Jim Kerr is one of Glasgow’s most recognisable figures that has been the frontman of the band Simple Minds since the late 1970s.
The roots of Simple Minds can be found in the Southside of Glasgow through the short-lived punk band Johnny & The Self-Abusers who first performed in Glasgow at the Doune Castle in Shawlands. They released their only single “Saints and Sinners” in November 1977 with the band splitting on that same day. Simple Minds would then be renamed after a lyric from the Davie Bowie song “Jean Genie”.
Simple Minds’ first big breakthrough success was the album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) released by Virgin Records in September 1982 which included singles such as “Someone Somewhere in Summertime”, “Promised You a Miracle” and “Glittering Prize”.
To this day, they remain the quintessential Glasgow band that always puts on memorable gigs whenever they return to Glasgow as they still have their home city at heart as Kerr once said: “I never really left Glasgow. No doubt I’ve spent most of my grown-up life away from the city but I’ve always had somewhere to lay my head.”
From Toryglen to the Barrowland Ballroom - here are eight places in Glasgow which helped Simple Minds become famous.
5. Toryglen High Flats
The high flats at Toryglen known as Prospecthill Circus is where Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill grew up with majority of their childhood spent in that area. Speaking about meeting Charlie for the first time, Kerr said: "I met Charlie Burchill the first day we moved into the housing scheme in Toryglen. We were taking in furniture and at the bottom of the road there was a few boys playing, I went down and asked a boy sitting on a wall if I could play as well, that boy was Charlie. If I hadn’t met Charlie, if we had moved to a different scheme, I’d be riding a different taxi. I might have ended up driving a f***** taxi." | Supplied
6. The Mars Bar
Guitarist Charlie Burchill and singer Jim Kerr, founders of Simple Minds, performing at one of their first gigs in Glasgow in 1978 at the Mars Bar. They played here a number of times during that year. Speaking about the venue, Kerr said: "We learned our trade in Glasgow’s pubs and clubs. There was a pub called the Mars Bar at St Enoch Square and we played there every Sunday night. It was free to get in and folk would queue round the block, our pals would tell their pals. It was a big crowd and we knew we had to be good and we were doing our own stuff." | Pic: Laurie Evans Photo: Laurie Evans
7. The Apollo
Speaking about early gigs, Jim Kerr said: "In Glasgow when we were growing up we would go to the Apollo and the fact you could see all these great live bands, it’s really important to see that, it’s like a university. It made it all real. The first concert I saw was David Bowie. I saw Roxy Music, the Rolling Stones, The Who. I mean, we really saw the best. Charlie’s first gig was Led Zeppelin." | Glasgow Eyese
8. Queen Street
Jim Kerr fondly remembers visiting Graffiti Records on Queen Street which he says was the first to have punk rock. He regularly visited the store at weekends with him being introduced to the likes of Patti Smith and Elvis Costello through the record shop. | via WikiCommons