SIMPLE MINDS Announce ‘Street Fighting Years’ box set, out 6th March

SIMPLE MINDS Announce 'Street Fighting Years' box set, out 6th March

On 6th March, UMC will release a box set of Simple Minds’ 1989 album, Street Fighting Years. Produced by Trevor Horn (and Stephen Lipson), Street Fighting Years was the band’s fourth number one album in the UK and featured their first UK number-one single, Belfast Child.

An artistically ambitious and elegant album, it arrived at a time of personnel changes. It saw the band reduced to a trio of Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill and Mick MacNeil with session musicians playing the bass and most of the drum roles (notably Manu Katché from Peter Gabriel’s band and former Police drummer, Stewart Copeland).

Recorded in Scotland between 1988 and 1989, it was also a stylistic departure from the sound of Simple Minds’ previous album, Once Upon a Time. After 10 years of recording and releasing music, the band had learnt their craft, becoming skilled musicians and songwriters. This resulted in an album with a sense of drama and cinematic in quality.

Having recently turned 30 years of age, and at the end of an incredibly divisive decade in British politics – not to mention global tensions – an outward-looking maturity emerged in frontman Jim Kerr’s lyric writing, which found him confronting major themes of the times.

“I was 30 years old and I wanted to write about Belfast….Apartheid and I wanted to write about the policies of Margret Thatcher. I’m glad I wanted to do that.” Jim Kerr

This is demonstrated on songs that tackle such subjects as Apartheid (Mandela Day, and a cover of Peter Gabriel’s Biko), the on going troubles in Northern Ireland (Belfast Child), knife crime (Street Fighting Years – a very personal lyric about the loss of a Kerr family close friend), as well as the Poll Tax, Berlin Wall and nuclear submarines off the coast of Scotland.

Musically, where Once Upon a Time was influenced by American soul and gospel, Street Fighting Years was a much more atmospheric album, incorporating many styles, including Celtic and folk influences. It was Trevor Horn who recognised a folk quality about the band, especially in Kerr’s voice, and encouraged them to explore new territory.

Nowhere is this exemplified more than on Belfast Child. Released three months prior to the album on the Ballad of the Streets EP, Belfast Child was based on the Irish folk song She Moved Through The Fair. Kerr heard the melody of this song a few days after the horrific Enniskillen bombing, and wrote a song trying to relate to the people of Northern Ireland and those who had lost loved ones. The song received praise for addressing such a painful and emotive subject, including from Q Magazine (who also awarded the album five stars).

Equally contemplative songs on the album include Soul Crying Out (about Margaret Thatcher’s government) and Let It All Come Down. Conversely, though in large part a highly meditative and reflective album, Street Fighting Years also features more strident, uptempo numbers, such as Take a Step Back, Wall of Love and Kick It In. Songs which showcase the guitar-playing mastery of Charlie Burchill.

Standout songs on the album include This Is Your Land, which saw the band fulfil a teenage dream, as it featured one of their heroes and biggest influences – Lou Reed, and Mandela Day. Approached by Jerry Dammers to write a song celebrating Nelson Mandela (who was still imprisoned at that time), Mandela Day was completed in under an hour and recorded in less than a day. It made it’s live debut not long after at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute at Wembley Stadium, in June 1988.

Street Fighting Years was a creative triumph for Simple Minds and attained the remarkable commercial achievement of securing a number one single with a song almost seven-minutes in length. Although, as ever with Simple Minds there is hope and optimism, also present is a wistfulness on an album that captures, and is a reminder of, the end of one of the most tumultuous decades of the 20th century.

Street Fighting Years will be released in multiple formats which are all fully endorsed by the band. The album was remastered at Abbey Road studios by Andrew Walters and contains the album as well as a bonus disc of B-sides, edits and 12 remixes and a previously unissued Verona show from 1989 round the set off.

The booklet was designed by long time contributor Stuart Crouch and contains sleeve notes by Daryl Easlea who interviewed the band and producer Trevor Horn extensively for the set. They provide a fantastic insight into how the album was recorded and produced.

