TURN OFF YOUR MIND - RELAX AND FLOAT DOWN STREAM!
For those lucky to have the luxury, we all differ on what makes a good holiday or break from work?
For me that involves being surrounded by nature while losing myself in activities of the kind that some say make your heart and soul feel alive.
Writing. Reading. Cooking. Watching old black and white films all feature.
I'd also include hiking, biking, and swimming.
Especially swimming!
Joy apart, who knows what Leila (pic) was thinking and feeling on entering the fresh water from the nearby loch. Meanwhile the experience of splashing around always re ignites a passion that links directly back to memories of my childhood.
It's been said that a new law operates when you swim. That you enter another element of being while letting go, trusting fully the waters that carry your body.
Although not a comparison physically, I correlate that sensation to songwriting. When having cast all doubts and fears aside, you are unable to hesitate further with an idea that has lit up your mind.
It is then that you "go with the flow - relaxed and secure - that your thoughts are moving freely within whatever direction the stream of consciousness seems to be taking you."
So what makes a good holiday again?
Well, Loch Tay on as glorious a day as it was yesterday, makes you feel like you are an entire world away from all that is crap on earth.
And the notion of that alone, makes for a great holiday.
How about you?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoD-llVXosc
Hello Leila! Looking good. For me it’s being by the water, Atlantic coast at sunset with some good company, good music, empty beaches, and surfers doing their thing... that’s a disconnect! Happy holidays..
Love the Scottish countryside particularly the High land Balm for the Soul ❤️
I'm taking my dog to the beach for the first time on Thursday, can't wait to see his reaction xx
Jim Kerr, the contact with water a landscape of nature brings me to the most sacred solitude. I love it... I think Leila also loves ...🤩🤩🤩🤩
Aww, wonderful. Lovely, beautiful water, beautiful dog so we'll groomed. It's fabulous. It is.. always nice to have a little break from no work and for me it is always wonderful when it's by the water 🙂 I used to always go to Santa Monica beach pier I love sitting on the beach there as well, all the people sitting on the beach sand dressed in anything is so comfortable and a show in of itself I Love it! I didn't mean to post so late after you posted but it has been a very busy day for me and a lot of thinking one lol. I usually just dwell in my perfect gorgeous peace don't have to think much, I'm just know getting over this little bump in the road which only makes me learn and get better in areas that need growth. Well I try anyway, I Loved this nice refreshing post of yours 🌷🌻💕😘💋
My favourite place in the world is Barbados where everyone is happy and smiling I dive and swim and enjoy the beautiful peacefulness of the island The music is great as well I understand your sentiments
The sea, the sea, the sea... has to be around me! The melody of the waves, this fresh air, the stranded shells, feeling the soft sand under my barefeet and the wonderful unique smell of it all. Nothing more to become a perfect (holi)day!
In lovely Boscomb Beach in Bournemouth! The water and wind is soothing for my soul!
Love to swim and hike but holiday is starting friday for my kids and I will be in hospital friday for a eye surgary 😢 After that i will enjoy the summer holiday with a lot of swimming🏊 if all goes well and a lot of hiking and horses🏇
Such a great picture of Leila, what a cutie. For me, it's being at the ocean that makes me happy. It clears my mind, and is magnificent. Today I lost my friend that had ALS, today is a very sad day for all who love him. Thanks for your post, it put a smile on my face. 🌊
Love the seaside very much. And from child on, Scotland is my land of dreams...and now, in September we will visit for the first time.....I still can not believe that this dream will come true......
I am fortunate to be able to spend my summers living & working by the beach. There is nothing better than watching the waves crash on the beach. It soothes my soul.
