You can’t refer to Simple Minds as a “heritage act” or “veteran performers” because this band packs more power into a show than many artists half their age. This was one impressive Red Hot Summer performance.
Simple Minds are on their 11th tour of Australia after first performing down under in 1981 with Icehouse back then. 40+ years on, that line-up is doing it one more time for Red Hot Summer.
Icehouse introduced Simple Minds to Australia on that 1981 tour just as Simple Minds had taken Icehouse on tour in the UK around that time as well. Both bands were new bands then. Simple Minds were four albums deep at the time but unknown outside the UK and even relatively unknown within the UK then. That first tour with Icehouse in 1981 actually gave Simple Minds their first Top 20 hit with ‘Love Song’ in Australia. They didn’t crack the UK Top 40 until ‘Promised You A Miracle’ the following year.
Australia was a better market for Simple Minds well before the UK caught on. ‘Love Song’, ‘Promised You A Miracle’, ‘Glittering Prize’ and ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ were all bigger hits in Australia than England.
Take those songs, wrap them around even more hits, let them simmer for 40 or so years and Simple Minds now have one hell of a setlist.
I remember radio being all over ‘Waterfront’ when it came out 40 years ago. Wow, that song is 40 years old and packs a punch few today go anywhere near. Simple Minds were at that era of change, when the 80s was redefining the sound. We had the pop driven Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet to the right of Simple Minds and the more alternative The Smiths and The Cure to the left. Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, New Order had the luxury of appealing to the Pop market while performing for the Rock market.
Here it is 2024 and Simple Minds are at the top of their game. Sure its only Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchall left from the original line-up but while Cherisse Osei has only been with the band since 2016 her drum solo (in high heels I might add) was one of the most Rock solos I have ever heard live. To watch Jim Kerr watch Cherisse and to watch a stunned crowd just goggle in amazement was testament to a truly unique inclusion to the show.
There is tremendous diversity in a Simple Minds show. In 1989 the band made a dramatic departure from the sound of the previous albums with ‘Street Fighting Years’ taking on a folk/Celtic base. That was reflected with ‘Belfast Child’ that signalled the change without diminishing popularity and setting the band up for a new direction in the 90s. Despite the change, the past remained with the live shows and Simple Minds expanded their popularity. A younger generation of Simple Minds fans may have a different entry point coming in with “Belfast Child’ or ‘Let There Be Love’ which reflected in faces of the Red Hot Summer crowd.
The Cure haven’t been on an Australian tour since 2016. Depeche Mode’s haven’t toured Australia since 1994. There are two more Red Hot Summer shows and the occasion Simple Minds stand-alone shows until they leave the country.
Simple Minds setlist, Mornington, 10 February 2024
Waterfront (from Sparkle In The Rain, 1984)
I Travel (from Empires and Dance, 1980)
Love Song (from Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call, 1981)
Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
Solstice Kiss (Direction of the Heart, 2022)
Glittering Prize (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
Promised You a Miracle (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
Belfast Child (from Street Fighting Years, 1989)
She’s a River (from Good News For The Next World, 1995)
Someone Somewhere in Summertime (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
Don’t You (Forget About Me) (from The Breakfast Club soundtrack, 1985)
Encore:
Alive and Kicking (Once Upon a Time, 1985)
Sanctify Yourself (Once Upon a Time, 1985)
Simple Minds setlist, Yarra Valley, 11 February 2024
Waterfront (from Sparkle In The Rain, 1984)
I Travel (from Empires and Dance, 1980)
Love Song (from Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call, 1981)
She’s a River (from Good News For The Next World, 1995)
Let There Be Love (from Real Life, 1991)
Once Upon a Time (from Once Upon A Time, 1985)
Glittering Prize (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
Promised You a Miracle (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
Drums (solo)
Someone Somewhere in Summertime (from New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84, 1982)
Belfast Child (from Street Fighting Years, 1989)
Don’t You (Forget About Me) (from The Breakfast Club soundtrack, 1985)
Encore:
Alive and Kicking (Once Upon a Time, 1985)
Sanctify Yourself (Once Upon a Time, 1985)
RED HOT SUMMER TOUR DATES SERIES TWO 2024 remaining shows
Saturday, 17th February
Sandstone Point, Bribie Island QLD
Featuring ICEHOUSE, SIMPLE MINDS, Noiseworks, Daryl Braithwaite, & Bachelor Girl
• This is an 18-plus show
Wednesday, 21st February
Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth WA
Featuring SIMPLE MINDS, ICEHOUSE, & Bachelor Girl
• This is an all-ages show
SIMPLE MINDS ADDITIONAL TOUR DATES 2024
Tuesday 13th February Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Wednesday 14th February Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre, Adelaide
Sunday 18th February The Star Theatre, Gold Coast
Tickets are available at:
www.redhotsummertour.com.au
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