The current Simple Minds lineup have a LOT of history under their boots that needs a book to spell out
With everything up in the air I have had little time for blogging as I am negotiating working from home, but at least I still have a job. Hopefully you do too! The job of Simple Minds is normally to tour frequently but those plans are now on hold as other projects have sprung up of late. Primarily, the fan-driven book on Simple Minds that This Day In Music Books are putting together with the title of “Simple Minds – The Book of Brilliant Things.”
This Day In Music Books | 2018 | 449 pp.
You may remember that This Day In Music Books were the publishers who produced the great OMD book, “Pretending To See The Future” a year or so back. Their m.o. is to get fan involvement to add to the band’s story and since OMD and Simple Minds are peers and have toured together, I can imagine that Simple Minds took one look at that and thought, “we need something like that!” There are a handful of Simple Minds books out there, and after 40+ years, the time is more than ripe for something a bit more definitive than what has already been published. I only have the serviceable [if slim] 1985 volume “Glittering Prize” by Dave Thomas that takes the band up to the end of the “Sparkle In The Rain” campaign, so it’s a little long in tooth!
Omnibus Press | Dave Thomas | 96 pp. | 1985
I will be lining up for something to tell the full, tumultuous story. Truth be told, I was surprised that the notion of a solid book on the band took this long to germinate as it is something that was needed for the last 2-3 years. Especially with the band charting again of late. I want to see coffee table books on all of my favorite bands, and few are a dear to me as this one.
As with the OMD book, the band are soliciting fan anecdotes to flesh it out and this makes the event participatory. The band have put it out there that they want to know how we discovered Simple Minds and became fans. Whether by radio, TV or even the [gasp] music press. All memories of seeing the bands live are wanted, so if you have your own spin on things, by all means get it down and send it in. They want any details you can muster. I can tell you that I got two of my submissions into the OMD book, so the chance to add your perspective on things is very real. If you are a regular at PPM, you probably already know that I have a lot of words I could probably edit down to submit with my thoughts and experiences of seeing the band. Send your words and remembrances to:
newsimplemindsbook@gmail.com
There’s no word on when the production deadline for this will be ending, so better safe than sorry! The word first got out about three weeks ago so hit those keys and get writing if you want to be a part of this. The OMD book was very browsable and rewarding and Simple Minds deserve similar treatment.
– 30 –
Post-Punk Monk 
Hi Mr. Monk,
Sounds like a great idea. I ordered the A-Ha book from that
site, so we’ll so how good that comes out. Which comes with
an exclusive single also.
A good simple minds book would be cool, maybe it will come
with an exclusive 7 inch also. I don’t know if I can add anything,
because I’ve only seem them live twice, once in 1985, and once
last year.
This book is too dense for me to read or understand:
The Race Is The Prize
Written by: Alfred Bos
Published by: Virgin Books
Published: October 1984
ISBN: 0 86369 066 1
Number of pages: 127
This one is much better:
Simple Minds
Written by: Adam Sweeting
Published by: Sidgwick & Jackson
Published: 1988
ISBN: 0 283 99581 5
Number of pages: 186
This one is a cool addition:
Street Fighting Years
Written by: Alfred Bos
Published by: Virgin Books.
Published: December 1989
ISBN: 0 86369 333 4
Number of pages: 64
This one looks great:
A Visual Documentary
Written by: Mike Wrenn
Published by: Omnibus Press
Published: April 1990
ISBN: 0 7119 2076 1
Number of pages: 96
So if you can find those, they are worth adding
to the collection.
later
-1
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negative1ne – “The Race Is The Prize” is legendary for its “what the hell?” obtuse density. Worse, it was the only “official” book of this lot, which said a lot about the state of the band at that time. A more straightforward book had been begun and was tabled before then. Simpleminds.org has the full story on this and all the other books you cite as well.
I’ve seen none of these books otherwise they would be on my shelves. I got the one I have at a close out of remaindered books in a book outlet store off the interstate on a trip to Atlanta back in the early 90s. It was $2.99 or some such.
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Hi Mr. Monk,
Yes, I was lucky enough to find most
on Ebay and Amazon many years ago
for my collection.
Amazon still has a couple of the Race is the Prize,
but most are over $50. There’s a copy of the
Simple Minds – Adam Sweeting one for $20 though.
———–
I loved the Glittering Prize book, because it matched
the artwork of the era, and was the only information
I had for the band for ages. The thing that I really
enjoyed was the discography at the back.
However, one item, that sent me on a chase for
ages, was the infamous UK Waterfront 12 inch
entry. Which claimed there was an extra song
on there.
From dreamgiver:
“The early discographies, which all copied from each other, mentioned a song called If You Want My Love. I’ve searched through old cuttings, press releases, posters and magazine adverts for a source of this rumour, but drawn a blank. It turns out that the mysterious third track was mentioned in The Music Master trade book (a publication by Music Week magazine) and it’s assumed the first discographies got it from there. Meanwhile the band have denied ever recording a song of that name.”
fun times.
later
-1
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negative1ne – I’m not going to spend prime dollars on any old SM books, but the Adam Sweeting one is probably the best one of the lot. $20 isn’t bad, but not right now. Yes, that discography listing for “Waterfront” with three songs had me going until the web era when it became easier to tell that it was an error. Once Dream Giver was a resource, I’ve trusted him as the top source for factual SM info [though his slipping on updating takes a lot of patience].
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