Anglesea, Victoria. Anytime of the year but I particularly love it in winter. Yes I still have a paddle in the water when it's cold! The ocean is so good for the soul. 🇦🇺💕
Aah look at her, she looks as if she’s thinking ”Aren’t you going to join me?” I can also highly recommend Loch Lomond and the Trossachs for anyone visiting Scotland. Whenever I think of swimming when I was young I’m reminded of my very strict swimming instructress. We had no choice but to swim for our lives! “Swim girls!...SWIM!!” echoing round the pool 😄 at least it got us taught. Working all year round it’s nice to spend holiday time relaxing which is what I’ll be doing in 4 weeks time when I visit Playa Flamenca in Spain with family 😎
Great photo, has Leila..been for a paddle? I like to visit Loch Lubnaig, when in Scotland, always beautiful...well breathtaking really, sit by the banks of the Loch for a while with a coffee from the little cabin (you maybe know it?), it's such a fab place to be. Can't beat a trip to the coast also, big skies, sunshine and sea air, with fish and chips to round of a seaside trip..and relax ahhh! 😁
My holidays are best spent close to the sea, water and in the nature or my little garden. All year around actually😊and also time at home spent with my kids, cats and friends. Reading, walking and watching some good movies. It's for sure the small things in life that matters🤗Enjoy your holiday!!! X
Sweet Leila pic! A change of scene is always as good as a rest, when one day can seem like two. I always wish for peace in my soul, breathtaking views (if possible), a great place to stay, be it a five star hotel or a tent (alone or with great company) and simple delicious local food. Sounds like something I may be doing next week.... 😁
For me it's the company that I share the holiday experience with, whether its enjoying the nature that this earth of ours offer, Lochs (Loch Tay is one I've enjoyed), mountains, hills and fresh air but sitting on a sunbed relaxing in the hot sun with friends and family is special. Enjoy your walk with Leila. X x
The most recent was spending it celebrating my dearest friend as she married in gorgeous surroundings. Super laid back. Water on the bay the boats and a rare double rainbow.
On our holiday in India we went to Elephanta island to see the caves. On the boat I had my earphones in and Utopia came along. I cried with happiness. My lovely husband understands how important music is to me and hugged me. In his arms we watched the sun set. No matter how old I'll be, I will never forget!
A great holiday is for me going to the seaside, relax with music and have excursions occasionally. Also having a break in the countryside. I usually go near Macerata! Enjoy your lochs!
Love spending days of on the golf course. This year i will only have 1 week off , so i include Stockholm, football and golf to that week.
On my holidays now and i love to go and discover our beautiful country (the Netherlands ) and to share it with people whom i care about. Mind you... in September i will do the same in Scotland 😁
Nice explanation of what holidays mean to you Jim !...I’m going home tomorrow night with my wife and two children back to Scotland for the first time in four years !.. I’m leaving the heat here in Lyon and coming back to cool rainy days !.. and I can’t wait !... chances are I’ll put on 4 Kg’s catch up with people and a wonderful diet of fry ups , fish supers and a good curry along with a few beers !... so that’s going back to my roots and living my holiday the way it should be !🏴🍺
My last 'holiday' was an overnighter to Newcastle (Oz) to see the V8s (Aussie car races) and then off to see Simple Minds!! Didn't have to feed anyone or worry about my Mum it was all about enjoying the beautiful scenery of Newcastle and being blown away (yet again!) by you lot!! Thankyou so muchxxx
LAY ACROSS MY BIG BRASS BED!
Patti Smith is due back in Glasgow, and for me that is something to look forward to. Plenty of long term fans will again relish the opportunity - and for those who have yet to see Patti live? Well, they can look forward to something unique.
Fact is they really don't make rock and roll stars like Patti Smith any more, and I'm not sure that they ever did before she came along.
One listen to her debut will verify that claim.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPO0bTaWcFQ
Having never played the venue in which she and her band are due to perform, there is little I can advise her about the experience that awaits. She is already familiar with how passionate her fans in Scotland are in any case. That said though, I do hope for her sake that she now keeps her room tidier than the accompanying photograph suggest? Otherwise, the feisty cleaner/chambermaids that work in our city's main hotels will not hesitate in holding back with their opinions on the matter.
