UK three CD collection. This release charts the birth of synthesized pop music in the 1980s and ultimately the roots of contemporary electronic dance music. The importance and continued popularity of '80s pop is not to be underestimated, and the emergence of serious synthesized music producers in Kraftwerk, The Human League, Heaven 17, OMD, Yazoo, Ultravox, Talk Talk, Japan, Devo, Sparks, Gary Numan, New Order and the Pet Shop Boys, all of whom massively pushed the boundaries in experimenting with (mainly) Roland synths in this era, ultimately showed the way for the House and Techno producers of the '90s to the present day. Within this more serious side there was also some brilliant, pure Synthpop from the Thompson Twins, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Thomas Dolby, Simple Minds, Propaganda, Erasure, China Crisis, Belouis Some, the Lotus Eaters, a Flock of Seagulls, Howard Jones, Blancmange and the Associates.

Fantastic 3CD box set with some of the greatest and long sought New Wave classics in their extended maximum versions. Filled with essentials from Spandau Ballet, Simple Minds, Talking Heads, The Blue Nile, Talk Talk, Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran, Power Station, Men Without Hats, The Human League, Rain Tree Crow, Scritti Politti, OMD, Living In A Box and many more.

Silver Box is a 5CD Box Set by Simple Minds, released on 18 October 2004. It is made up of previously unreleased demos, radio & TV sessions and various live recordings from 1979 to 1995… and is also including (as a final bonus disc) their unreleased studio album, Our Secrets Are the Same, originally recorded between April and June 1999 and originally planned to be released on its own in early 2000 but delayed many times until its final inclusion in this Box Set.
Scotland's Simple Minds evolved from artful late-'70s post-punks into global purveyors of pop grandeur with a string of U.K. chart-topping albums in the '80s that include Sparkle in the Rain and their global breakthrough Once Upon a Time, and built that success into a long-running career that has continued well into the 2020s…

The 2015 Sparkle In The Rain 4CD Super Deluxe box set by Simple Minds features a 2014 Abbey Road remaster of the 1984 album, plus discs containing B-sides, remixes, and a previously unreleased 1984 Glasgow Barrowlands concert.
In less than four years, Simple Minds produced and progressed like few other bands. They released six albums, including a pair of nervy post-punk classics in Real to Real Cacophony and Empires and Dance, as well as the lavish "new pop" triumph New Gold Dream. Their audience expanded, and dates opening for the likes of U2 and the Police placed them in stadiums. The band's sound naturally became less subtle. For Sparkle in the Rain, they sought U2 producer Steve Lillywhite, whose approach helped shape their performances into a forceful, direct set of commercial rock designed to shake nosebleed seats…

When Simple Minds released Black and White in 2005, it was obvious they'd been doing some creative soul searching in light of the success of bands clearly influenced by them, namely, the Killers and Manic Street Preachers. 2009's Graffiti Soul saw the return of drummer Mel Gaynor to the fold. He brought a familiar, tight, propulsive foundation to Charlie Burchill's guitar playing and Andy Gillespie's imaginative synths. Jim Kerr's alternately whispering and soaring vocals were still at the fore, but were showcased inside more economical songwriting, and Jez Coad's production celebrated the band's pop identity. Big Music finds Simple Minds coming full circle - going all the way back to 1979 for inspiration…

New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) is the fifth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. The album was released in September 1982 by record label Virgin, and was a turning point for the band as they gained critical and commercial success in the UK and Europe. When creating their 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire, the Irish rock band U2 saw New Gold Dream as an influence. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

This super deluxe edition boasts an abundance of material. Disc one features a 2016 remaster (by Andrew Walter at Abbey Road) approved by Charlie Burchill and the second disc gathers 12-inch remixes and instrumentals of the singles, a few of which enjoy their CD debut. Various edits and B-sides can be found on the third CD in the set while disc four features previously unreleased BBC John Peel and Kid Jensen radio sessions, recorded in February and August 1982. All ten tracks on disc five are previously unreleased; made up of alternative mixes and demos.
One of Scotland's finest exports, Simple Minds deliver a strong synth-reared release on New Gold Dream. This album harks the darker side of the band's musicianship, and such material alludes to their forthcoming pop-stadium sound which hurled them into rock mainstream during the latter part of the '80s…

Originally released in October 1985, ‘Once Upon a Time’ is the era-defining #1 album from Simple Minds. Containing classic hit singles ‘Alive and Kicking’ and ‘Sanctify Yourself,’ it now comes as part of this incredible 5CD box set. Bonus discs include original and extended versions of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me),’ single edits, 12” mixes, B-sides, unreleased tracks, and the ‘Live in The City of Light’ concert, as well a 36-page booklet with rare photos, interviews, and a track-by-track guide.

