In a new series, Glasgow World is sourcing people in Scotland’s music scene to hear about their five favourite Glasgow albums.
This is the first part of Billy Sloan’s episode, where he talks about Simple Minds’ New Gold Dreams.
This is the first part of Billy Sloan’s episode, where he talks about Simple Minds’ New Gold Dreams.
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MusicTranscript
00:00 And it's Friday, so we have our usual feast of entertainment.
00:03 Billy Sloane has been catching up with the former Thin White Duke.
00:07 David Bowie's Outside Tour has been one of those most critically acclaimed in many years.
00:11 So to find out all the inside information on the Outside Tour,
00:14 join me, Billy Sloane, with David Bowie, this Friday lunchtime on Scotland Today.
00:19 I know Sini's been up to the Glasgow World, which is going to talk through five albums,
00:23 that, you know, speak about your musical life.
00:27 And I may as well, since we're talking about it, just kick off with The Simple Minds' New Gold Dream.
00:33 This is a real turning point for the band.
00:36 What do you think was so significant about this album?
00:40 I think, I'll tell you in a second, but, you know, a few weeks ago I met you for the first time at Kelvin Grove.
00:45 We went to see Dell Ametri, and you came up and said hi, and we had a good chat.
00:50 And you said, "I want to do this thing with five albums."
00:52 And as soon as you walked away, I thought, "Oh, I really want to do that."
00:55 And then ten minutes later I thought, "No, I don't want to do that, because how can I get it down to five albums?"
01:02 Now, I've spent the last two weeks since we met changing the list and tossing albums out and adding albums in.
01:12 And if you ask me this same question in two weeks' time, it'll probably be five different albums.
01:18 I mean, the albums that didnae make it onto the list, Franz Ferdinand, Travis, Hugh & Cry, The Big Dish and Hipsway,
01:24 they never made the cut like in a golf match.
01:27 And then I could have chosen as my five albums A Letter From St. Paul by The Silencers,
01:33 Mother Nature's Kitchen by Kevin MacDermott Orchestra, Rain Town by Deacon Blue,
01:39 Jerry Burns by Jerry Burns, and I Walk Across The Rooftops by The Blue Nile.
01:44 So they were the ten records. They never made it, right?
01:47 So Simple Minds made it, you know, New Gold Dream '81, '82, '83, '84,
01:52 come out in 1982, got to number three in the UK charts.
01:55 And it was a real kind of turning point for Simple Minds because up until that point they had released
02:00 Life In A Day and Realty Real Cacophony in 1979.
02:04 They'd followed that up with Empires In Dance the following year.
02:07 And then the year after that there was a kind of double album, Sons In Fascination, Sister Feelings Cult.
02:12 And at that time they were a big kind of cult band.
02:14 They hadn't had any kind of real mainstream chart success.
02:18 But when New Gold Dream came along, you know, the music and the time and the stars kind of aligned.
02:25 Everything sort of came into place.
02:27 And they had the advantage that in April of '82 they released a single called Promised You A Miracle.
02:35 And that gave them their first, you know, bit of chart success in the UK.
02:41 It was their first big hit. It got to number 13 in the UK charts.
02:44 So that was a kind of good launch pad for what was to come in September later that year.
02:49 And I think what's significant about the record was that Simple Minds were always sort of a bit left field.
02:55 They were never going to be a total mainstream pop group. I don't even think they are to this day.
03:01 But, you know, there was a lot going on chart-wise and music-wise, not only in Scotland but everywhere else in the UK at that time.
03:07 And they were looking at some of the bands they loved, who were people like The Teardrop Explodes and The Associates
03:13 and Echo and The Bunnymen and Orange Juice and people like that.
03:17 And they were seeing these bands who were a little bit left field like they were having a bit of chart success without compromising.
03:24 And I think this was the album that, you know, they've never compromised I don't think anyhow really.
03:28 But I think this was the album where they kind of were able to compromise to an extent.
03:33 But they still came out with a real adventurous album.
03:36 You had three singles on it. You had Someone Somewhere is Summertime, You Promised You A Miracle
03:41 and you had Glittering Prize. Now, you know, they're no typical verse, chorus, verse, hooky songs.
03:47 But they are great simple mind songs.
03:50 And I think all three of those tracks were a fantastic foundation for the album as a whole.
