Glasgow, UK · new-wave · arena-rock

Simple Minds

1 upcoming festival

Glasgow art-rockers who grew into stadium new wave without ever quite losing the early strangeness — 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' guaranteed.

Simple Minds formed in Glasgow in 1977 out of the city's punk scene, with Jim Kerr on vocals and Charlie Burchill on guitar — the two constants across the band's history. Their earliest albums were angular and heavily influenced by European art rock and post-punk, built on synthesizers and repetitive rhythm sections rather than conventional song structures.

Through the early 1980s the sound widened into something more anthemic, and the band became one of the larger arena acts of the decade. 'Don't You (Forget About Me)', recorded for the film The Breakfast Club, gave them their biggest international hit, though songs such as 'Alive and Kicking' and 'Promised You a Miracle' remain central to their live sets.

new-wavearena-rock