
02 Feb, 2018 Walk Between Worlds – 2018
Simple Minds released their seventeenth studio album ‘Walk Between Worlds’ on the 2nd of Feb, 2018. The album was available to order in various formats including some special Exclusive Colour and Picture Disc Vinyl albums featured within several Deluxe Bundles containing Exclusive signed album artwork prints and a Limited Edition 7″ single.
Simple Minds take to the road in February 2018 to premiere WALK BETWEEN WORLDS in a selection of special live shows, each in three parts: a performance of the album, a live on-stage interview and a classic Simple Minds’ set with hits and of course, a few surprises! For fans, a very special, one-of-a-kind experience:
‘As much as it has been a real pleasure to work on WALK BETWEEN WORLDS, equally so it is thrilling to observe that the Simple Minds story continues to evolve both in the studio and on the live stage,’ says Jim. Adding, ‘Sensing that each of these songs are destined to become individual events when played live - we look forward to performing all of them alongside already established live classics when we set out on this next upcoming tour.’
Jim Kerr
SIMPLE MINDS – WALK BETWEEN WORLDS
FIRST ALBUM OF NEW MATERIAL SINCE 2014’S HUGELY ACCLAIMED BIG MUSIC
On 2nd February 2018, BMG release WALK BETWEEN WORLDS, Simple Minds’ first album of new material since 2014’s Big Music (which MOJO magazine declared “their best album in 30 years”).
WALK BETWEEN WORLDS was produced by Simple Minds with Andy Wright and Gavin Goldberg, both of whom worked on Big Music. With its eight tracks rocketing past in 42 minutes, it is a relatively concise affair. It is also an album of two distinct sides, very much the old-school album format that singer Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill grew up with as music fans. Side one tracks such as Summer and The Signal And The Noise revisit the glassy guitars and new wave dance grooves of the post-punk era and the second half explores more cinematic sounds, with the title track and Barrowland Star both featuring dramatic orchestrations recorded at Abbey Road.
The album is bookended by two songs about faith, Magic and Sense Of Discovery. The first is a reflection on the desire and hunger of youth – the faith in their own abilities that Simple Minds possessed during their formative years. Sense Of Discovery, which features a melodic refrain that alludes to 1985’s Alive And Kicking, is centred on the voice of an older narrator passing on wisdom and advice to a younger individual.
One of the album’s key tracks is Barrowland Star, named after the iconic ballroom in the East End of Glasgow that has hosted many memorable Simple Minds shows. It’s a song that takes the band away from their traditional comfort zone, layering strings and a spellbinding Charlie guitar solo (one that reminds Jim of Mick Ronson) over some poignant words. For Jim and Charlie playing the Barrowland was always a big deal, a mixture of excitement – and fear – it felt as if they were about to engage in a prize-fight rather than simply play a rock concert.
The album artwork is by Brazilian visual artist Heitor Magno, whose work is often a surreal montage of vivid coloured imagery and black and white photography. The image he has created for WALK BETWEEN WORLDS is emblematic of Simple Minds metamorphosis. The central character on the front cover bearing an uncanny resemblance to a young Jim Kerr – the sleeve could also be viewed as a telling throwback to the Sons And Fascination era.
Simple Minds were the standard bearers for a new kind of rock in the Eighties, when they took the art-rock invention of post-punk and constructed a musical Colossus by adding rousing choruses and a touch of Celtic soul. As they contemplate turning 40, their legacy is something to be proud of and with WALK BETWEEN WORLDS their story continues to evolve.

With Jim and Charlie now part of a theatrical gang of musicians that are, in Jim’s words, ‘more inspired by the likes Sly & The Family Stone than a traditional male rock band’, the tour will feature the Acoustic tour line up of: Jim and Charlie, percussionist Cherisse Osei and backing vocalist Catherine AD alongside band mainstays Ged Grimes on bass, multi-instrumentalist Gordy Goudie, and regular backing singer (and sometimes lead vocalist) Sarah Brown. ‘The whole stage set-up is now more fluid,’ says Charlie. ‘We’re working on fresh arrangements of some old songs, and there is going to be more movement between the musicians onstage. There will be time for people to digest the songs and more space for Jim to talk to the audience.’
