and Kicking tour in Toronto
Opening for the Glaswegian rockers were two '80s British New Wave acts, Modern English and Soft Cell Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr performs at the Bell Centre in Montreal on June 17, 2025. Photo by Trent Barboza Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Simple Minds Budweiser Stage Wednesday night RATING: ***1/2 (3.5 out of four) Simple Minds are still alive and kicking — and them some. Thus the name of the veteran Scottish rock band's latest North American tour, Alive and Kicking — their biggest trek on the continent in four decades and in honour of the 40th anniversary of their breakout and biggest ever hit (which they didn't write) — the anthemic Don't You (Forget About Me) used in John Hughes' 1985 Breakfast Club film and soundtrack. No wonder the crowd's spirited singalong of the tune's chorus — 'La, La La, La' — on Wednesday night at Budweiser Stage seemed to go on forever as the song triumphantly wrapped up Simple Minds' set before the encore. 'I should be paying YOU to sing,' joked frontman Jim Kerr, dressed in head-to-toe black save for a white star on his black T-shirt. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'But since I'm Scottish, it's not likely.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Seriously, he's genuinely funny but Kerr should keep his day job as his soulful croon is still intact at age 65 as are his interpretive dance moves to the point that he got down on both knees and then bent backwards flat onto his back a few times during the hour-and-50 minute show. 'Don't try that at home kids,' Kerr joked afterwards. 'Try that at someone else's home. I'm getting too old for this malarky.' Not really. The group, which still includes original lead guitarist Charlie Burchill, also 65 — still sounded vibrant from the very first song, Waterfront, with lots of lights and visuals from multiple screens up on stage and getting some major juice from female drummer Cherisse Osei and big-voiced backup singer Sharon Brown — 'This is Simple Minds version of girl power!' said Kerr, adding; 'We're just getting warmed up.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Also good was Love Song, Let There Be Love — with Kerr now at the front of the audience on the floor — Someone Somewhere in Summertime, the instrumental Theme for Great Cities followed by Osei's stunning drum solo (both of which allowed Kerr to take a break from the stage), Promised You a Miracle, and Book of Brilliant Things (completely handled by Brown on lead vocals), the latter which kicked off the three-song encore rounded out by crowd-pleasers Alive and Kicking and Sanctify Yourself. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Opening for the Glaswegian rockers were two '80s British New Wave acts, Modern English and Soft Cell, who both showed off their biggest hits — I Melt With You and Tainted Love, respectively — in half-hour sets before Simple Minds took the stage. Of the two acts, Soft Cell stretched out a slightly more with frontman Marc Almond (still with the black bowl haircut and shades) taking the crowd through a ballad like Say Goodbye, Wave Hello (covered more recently by British singer-songwriter David Gray). This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Waterfront Love Song Glittering Prize Let There Be Love Once Upon a Time This Fear of Gods Oh Jungleland Someone Somewhere in Summertime New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) Theme for Great Cities (Instrumental) Drum Solo (followed by band introductions) Promised You a Miracle All the Things She Said See the Lights Don't You (Forget About Me) (With extended singing from the crowd) ENCORE: Book of Brilliant Things (Sarah Brown on vocals) Alive and Kicking Sanctify Yourself jstevenson@ Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. NHL Soccer Columnists Sunshine Girls Columnists
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Ottawa Citizen
Simple Minds at Bell Centre: A simply amazing reminder of 1980s new wave power
Montreal did not forget about Simple Minds. Article content Just under 9,000 fans made the trek to the Bell Centre on Tuesday to see the Scottish band, which was part of the slew of ultracool British new wave bands during the first half of the 1980s that revolutionized the music world, and it was very clear that a big chunk of the folks there had been following them from way back in the day. Article content Article content 'Montreal was one of the first cities to get behind Simple Minds and really encourage us,' said the band's charismatic and oh-so-down-to-Earth frontman Jim Kerr. Article content Article content There was a lot of grey hair in the crowd. Which was super cool to see. Pop music is a young person's game, but there are loads of people of a certain age who still love the music they listened to in high school and university during the '80s. Article content There are '80s DJ/dance nights happening all over the city. I even do one myself, called High Fidelity, and every time I hold one, people — inevitably 40 and older — tell me they love reliving the dancing fun they had all those years ago. There's also VV Taverna, a bar devoted to the same scene at the corner of St. Denis and Rachel Sts. Article content There are loads of folks who still dig listening to bands like The Smiths, Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Psychedelic Furs, to name a few. And it's not just nostalgia. It's because the music still sounds fab. Article content Article content 'It's still great music 40 years later,' said Jean Boudreau, who was at the Bell Centre Tuesday. 'Even young people today listen to music from the 1980s. It's aged better than the music of the '90s, like grunge. These songs have strong melodies. I remember hearing this music at the Limelight, at the Passeport on St. Denis St., at the Thunderdome.' Article content Nancy Faraj said it's only natural that you return to the music of your youth. Article content 'When you listen to music from the age of 16 to 25, it influences you for the rest of your life,' said Faraj. Article content Before the concert, I texted my old friend Ivan Doroschuk, lead singer of Men Without Hats, the Montreal band that produced one of the iconic anthems of the '80s new wave, Safety Dance, and I asked him why this music was still so popular. Article content Article content 'It's a decade that hearkens back to better times in a lot of people's minds (even though it was the Reagan/Thatcher era),' wrote Doroschuk. 'It's one of the last decades where there were real songs, real melodies, but also social/political commentary. A lot of singalongs, too. The music is dance-oriented as well, which gives it a cross-generational appeal and which explains why '80s nights are popping up all over the place, taking the place of disco in a lot of clubs. Contemporary pop music also borrows a lot from the '80s, with artists like The Weeknd.'
