Everyone knows Simple Minds as that 1980s Alt band who did that song “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Yeah, the famous theme song from that seminal teen flick from the Reagan era “The Breakfast Club.” Now don’t get me wrong…both the song and the movie were okay. My fave character from that club was Ally Sheedy’s character, the sulky Allison Reynolds. Probably because I had liked her messy hair and brooding demeanor.
Anyhow, I didn’t come here to talk about the film. Prior to Simple Minds becoming a huge 80s rock/pop outfit, they actually put out some decent albums. One song I’ve particularly loved was “Travel” from the 1980 release “Empires and Dance.”
With Simple Minds’ third album release, “Empires and Dance” mixed the post-punk/art rock atmospheric guitar effects with dark dance beats. Hints of slight 1980 European political overtones blended right into the slightly Roxy Music influenced sound. The Scottish based Simple Minds continued to fine tune their own sound until the massive bubblegum hit exploded in the US. By the time “Alive and Kicking” was released, the band briefly transformed into US arena rock darlings.
For sometime I’ve been trying to find that particular early Simple Minds song as an MP3. Imagine my surprise when “Travel” appeared out of nowhere during my search for another song; “Being Boiled” by The Human League.
Proof that there is a god, and it comes in the form of YouTube. Dig hard enough, and you will find. Here I found a UK television appearance promoting this single. Since mercury is presently in retrograde, this blast from the past is fitting. Or shall I say a past from the blast?
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