After a two-year tour, rather than take some time off, Simple Minds jumped back into the studio to deliver Sparkle In The Rain. It would become their biggest selling album to date, surpassing previous album, New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84), on all the charts (with exception of Australia). However, despite charting better, it actually would sell less copies overall.
The band began work on the album while touring for their previous and released their first new single, Waterfront in November 1983. The same day of its release, they began the support tour for Sparkle In The Rain. Waterfront would zoom up multiple charts, taking the number one spot in New Zealand, peak at number five in Ireland, thirteen in the UK, and crack the top twenty in Australia and Sweden.
Upon its release, Sparkle In The Rain would hit number one in the UK, and as noted above, with the exception of Australia, perform better across the board in multiple countries. Though the band would spend most of 1984 touring, taking a break in May for Jim Kerr to marry Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Despite having a child together, the two of them fronting their own bands meant they were often apart, making it impossible for them to actually have a relationship. They would divorce in 1990.
But I digress.
Yes, this is the Simple Minds I know. Pop friendly hits, and peppy beats. Not perfect from start to finish, but also not a bad album by any sense of the word. I think I favored what would be considered side "A" of the record. Up On The Catwalk, Speed Your Love To Me, and Waterfront stood out the most, and all from that side of the album.
I will say it's odd how very similar the vocals of Jim Kerr are to Bono. If I didn't know I wasn't listening to U2, I could easily have mistaken it as such. As I continued digging into the history of the band more, this became ironic, since Simple Minds was apparently considered a U2 knockoff by many critics.
Despite their growing success around the world, which included chart topping singles, none of their songs to date would peak on the Billboard Hot 100. It wouldn't be until their 1985 single, Don't You (Forget About Me) from The Breakfast Club that this would happen, and in a massive way. The song would shoot up the charts to number one. Shortly after its release, bassist Derek Forbes would depart, being replaced by John Giblin.
Capitalizing on this momentum, Simple Minds released the album Once Upon A Time that same year. It too would find chart success with Alive And Kicking (peaking at number 3), Sanctify Yourself (14), and All The Things She Said (28). I'll be hopping over that album, as I've already reviewed it in a Retro Spin. Instead, tomorrow I'll be wrapping up my journey through the band with their final release of the decade, Street Fighting Years (1989).
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