20. Simple Minds

Roundhouse

2 March 2012

This is the band that practically scored my teenage years, specifically in ’81, ’82, ’83 and ’84 (cue comedy drum crash). But it is true, I really have been a fan since the blistering summer of ’83 heatwave, “Someone, Somewhere in Summertime” blasting as I hurled myself off a Sussex breakwater into the English Channel to cool off.

Let’s also not forget “Themes for Great Cities” from Sons of Fascination; a pop band dropping an instrumental was, at the time, unheard of and it is a track I love to this day. Two years later, they achieved global recognition with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” that soundtracked The Breakfast Club, inspiring millions, including me, to buy bandanas to tie around our boots and watch Judd Nelson’s acting career peak early.

Seeing them now at the Roundhouse, an intimate spot compared to their usual arenas, on a tour named after the military code for loud and clear (5x5) rather than their usual stadium home was a rare sight. Kerr worked the crowd like he was in his living room, chilled out and zen-like, as if he hadn’t spent years shouting to the nosebleeds.

The encore was a time portal to the summer of ’83, with “Themes for Great Cities”, “Glittering Prize”, and “New Gold Dream (81 82 83 84)” transporting me right back to those sweaty bike rides of that summer to glean some temporary relief from the relentless heat at the beach. Glorious.