Simple Minds will return with their twentieth studio album Sacrosanct in January 2027 and will embark on their V Tour to celebrate five decades of music.
Lead singer Jim Kerr appeared on the Lorraine show to speak about the band and their plans for the future.
Speaking about their new single , “Beginner Boys” which is about his grandsons, Kerr told Lorraine: “The sort of seeds of the song, we knew they were boys. We knew they were twins. That was 15 years ago, some songs take a wee while to get right.
“But I was thinking about the world they were going to inherit and their generation. Different from my own and all that, and it sort of fed some of the lyrics of the song.”
The band initially played under the name Johnny & The Self-Abusers, before changing their name to Simple Minds in 1977. The name was inspired by the David Bowie song “The Jean Genie”, which includes the phrase ‘He’s so simple-minded.’
“How can it be 50 years? But we’ve been blessed,” said Kerr. “You know, this this is what we wanted to do with our lives. When we started the band, we wanted to take it around the world.
“We wanted to be in a great live band. And all these decades later, here we are still getting the chance to be one.”
The foundation of Simple Minds for the past five decades has been built on the friendship of Kerr and Charlie Burchill who first met when they were kids in Toryglen.
Speaking about their Bond, Kerr explained: “Well in a way we are (like brothers). I’ll be with him later on today in the studio. We share so much in common, but having said that we’re very different.
“He’s very much a musician. He sees the world through music and his instruments. Obviously, you know I’m from a different walk. We both feel incredibly fortunate. This band has been our lives.