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Retro Spins: Simple Minds - Empires and Dance

Simple Minds is a band that everyone knew in the 80's for their 1985 album, Once Upon A Time, and / or their single for the film The Breakfast Club, Don't You (Forget About Me). However, what people may have missed, me included, is the rich history of albums which came prior to that, and the monumental amount which came after.

The band originated in 1977 as a cover band called Biba-Rom! with friends, Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Tony Donald and Brian McGee filling the lineup. They'd go on to join Johnny & The Self-Abusers with Alan Cairnduff, John Milarky, and Allan McNeill. Following their live debut, they were given the opportunity to open for Generation X, the prior Billy Idol led punk band.

Despite releasing the single, Saints and Sinners, a split had formed within the group with Milarky and McNeill forming one faction and the other consisting of Kerr, Donald, Burchill and McGee. Johnny & The Self-Abusers would subsequently break up the day of the single's release. Milarky and McNeill would form The Cuban Heels, with the others going on to form Simple Minds.

Duncan Barnwell, and Mick MacNeil would join in 1978, and with this lineup in place, garner a residency at the Mars Bar in Glasgow. However, by April, Donald would quit, being replaced by Derek Forbes. No information has been given as to why he left.

While the band was proving to be a popular local act, record labels weren't impressed, with several turning them down. Bruce Findlay, owner of the Bruce's Records chain of record shops and the Zoom Records label would eventually sign on as manager for the band. After being convinced by his friend, Brian Hogg, signed them to his own label, which subsequently had a licensing deal with Arista.

Just before the end of the year, Duncan Barnwell would be asked to leave the band. Though he was well liked, the remaining members felt they didn't need two guitarists. Barnwell was admittedly angered by this, and felt Derek Forbes would step down in sympathy, but didn't.

From November 1978 through September 1981, Simple Minds would be a tight-knit quintet of Kerr, Burchill, MacNeil, Forbes and McGee. Though others would come and go, only the core members would be considered part of the creative and compositional team.

Zoom released their debut, Life In A Day in April 1979, and before the year was done, their follow-up, Real To Real Cacophony. While their debut would peak at number thirty in the UK, it would fail everywhere else. Their second album wouldn't chart anywhere.

Empires And Dance would be released in 1980 but would be their last on Zoom. The reason being that seeing their long-term potential, Bruce would close the label down to focus strictly on managing the band.

Songs would take inspiration from disco and electronica music, which is quite obvious with the opening track, I Travel. As it played, I actually made the comment to myself, "This sounds like a disco album."

The album would put them back on the charts in the UK, peaking at number forty-one, as well as giving them chart success in New Zealand, charting at number forty-seven. Its overall poor performance was blamed on Arista, who would only release the album in small batches.

Playing through it, it's a weird album. Nothing pop or radio friendly. It almost has a Kraftwerk or Devo sound to it. I think the perfect example of this quirkiness can be heard in Twist/Run/Repulsion, which features a chanting drumbeat, a female talking in French, and lead singer echoing his own chanting vocal style. The overall album as a whole caught me off guard. This wasn't at all what I was expecting from Simple Minds. While I wouldn't call it bad, I probably won't ever listen to it again.

As noted above, Findlay closed Zoom Records down with the intensions of focusing on managing the band. This led them to sign with Virgin Records, where they'd experience a boost in popularity with the 1981 double album, Sons And Fascination / Sister Feelings Call. We'll pick up there tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Breakfast Club - Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club. No, not the soundtrack, the band.

Though they only released one album in 1987, the band would actually have its roots all the way back in 1979, going through several iterations before their album would eventually be released. One such iteration in the early 80's even included future Queen of Pop, Madonna, on drums, with bassist Angie Smit, and the brothers Dan and Ed (who also provided vocals) Gilroy on guitars. Madonna would leave, forming the band Emmy And The Emmys.

By the mid 80's the band consisted of the Gilroys, Gary Burk (bass), and Stephen Bray (drums), the latter two having left Madonna's above noted band to join Breakfast Club. They'd sign with ZE Records, and release the non-charting single, Rico Mambo.

When their debut finally came out, it spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hit, Right On Track, which peaked at number seven. The album as a whole would peak at number forty-seven on the Billboard 200, and they'd be nominated by the Grammy's for Best New Artist.

