Jim’s Diary

I smiled when someone referred to the recent Simple Minds tour as the "Already Legendary 5x5 Tour". Surely a dollop of irony was being used, especially considering that the tour had only finished one day´s prior. But no, it was a serious comment from a...

What is to be done when after weeks and weeks of rehearsing and playing live, it all comes to an expected but nevertheless abrupt halt, just as it did for SM last weekend in Dublin? In fact everyone who tours professionally, as far as I know,...

In the end it all passed in a blink of an eye. And all of which is probably understandable, given the way we were traipsing round Europe, criss crossing from east to west and sprinting up and down from south to north and then more...

It was Paris in springtime. (Well, almost.) And all was going even better than we had hoped for inside the charming venue that we had looked forward to playing so much. The sold-out audience seemed intent on having more than a good time and although only...

Occasionally during a show I will see someone in the audience who is enjoying it all so much that they seem to stand out somewhat from the rest of the crowd, even though en masse they all seem to having the best time possible. It happened...

I´ll let you in on a secret of mine. As much as I love touring, and I really do. And as much as I feel the excitement as every new tour begins. I really rarely enjoy the first nights of any concert tour. Don´t get...

As David Bowie turns 65, historians know that it is also around 600 years since the birth date of Joan Of Arc. And the connection is? Well, I am still fascinated by both - but I guess I have always drawn inspiration from larger than...

The week before Christmas has a special significance for me, albeit purely in a sentimental way. It was after all this very week that Simple Minds signed their first ever-recording deal, some 33 years ago to be precise, and that is something that I am...

I imagine the announcement of next year’s 5x5 shows will cause some excitement among those who are particularly keen on the music that became the cornerstones of our early career. I have little doubt about this, particularly when considering that over the years there has been...

Enroute to America later this week. Been a while since I was last there and I am looking forward as always. What am I going to do there? Well, I hope to create some new music, something that will inspire, something that will make me...

Was only a matter of weeks ago that we were winding up our summer tour and yet here we go again gathering ourselves and getting ready to shuttle down to the opposite end of the world for one final date for this year. As mentioned by...

Exactly 35 years ago I would have been scurrying along Victoria Rd in Glasgow excitedly anticipating the outcome of that days rehearsal and pretty much in a state of bliss with regards to what new song writing ideas that we might have come up with...