FORMATS:

4-CD BOX SET

DISC ONE: Street Fighting Years

Street Fighting Years

Soul Crying Out

Wall of Love

This Is Your Land

Take A Step Back

Kick It In

Let It All Come Down

Mandela Day

Belfast Child

Biko

When Spirits Rise

DISC TWO: Edits, B-Sides and Remixes

Belfast Child – Edit

Mandela Day- Edit .

This Is Your Land – Edit

Saturday Girl – B-Side

Year of The Dragon – B-Side

This Is Your Land – DJ Version

Kick It In – Edit

Waterfront – ’89 Remix

Big Sleep – Live

Kick It In – Unauthorised Mix

Sign O’ The Times – Edit

Let It All Come Down – Edit

Sign O’ The Times – B-Side

Jerusalem B-Side

Sign O’ The Times – C. J. Mackintosh Remix

DISC THREE: Verona

Theme for Great Cities ’90

When Spirits Rise

Street Fighting Years

Mandela Day

This Is Your Land

Soul Crying Out

Waterfront

Ghost Dancing

Book of Brilliant Things

Don’t You (Forget About Me)

DISC FOUR: Verona

Gaelic Melody

Kick It In

Let It All Come Down

Belfast Child

Sun City

Biko

Sanctify Yourself

East at Easter

Alive and Kicking

2-CD DELUXE VERSION

DISC ONE: Street Fighting Years

Street Fighting Years

Soul Crying Out

Wall of Love

This Is Your Land

Take A Step Back

Kick It In

Let It All Come Down

Mandela Day

Belfast Child

Biko

When Spirits Rise

DISC TWO: Edits, B-Sides and Remixes

Belfast Child – Edit

Mandela Day- Edit.

This Is Your Land – Edit

Saturday Girl – B-Side

Year of The Dragon – B-Side

This Is Your Land – DJ Version

Kick It In – Edit

Waterfront – ’89 Remix

Big Sleep – Live

Kick It In – Unauthorised Mix

Sign O’ The Times – Edit

Let It All Come Down – Edit

Sign O’ The Times – B-Side

Jerusalem B-Side

Sign O’ The Times – C. J. Mackintosh Remix

1-CD VERSION

Street Fighting Years

Soul Crying Out

Wall of Love

This Is Your Land

Take A Step Back

Kick It In

Let It All Come Down

Mandela Day

Belfast Child

Biko

When Spirits Rise

2-LP

SIDE ONE

Street Fighting Years

Soul Crying Out

Wall of Love

SIDE TWO

This Is Your Land

Take A Step Back

Kick It In

SIDE THREE

Let It All Come Down

Mandela Day

Belfast Child

SIDE FOUR

Biko

When Spirits Rise

Over the past 10 years, Simple Minds has rekindled the magic that made them a vital artistic force in their early days, found themselves referenced by younger artists and playing to tens of thousands of people every year, all over the world. They have been the recipient of the Q Awards Lifetime Achievement and received universal critical acclaim for their recent albums. 2015’s Big Music was described by MOJO magazine as “their best album in 30 years”, and last year’s Walk Between Worlds was acclaimed across the board and became their most successful album in over two decades, culminating in their largest US tour to date.

To celebrate their 40th anniversary, Simple Minds embark on an 11-month world tour in early 2020. Beginning in Europe in February, they tour the UK in April:

14th Cardiff Motorpoint Arena

15th Bournemouth International Centre

17th London The SSE Arena Wembley

18th Leeds First Direct Arena

20th Brighton Centre

22nd Dublin 3 Arena

24th Birmingham Resorts World Arena

25th Glasgow The SSE Hydro Arena

Due to demand extra shows recently announced for August 2020:

13th Aberdeen P&J Live

14th Hull Bonus Arena

15th Newcastle Utilita Arena

21st Nottingham Motorpoint Arena

22nd Liverpool M&S Bank Arena

As they turn 40, Simple Minds legacy is something to be proud of as their story continues to evolve.

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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