Hello My Name is Jim
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inspiring. Being Irish and Scottish, we got on like a house on fire as people. People laugh when I say how impressed I was the first time I saw U2. They say,“ Did you know then they were going to be the biggest band in the world?” And I say,“ Yeah.” And they say,“ How did you know?” And I say,“ They told me.” [ laughs ]
A few years ago, there was a great book that came out about the making of The Unforgettable Fire. Bono and [ Brian ] Eno and Daniel Lanois talk about driving around Dublin listening to New Gold Dream and how the band wanted to incorporate elements of that Simple Minds sound. I can’ t hear it to be honest, but it was lovely to see it in the book. I thought it was a great acknowledgement of the musicians in Simple Minds. It was very generous. The answer is, everyone was rubbing off onto each other. Not only did we share the Celtic blood, we shared a lot of the same idealism, and we had that big sound. The Waterboys had some of it as well. Big Country, too. IE: You’ ve said that your practically lifelong friendship and career with Charlie are down to luck. How so? JK: It’ s definitely down to luck, as most things are. Our families both moved into the same street in Glasgow within weeks of each other. Where’ s the luck in that? Well, my dad really didn’ t want to move into that area. He wanted to go somewhere else, and my mom harangued him. The first day we moved in, my parents said,“ Go out and play. Meet the other kids.” Charlie was one of the first kids I met.
By the teenage years, he and I really came together. Everyone liked music, but we were obsessed. And we were obsessed by the same books and films and the same wanderlust. We would go hitchhiking to see bands, and then we would go hitchhiking just for the sake of hitchhiking all over Europe.
IE: Are you family to each other at this point? JK: I’ m sure it’ s more common that people that have worked in rock and roll with each other a long time don’ t really consider themselves friends anymore by the end. [ laughs ] Usually, it’ s a business relationship. Charlie and I are the best of pals. We’ re still able to have a good scrap or screaming match, but it’ s because we’ re still passionate. We support the same football team. We like the same hot curry. He has an Asian partner. I have an Asian partner.
We’ ve got so much in common, but we’ re so not alike. We have completely different personalities. Our roles are so clearly defined so differently. No one’ s the boss. He’ s very much a musician. You go around to Charlie’ s for breakfast and before he’ s even finished with his first cup of coffee, the guitar’ s on his lap. The piano’ s nearby. Before I have my first
cup of coffee, I’ m up in the hills. I’ m hiking, I’ m trekking, I’ m strategizing.
We’ ve been so blessed to have this band with us. I think somewhere deep to Charlie and me it’ s somewhat more of a crusade. I’ m not sure what it’ s a crusade about, but it’ s a crusade. IE: Maybe it’ s about beating against darkness and pulling light and goodwill through the cracks. JK: Definitely. Not only do we want to entertain people, we want to transcend. The music makes us believe there’ s something better, and we try to put that across. IE: Was there a shared experience that drove you and Charlie to make music? JK: Seeing the first live gigs, undoubtedly. We saw Bowie, Zeppelin, the Who, Genesis, Lou Reed, the Rolling Stones. But we didn’ t think we could do that. These people came from another planet. What we did think was,“ That’ s the planet we want to live on. We’ ve got to get on it somehow.” We had more chance of being astronauts, but that was a spark.
IE: What was your first Bowie show? JK: I saw Aladdin Sane [ tour ] in May‘ 73, and I couldn’ t stop thinking about it every day for the next six months. IE: Do you prefer anything that Simple Minds does now over what you did in the‘ 80s? Your sonic palette has expanded so much. I think of the electropop and dance elements you hear in Direction of the Heart or even“ Dolphins” from 20 years ago. JK: Oh,“ Dolphins” is beautiful, with the mood that it sells. We played it the other night. No, it’ s all part of the story, whether it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. We just left the studio with new songs up our sleeve. It’ s all part of this cloth that we’ ve weaved. I don’ t like one thing better than the other. There’ s been times where things have been more troublesome or frustrating or disappointing than others, but it’ s still part of us. If you’ re going to do something as long as we’ ve done this, nothing goes on the up and the up and the up. That’ s just life itself. Some records turned out exactly as you wanted. Others slipped through your fingers, and didn’ t quite get what you had in your mind.
That’ s all part of it as well. I dare say John Lennon or Pablo Picasso would’ ve told you the same thing.
exactl y
IE: What was the last album t h a t came o u t how y o u wanted?
JK: Once Upon a Time. [ laughs ]
IE: With fingers crossed for the next one! JK: Yeah!
Photo: Curt Baran, Huntington Bank Pavilion, June 2025
16 illinoisentertainer. com july 2025