Knowing the history of Madonna in the band, it changes the perspective of the record itself. You can literally hear the mirroring styles of music which she turned into a goldmine for herself. Can you imagine how different things would be if between True Blue (1986), and Like A Prayer (1989), there was Madonna: Breakfast Club? Ah, the alternate timelines that could have been.

Standing on its own merits it's a relatively forgettable album. While I bought it for Right On Track, I did find a couple of new tunes for the old shuffle list. These included Never Be The Same, and Rico Mambo.

Though the group would return to the studio and record a follow-up intended for release in 1988, it would be rejected by ZE, and shelved. They would disband shortly thereafter. Bray would go on to work with Madonna, writing tracks for her, and in 2005 write and compose music for the Broadway adaption of The Color Purple, which he won a Tony for. Dan Gilroy would turn his attention to acting, but not really make any big splashes. His most notable work was for the kids shows, Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme, and “Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. As for Ed Gilroy, and Gary Burke, not much is known about what they went on to do after Breakfast Club.

An EP was released in 2016, entitled Percolate, which apparently included some of the previously recorded unreleased tracks. Additionally, a digitally released docudram, Madonna And The Breakfast Club came out in 2019. Beyond that, not much gets said about Breakfast Club. They came and went in the blink of an eye, relatively lost to the decade of excess, with the only tie keeping them relevant being their involvement with Madonna.

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Retro Spins: Peter Cetera - One More Story

After leaving Chicago in 1985, Peter Cetera went on to bigger and better things. For a young boy watching the film, The Karate Kid Part II, in 1986, you wouldn't be able to convince me that the singer was once part of a band. Instead, as far as my mind was convinced, he was an all-new singer, fresh on the scene, and delivering an amazing lead track to a film I equally loved.

Hindsight and age can certainly open one's eyes.

After having his first solo album buried by Warner Bros., for fear it would interfere with their plans for Chicago, Cetera would stay with the band through their 1985 opus, Chicago 17. However, wanting to get back to a solo career, he'd propose to the band to take breaks, allowing him to do so. His request would be declined, and Peter would say, "So long."

This would turn out to be a good move, as along with the momentum of their previous album, he was able to deliver the massive solo record, Solitude/Solitaire. It not only featured the aforementioned Glory Of Love, which would go on to be his first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, but the surprise Amy Grant duet, Next Time I Fall In Love. It too would become a number one hit.

He'd follow this with 1988's One More Story. Though it wouldn't fair as well, it would still be successful, peaking at fifty-eight on the Billboard 200, falling short of its predecessor, which peaked at twenty-three. For me, the album is most notable for having my favorite song from his solo work, One Good Woman. This would peak at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and be followed by the mildly successful Best Of Times (peaking at fifty-nine). Though it wouldn't be a hit, his song, Save Me, would go on to become the opening theme to Baywatch for the show's first season in 1989.

One More Story would also allot the opportunity for Cetera to work with other artists, such as Pink Floyd's David Gilmore, Oakridge Boys' Richard Sterban, and Bonnie Raitt. Perhaps the most unexpected was his collaboration with Lulu Smith, who provides backing vocals on the track, Scheherazade. You may recognize her from her real name, Madonna.

While it's a decent album, it's definitely less pop rock, and more adult contemporary. This equates to a lot of the tracks being slower, and candidly less appealing than previous albums.

My biggest problem with the first half (or side if on vinyl) of the album, is that the first three songs, Best Of Times, Piece Of Mind, and One Good Woman are solid, while the remaining two tank hard. Things don't pick up again until Body Language (There In The Dark), and Never Listen To Me. However, when I say pick up, I mean decent songs, not necessarily tempo.

There in lies my biggest problem with One More Story. It just falls apart under the ballad heavy weight it carries. It's as if he hit number one with Glory Of Love, and Next Time I Fall, and made the decision that he could never sing another rock song. Overall, it's a relatively flat note to end the decade on.

You'd need to really be in tune with Madonna, or know that her vocals were contributed to Scheherazade to even know it was her. She contributes only to some random chanting, and singing the word, "Scheherazade". It's not a bad song, but it's kind of a waste of Madonna's time and talent.

