This is the remarkable joint memoir by Simple Minds founding members and follows the fantastical, chaotic, and global adventures of two friends who met in an estate in Toryglen, on Glasgow’s southside when they were just eight years old and went on to found one of the most influential bands of the 20th century.
From their pioneering art-rock early days to the sublime New Gold Dream album… From the quintessential ‘80s hit Don’t You Forget About Me, globalised by the Brat Pack’s Breakfast Club to 60 million albums sold globally and number one hits the world over, Simple Minds makes up a vital part of the world’s cultural tapestry…
In a world increasingly divided, and amid a loneliness epidemic that’s making it difficult for people to connect, Jim and Charlie’s story is one of enduring friendship, and the love between two men who found family in each other amid the anarchy of rockstardom.
Their story traces the arc of working-class aspiration, social change, chemical awakenings, cultural infiltration, unwavering drive and thrilling creative fusion. Along the way, there are brushes with David Bowie, Bob Dylan, U2 and Nelson Mandela. Breakfast with Alice Cooper. Dinner with Lou Reed. And a few scrapes with the boys in blue.
Our Secrets Are The Same explores a bond which has encompassed stratospheric highs and humbling lows, marriages and divorces, fatherhood, fickle fame, tricky inter-band dynamics, the occasional explosive bust up, and a ruthless streak to rival the Sicilian Mafia.
This isn’t just story of two rock stars, but of two sons, brothers, partners and parents who have never forgotten where they come from. Two men who have remained deeply bonded to their roots and each other, while fulfilling a teenage dream to form a world-class live band and take their music around the globe.
Fascinating and funny, evocative and inspiring, this unforgettable memoir captures a unique journey through life and music, and a friendship like no other.
Simple Minds have just completed the hugely successful US leg of their Global Tour (their largest since 1985), playing to over one million people in the past year alone. In June 2025, the band performed their largest UK concert in over 30 years, when they play to 30,000 people in their hometown of Glasgow.
Original members and core songwriters, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill formed Simple Minds in 1977 and went on to turn it into one of the biggest, most influential, eclectic and pioneering groups of the past half century. Simple Minds emerged from Glasgow’s post-punk scene, transitioning from restless art-rockers to electro futurists and passionate pop contenders before becoming, finally, a global rock institution. Their critically acclaimed run of records between 1979 and 1985 are cited as a key influence by artists as diverse as Primal Scream, Mogwai, Manic Street Preachers, Moby, Peter Gabriel, Horrors and Chvrches. Their numerous global hits include ‘Alive and Kicking’, ‘Promised You A Miracle’, ‘Waterfront’, ‘(Don’t You) Forget About Me’, ‘Belfast Child’, ‘Sanctify Yourself’, ‘She’s a River’ and ‘Let There Be Love’. Simple Minds were recently the subject of critically acclaimed documentary, Everything is Possible, and continue to perform to huge crowds all over the world.
Graeme Thomson is the author of several acclaimed music books, including Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush; Small Hours: The Long Night of John Martyn; and Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds. Graeme is pop columnist for the Spectator and writes on music, literature and popular culture for a number of publications, including the Guardian, Radio Times and Uncut.
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