Wednesday 13 September 2017

simple minds : live in the city of light

https://www.flickr.com/photos/japaneseforms/36810478190/

This is the one and only Simple Minds tape that I possess. Have only had it for a short time as I bought at a car-boot sale the other day for all of 0,50€! Now, Simple Minds were a band that I really liked from 'Real To Real Cacophony' in 1979 to around the era just after 'New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)'and the 'Up On A Catwalk' single in 1984. After that the band took more or less the same road as U2 and turned into one of those turgid stadium rock bands. Still, their early stuff is really excellent and I'm glad that I still have all my vinyl.

This is a tape copy of their 'Live In The City Of Light' album which was released in 1987 on Virgin Records. I've never heard this album; nor this tape for that matter, which was; except for one track, recorded live at Le Zenith, Paris in August 1986 when the band was more or less (*groan*) at its zenith too.

Their single, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" which had been featured on the soundtrack to the highly successful 'The Breakfast Club' film in 1985 helped break the band in the USA but they were already stadium rock stars in the UK, Europe, Australia and Canada by then. I did buy a couple of their singles after '85 but I really went off them pretty fast.

Anyhow, this tape, though its J-card is a wee bit scuffed, will easily find a place in one of my boxes of tapes and I'm rather glad to have it as part of my collection.

Artwork of the original Mick Haggerty Minds' logo in gold on a black background is very nice indeed. The Claddagh; design for a traditional Irish ring given which represents love, loyalty, and friendship, drawing is by one William F. Ryan.
J-card is a 3-panel fold-out which features colour photos of each of the band members for that show in Paris.