“It’s been said that SIMPLE MINDS has a love affair with Australia and I think that’s true.”
So says SIMPLE MINDS singer Jim Kerr.
And the love affair is continuing, with seminal Scottish band SIMPLE MINDS announcing they will be returning to Australia and New Zealand in November 2020 for their 40 Years of Hits Tour 2020, performing at a day on the green wineries as well as indoor shows.
They will be joined by very special guests, UK electronic pioneers ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK, who will be touring Australia and New Zealand for the first time in more than 30 years.
This tour celebrates SIMPLE MINDS’ 40: The Best Of – 1979-2019, a 40-song collection that marks the band’s 40th anniversary. The compilation features a new song, a cover of For One Night Only by Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote. Appropriately, you can catch SIMPLE MINDS For One Night Only at the following venues: Tuesday December 1 in Melbourne at Margaret Court Arena; Thursday December 3 in Sydney at First State Super Theatre; as well as a day on the green events at Perth’s Kings Park & Botanic Garden on Thursday November 26; Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley VIC on Saturday November 28; Bimbadgen, Hunter Valley NSW on Saturday December 5; and Sirromet Wines, Mount Cotton QLD on Sunday December 6.
The tour will then travel to New Zealand to play at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch on Wednesday December 9; TSB Arena in Wellington on Friday December 11; and a day on the green in Auckland at Villa Maria Winery on Saturday December 12.
The a day on the green concerts in Australia will also feature Aussie chart-toppers EUROGLIDERS.
Tickets go on sale Monday November 18 at 10.00am local time.
SIMPLE MINDS, who have sold more than 60 million albums, have been musical pioneers for 40 glittering years. Catching the mood of the post-punk era, when the angry sounds of 1977 were splintering into a thousand different shapes, they emerged with a style ingrained in the art-rock of David Bowie and the electronic dance of Donna Summer. They went on to become one of the great bands of their generation, deploying rousing choruses and booming atmospherics to provide a soundtrack that has endured.
SIMPLE MINDS will never forget their first Australian tour, with Icehouse in 1981. “I cannot tell you how much fun we had during that six-week period,” Jim says. “Going from nobodies to overnight success due to our appearance on Countdown. People were screaming for us to play encores. We’ve always had a wonderful bond with Australian audiences.”
Australia gave SIMPLE MINDS their first hit single, Love Song, and first gold album, New Gold Dream. A string of unforgettable hits followed, including Promised You A Miracle, Glittering Prize, Don’t You (Forget About Me), Alive and Kicking, Sanctify Yourself, Belfast Child and Let There Be Love. No wonder the band recently received the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK are acclaimed around the world for bringing avant-garde music into the mainstream. Led by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, the group is best-known for If You Leave, the smash hit from the classic teen movie Pretty In Pink, plus the anti-war song Enola Gay, and Souvenir, Locomotion, (Forever) Live And Die, We Love You, Dreaming and Pandora’s Box. Revered as synth-pop pioneers, The Scotsman newspaper wrote: “If Kraftwerk were the Elvis Presley of synth-pop, then Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were its Beatles.” OMD are also celebrating their 40th anniversary, and Jim Kerr is one of their biggest fans. Jim bought OMD’s debut single, Electricity, in 1979 and loved both it and its B-side, Almost. “I played it nonstop,” Jim says. “I was downright jealous to be honest, and I still am when I hear those tunes.”
EUROGLIDERS are contemporaries of both SIMPLE MINDS and OMD. The band was called Living Single when it formed in Perth in 1980, which was ironic because its two key members, Grace Knight and Bernie Lynch, became one of the most potent partnerships in Australian music. Renaming the band EUROGLIDERS, they went on to conquer the Australian charts, with a string of pop gems, including Heaven (Must Be There) – which also charted in the US – We Will Together and the aptly titled Can’t Wait To See You. This will be the first time EUROGLIDERS have played with SIMPLE MINDS since the opening night of the Narara Music Festival in 1984!
The tour will also mark a special anniversary for a day on the green, Australia’s premier outdoor concert winery event. SIMPLE MINDS will spearhead a day on the green’s 20th season.
SIMPLE MINDS recently released the acclaimed live album, Live In The City Of Angels, which captures the band at the height of their powers on their biggest North American tour ever in 2018. “This live album shows they still play the hits from the many genres they straddle, from synth to arena rock, brilliantly,” wrote News Corp music writer Cameron Adams.
SIMPLE MINDS remain one of the world’s greatest live bands. But they’re not content to rest on their laurels. “I’m grateful for the career we’ve had,” Jim says, “but I’m mad enough to think we can still hit new levels.”
“The perception that we’re now gathering pace is down to our attitude to playing live,” guitarist Charlie Burchill adds. “A legacy can be a burden if you allow it to be – for us, it’s been empowering.”
Four decades on, they are still very much alive and kicking.
SIMPLE MINDS – Australia’s favourite Scottish band – celebrating their 40th anniversary. With OMD and EUROGLIDERS. This is a tour you won’t want to miss!
TOUR DATES
A DAY ON THE GREEN
Simple Minds, OMD, Eurogliders
Thurs Nov 26 – Kings Park & Botanic Garden, WA
Sat Nov 28 – Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley, VIC
Sat Dec 5 – Bimbadgen, Hunter Valley, NSW
Sun Dec 6 – Sirromet Wines, Mount Cotton, QLD
Sat Dec 12 – Villa Maria Winery, Auckland, NZ *Eurogliders not performing in NZ
All event information www.adayonthegreen.com.au
INDOOR SHOWS – FRONTIER TOURING
Simple Minds and OMD
Tues Dec 1 – Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, VIC
Thurs Dec 3 – First State Super Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Wed Dec 9 – Horncastle Arena, Christchurch, NZ
Fri Dec 11 – TSB Arena, Wellington, NZ
All event information www.frontiertouring.com
