A sold out show in Perth’s glorious Kings Park is a wonderful way to end any tour, and this years Red Hot Summer Series Two concluded on an unusually cool night that appeared out of nowhere after weeks of red hot record breaking Perth temperatures. Ably supported by Bachelor Girl and Icehouse (who supported the band on their first tour down under in 1982, an incredible 42 years ago) Simple Minds put on a show for the ages that showcased all the hits and had the huge crowd singing along to them all.
Simple Minds owned the stage tonight and brought the crowd to their feet with an epic show of 80’s Pop Rock classics that opened up with the brooding ‘Waterfront’ and concluded with a rapturous rendition of ‘Sanctify Yourself’. It all started with the band walking on stage without much fuss at all and just launching into the song, Jim and Charlie all smiles as the band wonderfully produced their iconic sound in the breezy Perth evening.
Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill of course remain the ever present core of the band that has gone through many changes over the years. Tonight you can feel the chemistry between them and newer members Cherisse Osei, who is super cool on drums, wonderful backing vocalist Sarah Brown and second guitarist Gordy Goudie who all came onboard in 2017, joining Ged Grimes on bass. It’s a great line-up and great fun to watch the interactions.
Earlier in the evening Bachelor Girl warmed things up with a set of their catchy Pop hits from the end of the millennium, they went down great as the crowd flooded in early to catch a rather on-form Icehouse. Icehouse and Simple Minds of course go back a long way, both forming in 1977 and both rising to prominence on both sides of the globe before touring together down under in 1982 where incidentally they also played their last show of the tour in Perth at the Embassy Ballroom, or so I’m told by one punter who was there.
Sole original member of the band Iva Davies is in fine form tonight and regales the crowd with the odd anecdote and quip between songs and much as Simple Minds are the big draw tonight seeing a band like Icehouse in their pomp playing all the hits is mesmerizing. From the opening notes of ‘Icehouse’ the crowd are ready to sing along and by the raucous closing salvo that starts with ‘Great Southern Land’ and ends with ‘We Can Get Together’ we’re all singing with one voice.
Simple Minds tonight are what they call ‘on fire’ and Jim appears to be elated to get to Perth and the end of the first set of shows for 2024. It’s great how classics like ‘The American’ rub along so nicely with newer material like ‘Vision Thing’. But of course it’s the chart hits that people want to hear and by the time we get to ‘Glittering Prize’ and ‘Promised you a Miracle’ the crowd is all up and dancing.
Kerr’s voice sounds wonderful tonight too, and he’s ably backed by the wonderful Sarah Brown who compliments him beautifully. Highlights come with ‘New Gold Dream’ and ‘All the Things She Said’ before a blistering drum solo by the irrepressible Cherisse Osei gives a nice interlude.
We close out the set with a wonderful rendition of ‘Belfast Child’ and ‘Someone Somewhere in Summertime’ (an inexplicably low charting gem) before perhaps the biggest song of their career and the one that made them in the U.S. ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ closes the main set. I believe that you could hear the applause after that one over the border in South Australia!
Any band that can encore with songs of the caliber of ‘Alive and Kicking’ and ‘Sanctify Yourself’ is no ordinary band. 47 years from their beginnings in Glasgow, Simple Minds can still tour the world to crowds as big as they did in their heyday. What a wonderful night and a magical setting to end theor Australian Tour.
