Simple Minds have announced they will perform a special outdoor show in the grounds of English Heritage’s Audley End House & Gardens in Saffron Walden, Essex, as part of this summer’s Heritage Live concert series.
The iconic group will perform on Thursday 11th August 2022, set to the stunning backdrop of one of England’s grandest mansions in the heart of the stunning Essex countryside. Very special guests for the evening will be Big Country with special guests The Skids’ frontman Richard Jobson, Hue and Cry, the Joanna Eden Band, and Caezar.
Simple Minds have been musical pioneers for 40 glittering years. Capturing the mood of the post-punk era, when the angry sounds of 1977 were splintering into a thousand different shapes, they emerged with a style rooted in the art-rock of David Bowie and the electronic dance of Donna Summer.
They went on to become one of the great bands of their generation, deploying rousing choruses and booming atmospherics to provide a soundtrack that has endured. They topped the American chart with ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ and followed suit in the UK with ‘Belfast Child’. In selling over 60 million records, they have seen three of their 20 studio albums reach number one in the UK – ‘Sparkle In The Rain’, ‘Once Upon A Time’ and ‘Street Fighting Years’ – a chart-topping feat equalled by their live album ‘Live In The City Of Light’ and the compilation ‘Glittering Prize’.
A spellbinding touring band, they have graced the world’s biggest stadiums. They starred at Live Aid and played three momentous London shows in honour of Nelson Mandela. The past decade has also seen a remarkable resurgence, their world-class credentials acknowledged by a Q magazine Inspiration award in 2014 and an Ivor Novello in 2016.
They are now marking their 40th anniversary with a world tour, live album and career-spanning compilation. As their recent albums ‘Big Music’, ‘Simple Minds Acoustic’ and ‘Walk Between Worlds’ have shown, they remain a band touched by magic – willing to experiment while remaining true to their original instincts.
Big Country were originally formed in 1981 and broke massively worldwide with the release of classic singles ‘Fields Of Fire’, ‘Chance’ and signature song ‘In A Big Country’, which went on to become massive worldwide hits, selling over 2 million copies and drove debut album ‘The Crossing’ to three prestigious Grammy nominations in the USA.
Further hit singles including ‘East Of Eden’, ‘Just a Shadow’, ‘Where The Rose Is Sown’ cemented their place as icons of anthemic music.
They will be joined at Audley End House & Gardens by Richard Jobson, frontman of pioneering Scottish punk band the Skids. Jobson, who is also a TV presenter, co-founded The Skids with Big Country co-founder Stuart Adamson, who passed away in 2001.
Brothers Patrick and Gregory Kane formed Hue and Cry in 1983 and the duo made a huge impact in the late 80’s with the albums ‘Seduced and Abandoned’ and ‘Remote’, as well as massive hit singles such as ‘Labour of Love.’
The band have sold tens of thousands of concert tickets worldwide, as well as performing alongside some of the greatest artists in music history, appearing with U2, James Brown, Madonna, Al Green and Van Morrison to name but a few. The duo were recognised by their peers when they were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scottish Music Awards.
Saffron Walden’s own Joanna Eden Band will Described by Time Out as ‘The UK’s answer to Diana Krall and Norah Jones’, Joanna Eden has performed her jazz influenced original music all over the world and supported world-class artists including Jamie Cullum, the Buena Vista Social Club, Ronan Keating, and the Blockheads.
Caezar, who will open the show, were formed in 2017 by two former members of cult Scottish band The Silencers.
INTERVIEW: Simple Minds’ Jim Kerr on new single ‘Act of Love’, the band’s very first performance & more – Listen here.
Tickets for the event will be available on pre-sale on Wednesday 30th March at 9 am, and on general sale on Friday 1st April at 9 am from Ticketmaster. Pre-sale tickets can be accessed by registering in advance at Heritagelive.net.
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