I know this, because my grandmother was one.
God knows how many different beds I myself have slept in, or how many hotel rooms I have occupied since I started touring intensively with Simple Minds? Could easily be nearly 3,000 - at a rough estimation. That is a lot of different pillows for sure.
Then again Charlie and I had been travelling for a few years even before Simple Minds, long before we could ever afford any kind roof over our heads while doing so.
Instead we'd 'bed down for the night' in various European train stations, while occasionally sleeping in the long grass along the side of endless motorways/autobahns as we hitch hiked up and down the continent's main arteries.
Every few nights we'd splash out and book a room at a youth hostel where we would sleep like babies after taking the longest showers.
Memorably we spent one very cold night in a phone box on the outskirts of Newcastle. Sleeping while standing and trying to keep warm from the sleet outside, still high after witnessing a mesmerising performance by our then favourite band, The Doctors Of Madness.
We almost froze that night as a result of not being able to hitch a lift back the 150 miles to Glasgow.
I often find myself recalling the experiences of those times. In doing so I appreciate even more how comfortable we are looked after on tour these days.
More so when returning from a lengthy world tour, and finally
climbing into one’s own bed.
Exhausted.
Happy.
And entirely grateful for the life that music has given.
You really do need to write a book, it’s great to know your still grounded Jim, lots of people would love to have had a career in music and never did for one reason or another.....to have done so and to make so many people happy must be an amazing thing. When the musics in you, giving up isn’t an option is it but don’t stop........Ever and while you’ve still got something to say, say it !!!
Jim, those sentiments struck such a chord with me!! I left school in 1991 just as my favourite band were touring the Real life album. Started labouring with a builder to scratch money to watch you guys. During the next few months me and my pals slept rough on or outside train stations in Milton keynes, Maine rd, birmingham, and Sheffield .Why?? We couldn't afford hotels, and the last train back to Anglesey that night would have meant missing th encore section.......NO CHANCE!!!!!!!😂😂 Up the ever ready rough sleepers!!!!💪💪💪👍👍💗
First time I heard Simple Minds live was in Gentofte stadium in Denmark. We took the ferry from Norway, and the local train from Copenhagen to the stadium. I still remember coming off the train and hearing the bass lines from “Waterfront” from the sound check. Instant nirvana. The concert started exactly when it was to start (unlike many other bands who seem to think letting people wait is fun). And it was amazing. Simply amazing. A party from start to end. Left with the same train, heads spinning. Spent the night in an 18-person room at a hostel with lots of strangers. Several guys were ill during the night, one didn’t even make to the sink/wc but ended up throwing up on the floor. And half-assed trying to get everything up with a towel afterwards. One guy brought a woman into the room and started serious business on a table before a huge guy who wanted to sleep tossed them out. But that got another guy in a bed close by started, so he kept doing his private business quite loudly for the the next 10-15 minutes. Yup. Those were the days. And totally worth it.
Nothing beats sleeping in the most beautiful bed at Villa Angela, Taormina Sicily after 42 hours of travel from Newcastle Australia - pure heaven!
Maybe there's a roadmovie in Jim and Charlies hitchhike adventures?
Patty Smith oh Wow ! :O Never got the chance to see her live, and yeah sure would love to see her ! 😍
Saw her and met her at The Rainbow in Finsbury Park. She was like a small bird.She acted like a fan after I told her I'd travelled 500miles to see her. Precious memories.
I had the chance to see her live a few years ago in a historical cinema where also concerts take place in my city as my son was was working there as light engineer on that evening. Patti is such a fantastic performer. Really enjoyed her concert. Even my son liked her though it definitely was not his time when she started making music.
I absolutely have to agree with YOU about Patti. Loved her music for years but never saw her live until the Hop Farm in 2010. Blew. My. Mind. I can't put into words just HOW she was so brilliant, she just WAS.
