Simple Minds closed the main set of their recent show in DC area with a boisterous performance of “Don’t You (Forget Me),” the song that put them on the musical map in the United States in 1985. In the middle of the song, frontman Jim Kerr turned the song over to the enthusiastic audience, which filled Merriweather Post Pavilion with extended refrains of “La, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la” from the song’s closing.
“I should be paying you!” Jim quipped in admiration of the crowd’s full-throated embrace of the song. “But I’m a Scotsman; I can’t see that happening.”
As the blog Travels with a Kilt says: “We’re kind, fair and ethically-led, yet thrifty, dour and bitter.” Jim’s joke cut to the Glaswegian beginnings of Simple Minds guitarist Charles Burchill and himself and the Scots reputation of being salty people.
But honestly while Jim and Charlie are old salts, there is nothing bitter at all about the two terrific musicians. Rather, they are salt of the earth people who make music that is endlessly sophisticated and uplifting.
At Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 10, Jim led his current eight-member configuration of Simple Minds through a packed set that heavily recalled 1985 and the subsequent years when Simple Minds conquered American radio with its Billboard Top 10 album, Once Upon a Time. And so the band built up to the numbers “All The Things She Said,” “Alive and Kicking,” and “Sanctify Yourself” in a tour de force concert laid on the foundation of their remarkable talents and showmanship.
Watch the official music video for “Alive and Kicking” by Simple Minds on YouTube:
For me, Simple Minds brewed some heady stuff for their first five albums, culminating in the transcendent New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84). And so it was a true pleasure for this old-school new wave kid to witness live performances of that album’s “Glittering Prize,” “Someone Somewhere in Summertime,” and “Promised You a Miracle” — three thrilling tunes that fearlessly marry synths to guitar and wax romantically about matters of the heart. Spread through the middle of the show, these songs elevated the crowd and put us in a happy if wistful state of mind. We truly achieved musical nirvana as the band transitioned from top tune “Someone Somewhere in Summertime” to “Love Song” and “Theme for Great Cities” — the latter two from the 1981 double album Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call.
Let’s not forget the transportive state of mind started early in the set with with the utterly fantastic and relatively rarely performed “I Travel,” an adventurous song from 1981’s Empires and Dance.
Watch Simple Minds perform “I Travel” live in Edinburgh via YouTube:
While Jim and Charlie have been the only constants since forming Simple Minds in Scotland in 1977, they have recruited some great musicians for the 21st century iteration of the band. The longest serving, bassist Ged Grimes had swagger and a cool demeanor that complemented Jim and Charlie’s cheerfulness. And he made a killer team on stage left with the subtly brilliant Gordy Goudie on guitar.
In 2017, the two female members of Simple Minds joined with the addition of drummer Charisse Osei, a standout player all around, and vocalist Sarah Brown. Charisse relentlessly demonstrated what Jim hailed as the Simple Minds definition of “girl power,” while Sarah shined in song, particularly on a lead vocals turn for “Book of Brilliant Things” from 1984’s Sparkle in the Rain. Simple Minds today are complete with the excellent Erik Ljunggren, who adds some sparkle to the stage from his keyboards, positioned stage right. The music simply flowed from this accomplished crew.
Were that all of the show, we could wake from this dream of a show and return to the salt mines happy. But Simple Minds packed even more into their North American Alive and Kicking 2025 Tour by inviting two of their ’80s-era contemporaries to join them on the bill. And so Modern English and Soft Cell opened the show, exploring additional dimensions of the potent new wave sound.
Modern English began the evening on June 10, perhaps because they are regular touring workhorses in American clubs and Soft Cell visit less frequently. I’ve seen Modern English many times in the past decade, and they are the rare band that stays as fresh and exciting as the first time you heard them.
Frontman Robbie Grey was glowing as he led the quartet through six songs in a wonderful if all too short set. (Guitarist Gary McDowell was absent from the lineup! Let’s hope he is well.) Robbie was accompanied by the steady hands of bassist Michael Conroy. Guitarist Gabriel Sullivan and drummer Richard Chandler completed the group.
Modern English grabbed us sonically and kept us close by featuring several songs from Mesh & Lace, their remarkable debut album. They opened with “Gathering Dust” and later played “Swans on Glass,” providing us with an arch post-post experience. Along the way, the band featured a song from their latest album, 2024’s 1234, with a performance of the catchy “Long in the Tooth.”
Of course, to close their set, Modern English entranced the audience with their breakout and still-thriving number “I Melt With You,” the 1982 earworm that remains as lively today as when it was first released. (Or perhaps even more so, as the song originally darkly referred to dying with your love but now has sunnier connotations of melding happily into one another.)
Watch Modern English perform “I Melt With You” live for KEXP on YouTube:
Electronic outfit Soft Cell performed as a quartet with the forever-charming Marc Almond leading the pack. The soulful Englishman looked terrific, and he sang a selection of nine songs drawn from his repertoire with gusto. He was joined by his longtime touring keyboardist (sadly, not Dave Ball) and two backing singers — all of whom were really quite good!
Thanks to my old friend Rick Taylor for the following observation: The rare opportunity to see Soft Cell on a US date served as a reminder of the sui generis of the band’s inventive catalog. The band opened the show with “Memorabilia,” an atmospheric song with a distinct melody. Marc cleverly broke the song up with a medley of early Madonna numbers, including “Holiday” and “Like a Virgin.” And consider “Bedsitter,” which Marc and company performed near the end of the set. The thumping verses are counterbalanced by a thoughtfully smooth chorus that speak to the narrator’s pathos.
Marc displayed his trademark cleverness in his stage banter. In the middle of the set, he introduced “Purple Zone” with the recollection of how Soft Cell re-recorded the song with the Pet Shop Boys a few years ago. The result, he said, was a collaboration with England’s most successful synthpop duo with its most influential synthpop duo.
At the end of the show, Marc recounted how Soft Cell wanted to break out by importing their signature sound to a cover song. He and Dave Ball weighed two selections, which led to a false start of the famous cover of “Tainted Love,” written by Ed Cobbs and first recorded by Gloria Jones in the ’60s. But instead, Soft Cell performed “The Night” by The Four Seasons, the other contender for their breakout ambitions.
Of course, Marc and company closed the set with “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go” from Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, the band’s massive 1981 debut album.
Watch the official music video for “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell on YouTube:
This Merriweather night was an incredible evening of magical music, gentle wit, and close community. For me, it was highly reminiscent of the joy of attending festivals like Cruel World — which hosted appearances by Simple Minds, Modern English, and Soft Cell (exceptional bands of the Second British Invasion) in recent years. Merriweather harbored that same feeling of Gen X brotherhood — an experience totally worth its salt.
Here are some photos of Simple Minds performing live at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 10, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Modern English opening Simple Minds at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 10, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Soft Cell opening Simple Minds at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 10, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