19 tracks. Lorena Mckennitt, The Corrs, Clannad & Bono, Sarah Brightman, Kate Bush, Luar Na Lubre, Mike Oldfield, Maire Brennan, Mary Black, Christie Moore, Eliza Carthy, Caroline Lavelle, Sinéad O'Connor, Altan, Eddi Reader, Sharon Shannon & Hothouse Flowers, Eimear Quinn, Simple Minds.

Recorded during 2015's highly acclaimed 'Big Music' Live Tour, the recordings features blistering versions of many of the Simple Minds' classic hits from across the decades - 'Don't You Forget About Me', 'Alive And Kicking', 'New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84)', 'Waterfront' - alongside some of the best songs from the band's then most-recent hit album 'Big Music'. "The set list of the Big Music Tour was gloriously ambitious. Almost theatrical in the way that it was put together. So many varying styles of music and atmospheres feature, and yet it is always inherently Simple Minds live. Simply put, it was a real pleasure to be involved." Jim KerrPressed on 180gm white vinyl.

Deluxe version of the classic album "Street Fighting Years" as a 4-CD box set, including the original album remastered at Abbey Road plus a host of B-sides, edits and 12″ remixes. It also includes a previously unissued Verona live show from 1989 plus brand new book including a new interview with Trevor Horn.
Their first proper new release since the commercial breakthrough of Once Upon a Time (a live album intervened) and Simple Minds makes a decidedly, noncommercial follow-up. Street Fighting Years is a moody, dark affair. The music is yearning and most of the songs are politically charged lyrically. It was a move that could (and did) bring commercial failure. However, Street Fighting Years is an artistic and elegant album that might lack immediate choruses but draws in the listener…

Simple Minds release 'Live in the City of Diamonds', a live album of all their hits which was recorded in Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome in 2024.

Simple Minds Scotland's Simple Minds evolved from artful late-'70s post-punks into global purveyors of pop grandeur with a string of U.K. chart-topping albums in the '80s that include Sparkle in the Rain and their global breakthrough Once Upon a Time, and built that success into a long-running career that has continued well into the 2020s. While the band was widely embraced in the U.K., Europe, and Oceania, it took the smash hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)," from the film The Breakfast Club, to break them in the U.S. Along with the similarly anthemic "Alive and Kicking," it is still their best-known Stateside hit, though they remained one of the U.K.'s biggest bands throughout the remainder of the decade. After 1989's Street Fighting Years and a series of personnel shuffles, Simple Minds' popularity faded somewhat. Founding members Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (guitar) have made up the band's core partnership since its inception and over the subsequent decades have continued to mount successful tours and release high-quality late-period albums like 2014's Big Music and 2018's Walk Between Worlds. Following two live albums and a compilation, they returned to studio recording with 2022's Direction of the Heart.

STUNNING 1991 BROADCAST FROM MILTON KEYNES At the end of the Street Fighting Years tour in 1990, long-term Simple Minds manager Bruce Findlay was dismissed, and over the next few years the band gradually altered to the point where it was a shifting set of musicians around the only remaining core members, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill. In 1991, Simple Minds returned with Real Life. The album's cover showed the trio of Kerr, Burchill and drummer Mel Gaynor, and the writing credits for all songs was Kerr/Burchill. The album reached No. 2 in the UK, where it also spawned four Top 40 singles. The band toured to support the release, playing as a basic five-piece (Kerr, Burchill, Gaynor, bassist Malcolm Foster and new keyboard player Mark Taylor) and cutting down on the extended arrangements of the last few large tours. On 24th August ’91, Simple Minds played the huge Milton Keynes Bowl as part of their Real Life tour, and for many fans this show was the finest of the entire jaunt. Performing for almost two hours in total that late summer evening more than 30 years ago, the entire gig was recorded for live FM radio broadcast and is now available in its entirety on this new 2CD set.

1980 was a huge year in pop music, and we have already included a fabulous selection of tracks on the vinyl versions of the 1980 Yearbook, the 80-84 Final Chapter, and the Vinyl Extra 5-LP box-set as part of our appreciation of the year. Those tracks were generally the bigger hits of the year, with their chart achievement a factor in their inclusion. However, that’s not the whole singles story of the year, and our celebration of 1980 wouldn’t be complete without shining a light on some of the years’ singles that have been compiled much less frequently over the years… 1981 was a seismic year in pop music, with a huge number of new artists making unforgettable chart debuts.