Review: Simple Minds, Wolverhampton Civic Hall

In a show lasting over two hours and split into two sets, this was a band looking both into its past and into its future and finding that the two can co-exist quite happily.

Lead singer Jim Kerr has said that the band's current direction is being influenced by their past, following their last critically-acclaimed tour which saw them playing songs exclusively from their first five albums.

So Andy Gillespie's keyboards effortlessly transported the Civic back to the 80s as they opened with Broken Glass Park, going back to the future with a brand new song dripping in their old sounds.

But the hits were soon to kick in, with the triple whammy of Waterfront, Once Upon A Time and Up On The Catwalk getting the fans dancing and singing along. Kerr was the consummate frontman as he prowled around, bathed in light from the huge lighting rig which took up the whole of the back of the stage

The first set ended with I Travel, from 1980s Empires and Dance and after a short break Simple Minds were back with the instrumental Book of Brilliant Things and a solo showcase for backing singer Sarah Brown on a cover of Kraftwerk's Neon Lights.

The second set, with its concentration on the band's stadium years, saw guitarist Charlie Burchill playing a more influential role as the band powered through massive hits including Promised You A Miracle and Glittering Prize as well as the powerful She's A River. But they still found time for new song Blood Diamonds and a couple of their earliest tracks in The American and Love Song.

Don't You (Forget About Me) provoked the biggest crowd singalong of the night, with Kerr joking: "You're going to make them jealous in Birmingham and Coventry."

Simple Minds faltered strangely though on the encores. "Can we please play a few more?" Kerr teased before a rousing Sanctify Yourself gave way not to another big hit but to Space, a real box set obscurity that had some fans looking nonplussed.

All was forgiven though with the evening's inevitable climax, Alive and Kicking provoking a final huge singalong.

Review and photos by By Ian Harvey