Montreal Gazette
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Simple Minds at Bell Centre: A simply amazing reminder of 1980s new wave power
Music By Montreal did not forget about Simple Minds. Just under 9,000 fans made the trek to the Bell Centre on Tuesday to see the Scottish band, which was part of the slew of ultracool British new wave bands during the first half of the 1980s that revolutionized the music world, and it was very clear that a big chunk of the folks there had been following them from way back in the day. 'Montreal was one of the first cities to get behind Simple Minds and really encourage us,' said the band's charismatic and oh-so-down-to-Earth frontman Jim Kerr. There was a lot of grey hair in the crowd. Which was super cool to see. Pop music is a young person's game, but there are loads of people of a certain age who still love the music they listened to in high school and university during the '80s. There are '80s DJ/dance nights happening all over the city. I even do one myself, called High Fidelity, and every time I hold one, people — inevitably 40 and older — tell me they love reliving the dancing fun they had all those years ago. There's also VV Taverna, a bar devoted to the same scene at the corner of St. Denis and Rachel Sts. There are loads of folks who still dig listening to bands like The Smiths, Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Psychedelic Furs, to name a few. And it's not just nostalgia. It's because the music still sounds fab. 'It's still great music 40 years later,' said Jean Boudreau, who was at the Bell Centre Tuesday. 'Even young people today listen to music from the 1980s. It's aged better than the music of the '90s, like grunge. These songs have strong melodies. I remember hearing this music at the Limelight, at the Passeport on St. Denis St., at the Thunderdome.' Nancy Faraj said it's only natural that you return to the music of your youth. 'When you listen to music from the age of 16 to 25, it influences you for the rest of your life,' said Faraj. Before the concert, I texted my old friend Ivan Doroschuk, lead singer of Men Without Hats, the Montreal band that produced one of the iconic anthems of the '80s new wave, Safety Dance, and I asked him why this music was still so popular. 'It's a decade that hearkens back to better times in a lot of people's minds (even though it was the Reagan/Thatcher era),' wrote Doroschuk. 'It's one of the last decades where there were real songs, real melodies, but also social/political commentary. A lot of singalongs, too. The music is dance-oriented as well, which gives it a cross-generational appeal and which explains why '80s nights are popping up all over the place, taking the place of disco in a lot of clubs. Contemporary pop music also borrows a lot from the '80s, with artists like The Weeknd.' Montreal music fans have always loved British bands. It started with prog rock during the '70s by groups like Genesis, King Crimson and Gentle Giant and continued into the '80s with the post-punk and new wave bands like U2, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Simple Minds. And people were so into it Tuesday at the Bell Centre. They totally loved the high-octane opening set from Modern English, flagged a little during Soft Cell's lacklustre performance, but all was forgiven once Simple Minds took the stage. Songs like Once Upon a Time, Wish You Were Here, Someone Somewhere, New Gold Dream, and Miracle had fans on their feet all night, singing along to every word. Kerr clearly hadn't lost any of his enthusiasm over the years and he still exudes the same down-home charm, a very Glaswegian style that, like the Scottish city, is all about genuine emotion and zero tolerance for any b.s. 'You're going to make us very emotional,' said Kerr, right near the beginning, moved by the crowd's passion. His voice is still remarkably strong after all these years and guitarist Charlie Churchill, the only other original member, was also in fine form, whipping off some remarkably muscular guitar riffs to remind you that they were much more than a limp synth band. By the time they got to their biggest hit, Don't You (Forget About Me), at the end of the set, every single person in the arena was lustily singing along to the chorus. It was partly about nostalgia, about getting lost in a song that we associate with key moments in our life, but it was also about the communal power of live music and Montreal audiences' amazing ability to keep the faith with artists they've loved for decades. You could see this was anything but just another night at the office for Kerr and his bandmates. They got emotional and so did we.
South China Morning Post
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
When Simple Minds first played US and why, for singer Jim Kerr, the band is ‘a crusade'
When the Scottish band Simple Minds made their live debut at the Satellite City club in Glasgow on January 17, 1978, it is fair to wonder just how big the four teenagers in the band dared to dream. 'That's a good question,' says singer Jim Kerr, who along with guitarist Charlie Burchill, are the only founding members of Simple Minds to have stayed in the band for the 47 years since that first gig. 'And it's one that we've been reflecting on a lot recently, because Charlie and I have just finished off a book on the history of the band.' At the time, Kerr and Burchill were both 18 and had been friends for a decade, Kerr says. 'By the time we became teenagers, with Brian (McGee, the original drummer), we were in the same class at school. That's when you start to identify your tribe, especially walking around with vinyl albums under your sleeve you find out, oh, these are the guys I've got something in common with,' he says on a recent call from Los Angeles, where Simple Minds were rehearsing for a US tour. Play Burchill had a guitar, McGee had a drum kit, and Kerr would have done anything to be involved with music or a band.
