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Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds

Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds

  • Downloads：7254
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-04-28 07:52:55
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Graeme Thomson
  • ISBN：1472134001
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

'Nobody owes us anything， but the Simple Minds story has been too condensed。 After Live Aid and 'Don't You （Forget About Me）' there hasn't been quite the credit for those first few records。 I think they contain some really special music。 I can hear the flaws but there's something about the spirit and imagination in them that feels good。 They draw from such a wide range of influences 。。。 but the spirit of it was always Simple Minds。' Jim Kerr， to the author

An illuminating new biography of one of Britain's biggest and most influential bands， written with the full input and cooperation of Simple Minds， shedding new light on their dazzling art-rock legacy。

Themes for Great Cities features in-depth new interviews with original band members Jim Kerr， Charlie Burchill， Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes， alongside key figures from within their creative community and high-profile fans such as Bobby Gillespie， James Dean Bradfield and Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite。 The book reclaims and revivifies the magnificence of Simple Minds' pioneering early albums， from the glitchy Euro-ambience of Real to Real Cacophony and Empires and Dance to the pulsing， agitated romance of Sons and Fascination， New Gold Dream and beyond。

Emerging in 1978 from Glasgow's post-punk scene， Simple Minds transitioned from restless art-rock to electro futurism， mutated into passionate pop contenders and， finally， a global rock behemoth。 They have sold in the region of 60 million records and remain a worldwide phenomenon。 The drama of their tale lies in these transformations and triumphs， conflicts and contradictions。

Themes for Great Cities tells the inside story of a band becoming a band。 Inspiring， insightful and enlightening， it celebrates the trailblazing music of one of Britain's greatest groups。

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Reviews

Aaron Badgley ，

A well written biography of the first half of Simple Minds career

David Granger ，

Somewhere there was a great story in here。 But there was too much about how the author got the interviews and weird celebrity interludes to make it a classic biography。 Shame。

Alistair Grant ，

I actually bought and read the hardback edition， not Kindle， but it's not listed as an option on GoodReads。A very absorbing read about a band which was the soundtrack to my years at uni in Glasgow， 1977-81。 Excellent first source material although former members of the band did not fully cooperate with the author， which comes to my only （minor） criticism。Thomson is a fan and has known the band for a long time and this was an authorised history of the halcyon years of the band， up to the release I actually bought and read the hardback edition， not Kindle， but it's not listed as an option on GoodReads。A very absorbing read about a band which was the soundtrack to my years at uni in Glasgow， 1977-81。 Excellent first source material although former members of the band did not fully cooperate with the author， which comes to my only （minor） criticism。Thomson is a fan and has known the band for a long time and this was an authorised history of the halcyon years of the band， up to the release of Once Upon A Time in 1985。 As a result there were some parts where a more objectively critical writer might have posed more challenging questions to Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill。 There are power politics in any band， but the enforced departure of some members of the band were particularly ruthless and could have been explored further。Highly recommended and had me digging out the early albums to put on the turntable as I read the book。 。。。more

Ray Smillie ，

I will confess that the last Simple Minds album I bought was Sparkle in the Rain， an album that left me disappointed。 Yes， I am a classic "I preferred your early stuff" type but I was still aware of their later output via singles and actually didn't mind them。 However， for the fans they lost， they got a substantial number of new fans。My favourite album remains Empires and Dance。As for this book written by Graeme Thomson， this is both well researched and equally well written， with contributions f I will confess that the last Simple Minds album I bought was Sparkle in the Rain， an album that left me disappointed。 Yes， I am a classic "I preferred your early stuff" type but I was still aware of their later output via singles and actually didn't mind them。 However， for the fans they lost， they got a substantial number of new fans。My favourite album remains Empires and Dance。As for this book written by Graeme Thomson， this is both well researched and equally well written， with contributions from all the band members in the 70s and 80s， with the exception of Mel Gaynor who simply didn't want any part of it。What I admire about Simple Minds is that they always progressed， changing their sound for each album， even if a minority did not appreciate it。Very much enjoyed this。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0