03:56 And a few testaments to the album as well. I think Bono said that they took quite a bit of inspiration from the album.
04:01 Yeah, well...
04:02 The Unforgettable Fire.
04:03 The Unforgettable Fire, because when they were making The Unforgettable Fire, of course, that had just been out about 18 months.
04:09 And Bono and The Edge both say that, you know, it was a huge influence in fact.
04:13 I mention in the book that when, I think it was about a year, maybe 18 months ago, Bono was on Desert Island Discs.
04:20 And when he was picking his favourite records to take to Desert Island, the final record that he chose was Someone Somewhere and Summertime.
04:27 Because he was just such a great admirer of simple minds.
04:32 And that's kind of where the friendship began because...
04:35 I've got the date here. It was...
04:39 Here's the date. I'm looking at my notes.
04:41 Yeah, on the 4th of January, 1985, I was in the house.
04:46 And Jim Care's dad, Jimmy, who is... He's passed away now, sadly.
04:51 But he was one of my dearest, closest friends. I loved the man. I still love the man.
04:56 And he phoned me up on the 4th of January, 1985.
04:59 And he went, "I've got a visitor."
05:02 And I went, "Who?" And he went, "Bono and his wife, Ali, have just turned up."
05:07 "They heard that Simple Minds were playing in the Barrel Land tonight."
05:10 "Because I think they were doing three nights or something just after the New Year."
05:13 "And he says he wants to go to the gig."
05:15 I went, "Great! Brilliant! We'll invite them along."
05:18 So Bono and Ali, his wife, came to the Barrel Land.
05:21 I think that was the first time Bono had ever been to the Barrel Land.
05:23 He'd never set foot in the place because YouTube wouldn't have played it at that point, I don't think.
05:27 And... What do you call it?
05:30 We were sitting up the back of the Barrel Land.
05:33 And then he was twitching. You could just see him kind of twitching.
05:36 And he disappeared at the encore.
05:38 And walked round to the side of the stage.
05:41 And Jim said, "You know, there's a guy here."
05:44 He came to my door and knocked the door.
05:47 And he said, "I want to be in your band. I'm a singer."
05:50 And Jim says, "But we've already got a singer."
05:52 He says, "I don't care. I want to be in your band."
05:54 And he says, "Can you sing?"
05:56 He says, "I think I can sing."
05:58 And I said, "Well, I'll sing for you."
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10:10 And so, Billy Smith, David Smith, Peter Smith, Samuel Smith, Ian Smith, Kenneth Smith, and one guy putting in...
10:20 So you weren't sending ten pairs of tickets to the same guy.
10:24 So we tried as far as we could.
10:26 And then I had them all in a big black bin liner.
10:28 And I walked down to George Square.
10:30 The main post office was still in George Square at that time.
10:34 And I put them through the letter box at like half five in the morning.
10:38 And two weeks later, fifteen hundred people turned up at Barland.
10:42 And, you know, video shoots are by their very nature a bit kind of tedious because you've got to do the same thing ten times.
10:48 And the audience were very patient.
10:50 They kind of get herded around like cattle until they move the lights and change the camera positions and stuff.
10:56 And Simple Minds filmed the video.
10:58 It was Jim kind of lip syncing to the track.
11:02 And then I came on and I thanked the audience for being so patient and for being so enthusiastic.
11:06 And said that the video was going to look great.
11:08 And as a little sort of thank you, I was going to bring a band on to play a couple of songs.
11:14 And they were in the back.
11:16 They were a little bit nervous because they'd never played the Barland before.
11:19 So just go easy on them.
11:21 And I said, "Will you please put your hands together for Mel Gaynor and the Self Abusers?"
11:26 And Simple Minds came on and they played like an hour long set of, you know, all their tracks from their various albums.
11:34 And that became the catalyst for using the Barland as a venue.
11:40 Because after that, you know, you're due to Suzie and the Banshees, The Clash, R.E.M., Big Country, Bowie.
11:46 All that kind of stuff.
11:48 And the place has never looked back.
11:50 And, you know, in the absence of the Apollo, we're never going to get another venue that's like the Apollo.
11:56 But for me, the Barland is up there on par.
11:59 And it's the greatest venue with the exception of the Apollo.
12:05 Again, it's never been my pleasure to go and see a concert.
12:08 And it's a sensational place.