FORMATS: WALK BETWEEN WORLDS will be available on standard and deluxe CD, standard, deluxe and picture disc vinyl, digital download and stream.
STANDARD TRACKLIST
1. Magic
2. Summer
3. Utopia
4. The Signal and The Noise
5. In Dreams
6. Barrowland Star
7. Walk Between Worlds
8. Sense Of Discovery
DELUXE EDITIONS INCLUDE THE BONUS TRACKS:
1. Silent Kiss
2. Angel Underneath My Skin
3. Dirty Old Town (live)
Release Date: February 2nd 2018
Date: | Country: | City: | Venue: |
13th Feb – Tickets | UK | Glasgow | Barrowland Ballroom |
14th Feb – Tickets | UK | Manchester | Albert Hall |
15th Feb – Tickets | UK | London | Roundhouse |
17th Feb – Tickets | France | Paris | Salle Pleyel |
18th Feb – Tickets | Belgium | Brussels | Ancienne Belgique |
19th Feb – Tickets | Netherlands | Amsterdam | Paradiso |
20th Feb – Tickets | Denmark | Copenhagen | Vega |
26th May – Tickets | UK | Perth | Biggest Weekend BBC |
27th May – Tickets | UK | Wentworth | BMW PGA Golf |
07th Jun – Tickets | Switzerland | Crans-sur-Nyon | Caribana Fest |
09th Jun – Tickets | France | Grimaud | Harley-Davidson EuroFest |
17th Jun – Tickets | France | Nimes | Festival de Nimes |
22nd Jun – Tickets | Switzerland | Hinwil | Rock The Ring |
28th Jun – Tickets | Spain | Granada | Plaza de Toros de Granada |
29th Jun – Tickets | Spain | Valencia | 4ever Valencia |
30th Jun | Spain | Madrid | Noches Del Botanico |
02nd Jul – Tickets | Italy | Cremona | Acquedotte Festival |
03rd Jul – Tickets | Italy | Rome | The Cavea |
04th Jul – Tickets | Italy | Macerata MC | Arena Sferisterio |
05th Jul – Tickets | Italy | Marostica | Summer Festival |
08th Jul – Tickets | France | Pays De Vannes | Fête du Bruit |
10th Jul – Tickets | Italy | Udine | Piazza Castello |
11th Jul – Tickets | Italy | Genova | Arena del Mare |
12th Jul – Tickets | France | Aix-les-Bains | Musilac Festival |
14th Jul – Tickets | Netherlands | Weert | Bospop |
15th Jul – Tickets | Switzerland | Sion | Sion Sous Les Etoiles |
20th Jul – Tickets | France | Théâtre de la cite | Festival de Carcassone |
22nd Jul – Tickets | Germany | Karlsruhe | Das Fest |
25th Jul – Tickets | Germany | Bonn | Kunst!Rasen |
26th Jul – Tickets | Germany | Norderney | Summertime @ |
27th Jul – Tickets | Germany | Mainz | Summer in the City |
29th Jul – Tickets | UK | Dorset | Camp Bestival |
01st Aug – Tickets | Germany | Meersburg | Meersburg Festival |
04th Aug – Tickets | UK | Maidstone | Kent Event Centre |
05th Aug – Tickets | UK | Merthyr Tydfil | Cyfarthfa Park |
10th Aug – Tickets | UK | Salford | AJ Bell Stadium |
11th Aug – Tickets | UK | Leeds** | Millennium Square |
18th Aug – Tickets | UK | Coventry | Butts Park Arena |
19th Aug – Tickets | UK | Durham | Emirates Riverside |
25th Aug – Tickets | UK | Newark | Riverside Park |
26th Aug – Tickets | UK | Colchester | Colchester Castle Park |
27th Aug – Tickets | UK | Enfield | Trent Country Park |
31st Aug – Tickets | UK | Swindon | Lydiard Park |
01st Sep – Tickets | UK | Ardingly | South of England Centre |
02nd Sep – Tickets | UK | Taunton | Taunton Racecourse |
08th Sep – Tickets | UK | Inverness | Northern Meeting Park |
09th Sep – Tickets | UK | Dundee | Slessor Gardens |