With the 90's Cetera stayed focused on a more adult contemporary sound, finding success on those charts with his 1992 released, World Falling Down album. Though some tracks would also cross over to the Billboard Hot 100, most notably, Feels Like Heaven, a duet with Chaka Khan.

This would not only be his last album for Warner Bros., but his last to chart. Hist last two albums of the decade, 1995's One Clear Voice, and 1997's You're the Inspiration: A Collection, would be on River North Records. The latter collects some of his more popular duets, as well as features re-recorded Chicago hits.

His final two studio albums would see him label hopping with 2001's Another Perfect World on DDE, and 2004's You Just Gotta Love Christmas on Viastar. However, by this point, Peter Cetera had pretty much fallen off the map, save for diehard fans.

Since then, many lucrative offers have come in for him to rejoin Chicago for a reunion tour. Though he continued to say, "never say never", in his own words, he equated leaving the band to a divorce and thus far has had no interest. Instead, he opted to retire in 2019, stating he'd rather bow out before his voice faded.

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Retro Spins: Peter Cetera - Solitude/Solitaire

Yesterday's Retro Spin through Peter Cetera's 1981 was a massive surprise. A hidden gem through and through, and an album I'm glad I took the chance on.

Cetera was in the middle of recording his solo debut for Columbia when the label dropped Chicago from their roster. This resulted in him needing to buy the rights before it could be released. When Chicago signed with Warner Bros. they would also agree to release his solo album. However, this would come with unforeseen strings.

While Warner Bros. released the album to appease Cetera, they ultimately didn't want him to have a solo career for fear it would ruin their investment in Chicago. An overall lack of support and promotion from the label ended up burying the album.

Chicago would become his main focus over the next few years, but upon releasing their opus, Chicago 17 in 1984, the artist would once again want to visit his solo career. He'd propose to the band to take a hiatus after tours to allow him to work on solo projects, but this would be declined. Ultimately, this led to him departing in 1985.

1986 would see the release of his sophomore solo album, Solitude/Solitaire, and with it would come major hits. The album as a whole would peak at number twenty-three on the Billboard 200, producing two number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. More on that below.

Big Mistake is a smasher of an opening track and only gets bigger and better with its explosive guitar solo towards the end. It definitely sets a high bar for the album and leaves me riding the waves I was still on from his previous.

They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To delivers the sound that I equated with Cetera from the 80's. Synth pop smooth rock. In hindsight, I think this is where he got lost for me as an artist. He had good music but got trapped in the middle of spectrums. On one side, for me, there was the new wave and pop sounds of Duran Duran, Prince And The Revolution, Cyndi Lauper, etc., and on the other side was Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Guns 'N Roses, and the other harder stuff. Peter Cetera was the 80's music my dad liked.

This was all the more prevalent with track three, his Karate Kid II soundtrack contribution, Glory Of Love. Now don't get me wrong, I would happily listen to that soundtrack as a kid specifically for this tune. Though I'd never admit to anyone I liked it (at the time). These days, that shame is gone. It's the song I bought the album for, mainly because Karate Kid II never got a CD release. Glory Of Love would become Cetera's first number one solo hit, spending twenty-one weeks on the charts.

The tempo stays slowed down at this point, but songs don't necessarily get bad. Quite the contrary, I'm just tired of talking about how enjoyable each one was. Dare I say I'm a Peter Cetera fan?

Despite the success that Glory Of Love was, the biggest hit to come from the album was the accidental duet with Christian contemporary artist, Amy Grant, Next Time I Fall In Love. Though he didn't write the song, when Cetera heard the demo, he immediately knew two things; 1) he wanted to sing it, and 2) it should be a duet. However, he wanted the female vocals to be an unexpected surprise to listeners. He found that in Grant, who was looking for an opportunity to cross genres into pop rock music. Though it turned out to be a successful career move for her, the Christian community did not take the transition well, calling her a sellout, and accusing her of turning her back on the ministry. Regardless, the song would become his second solo number one hit, and her first, also spending twenty-one weeks on the charts.

As a whole, the album's solid, and a real surprise to me as a result. I really didn't expect to be enjoying Peter Cetera as much as I am. I'm still riding that high, and ready to dive into his third and final 80's album, 1988's One More Story. It actually features my all-time favorite track from him.

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