I love how you stay so grounded Jim, it’s a lovely and rare quality for someone so famous! Simple Minds have given me the opportunity to travel to so many places I would never have been if not to see them and in doing so met some wonderful people and made some amazing memories - thank you. Pity I didn’t know you back in your hitchhiking days, I don’t live too far from Newcastle. I don’t have a big brass bed but it’s very comfy all the same! X🎶❤️🎶😜
So far I've never had the chance to see her live, must be an extrodinary, glorious experience. To the lucky ones who are going, enjoy! Fortunately this post reminds me not only of my early journeys with only a sleeping back and a thin sleeping pat but also that a want to read Patti Smith's new book "Devotion". The book review I found weeks ago really made me curious about it.
Love the way you takes back in time. I can vividly imagine both you and Charlie in your adventures writing Simple Minds HISTORY for us. Thank you for your sharing.
Love your stories jim. Especially about artists I haven't heard of. You're a wee musical encyclopedia 😂
Thank you for sharing these wonderful treasures of experiences and thoughts. They are purely magic!
Buongiorno ☀️ It’s always enjoyable reading your stories... In a part of it, I can share with you having used pillows and beds in many different hotels as I have travelled a lot as a tour manager. And then when you go back HOME there is no better place where to stay. Ciaooo 😎😘
And what is the best hotel you ever slept in ? I'm sure your favourite bed is your own bed, isn't it ? 😃😴
As someone who loves Patti Smith, has been a chambermaid and also slept rough around the UK many times over the years going to see my beloved bands (including one night in a doorway somewhere in the centre of Glasgow - brrrrr!!) - I can totally relate 🙃😜 - sadly not seeing Patti this time around though I am back up in Glasgae next month for The Cure - can't wait...
since I joined to this page, I have been love to read about Simple Minds history, memories of the group, your special friendship with Charlie, you, your memories about your life, your family, special or important things in the world, well, about everything pass in the world happy, terrible or incredible ... I have loved each history and this isn’t the exception, when I was reading I only could think to tell to all of you THANKS AND ONE THOUSAND THANKS, for your time out of home, sleeping in a different bed each night, far away home and family, only to give us, the people like me, who love your music, your songs, your passion and love for your work and the people to hear you. how I have tell you many times, thanks to share your talent and music with us and make us so happy in this “special and particular” world. THANKS JIM TO BE SO EXTRAORDINARY MUSIC AND WRITER ☺️
Love these stories and insights.
Just love your adventures, I try to picture in my head the things you did. Standing while sleeping sounds very difficult. It is really neat how close you and Charlie are, like brothers. Never saw Patti, I believe she was here in the States a bit ago. I missed several concerts as of late, pretty bummed about it. I hope you have a swell time seeing her. 🙂
Attended to see her in Mexico City! Cool !😎 of course as well as you ! Unforgettable experience last year!
I’ve been celebrating your birthday in Florida all week Will be returning to New Orleans tomorrow ( during a storm) to sleep in my own bed, surrounded by my fur babies! That’s what I miss the most about home..
After one SM gig, I stayed in a hostel. Still have no idea who was in the same room. Just saw two pairs of feet in a bunk bed and a neat display of their boots... and they were gone by 6am! Oh, the mysteries of SM fan life! 😅
😄 Everything in here you've written about sounds fun and exciting YA! The 4th and 5th paragraph sounds like an adventure that was full of Hope and I am so very happy you did all of that to get to where you are today 👍❤️😄🙂😘
Just see Stereophonics in Swansea , quite a long drive from Lincolnshire, but well worth it ! Leaving here early doors for our next big day out tomorrow in Northamptonshire . Girls who travel 😍
Live Shows
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2020
Always keep an eye on the tour page as confirmed tour dates are added there first! Visit the tour archive to see where the band played last.
“We would like to remind all of our fans and members that despite hearing announcements elsewhere regarding possible concert performances etc, it is only when the date is announced here at simpleminds.com that you can be sure the information is 100% official and that contracts have been agreed”
Simple Minds
