Best Decade Tournament - 80s: Koopee wins!

[doug rr]

watching the wheels is a great song

[Lament]

I thought Forbes got fired from the band

That was the story at the time, but according to him he quit, and the stuff Jim and Charlie have said about that period in the last decade or so seem to back up his claim.

From an interview.....

Derek, the next album, 1984's Sparkle in the Rain then produced a slew of hit singles in its own right, but it was the song from the movie, The Breakfast Club ('Don't You Forget About Me') that finally broke Simple Minds in the US market almost overnight! What can you remember of that time period, between having recorded it and being told you were suddenly #1 in not just the US, but many other countries around the world? DEREK - "I remember first hearing the song at Barwell Court, home of my successor, John Giblin. John had a rehearsal / recording room at his enormous manor in Surrey. We had been told that we were first in line to record the main track for the movie 'The Breakfast Club'. Jim heard the song, but didn't want to do it. Mick, Charlie, Mel and myself decided that we would do it, and I was to sing it. Luckily for the film and the World, I persuaded Jim that this would be an American Number One record, he gave in, and made it the song that it is."

"We put the Simple Minds stamp on it, and with Jims "Hey Hey..and La La La's", we stormed the charts everywhere. When we reached number one in the States, I had already been sacked, So, for me it was bitter sweet. I was really proud of my achievements with the band, but I felt that I had lost all of my close family. Little did I know that I would join the hottest German band around in the following two months..Propaganda. I recruited Brian McGee into the band after my good friend Steve Jansen of the band Japan, had left for projects new."

Huh, that's really interesting. When is this from? I had a good deal of interaction with him on myspace back around 2007/2008, and his remarks about that whole era and breakdown with the band were very much the opposite of that. Can you link to the whole interview? I'd be really curious to read the whole thing.

[Lament]

Lament, which song of mine was the one you didnt like? Cult of Personality or Take On Me?

Watching the Wheels, actually.

Ah, I almost went with Starting Over there, but thought Watching The Wheels would appeal more to the masses.

I can't put my finger on what it is, but something about Watching the Wheels has always grated on me. I much prefer Lennon's solo work to the Beatles, but this song just never does it for me.

[Rangi Guy]

I thought Forbes got fired from the band

That was the story at the time, but according to him he quit, and the stuff Jim and Charlie have said about that period in the last decade or so seem to back up his claim.

From an interview.....

Derek, the next album, 1984's Sparkle in the Rain then produced a slew of hit singles in its own right, but it was the song from the movie, The Breakfast Club ('Don't You Forget About Me') that finally broke Simple Minds in the US market almost overnight! What can you remember of that time period, between having recorded it and being told you were suddenly #1 in not just the US, but many other countries around the world? DEREK - "I remember first hearing the song at Barwell Court, home of my successor, John Giblin. John had a rehearsal / recording room at his enormous manor in Surrey. We had been told that we were first in line to record the main track for the movie 'The Breakfast Club'. Jim heard the song, but didn't want to do it. Mick, Charlie, Mel and myself decided that we would do it, and I was to sing it. Luckily for the film and the World, I persuaded Jim that this would be an American Number One record, he gave in, and made it the song that it is."

"We put the Simple Minds stamp on it, and with Jims "Hey Hey..and La La La's", we stormed the charts everywhere. When we reached number one in the States, I had already been sacked, So, for me it was bitter sweet. I was really proud of my achievements with the band, but I felt that I had lost all of my close family. Little did I know that I would join the hottest German band around in the following two months..Propaganda. I recruited Brian McGee into the band after my good friend Steve Jansen of the band Japan, had left for projects new."

Huh, that's really interesting. When is this from? I had a good deal of interaction with him on myspace back around 2007/2008, and his remarks about that whole era and breakdown with the band were very much the opposite of that. Can you link to the whole interview? I'd be really curious to read the whole thing.

No idea how legitimate it is, and I'd say you're probably in a better position to make this call given you've had interaction with the guy - I'm just going off what I'd seen and heard. Here's the interview I was talking about http://www.annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=1117

[numbers]

Lament, which song of mine was the one you didnt like? Cult of Personality or Take On Me?

Watching the Wheels, actually.

Ah, I almost went with Starting Over there, but thought Watching The Wheels would appeal more to the masses.

I can't put my finger on what it is, but something about Watching the Wheels has always grated on me. I much prefer Lennon's solo work to the Beatles, but this song just never does it for me.

I've always felt like most of the stuff that was released posthumously was missing his touch on the production. Of course, those albums still have spawned a lot of songs I really, really like.

[Kaius]

I don't care who thinks whose picks are 4th rate, or whose are not obscure enough. I have a good cross-section (not genre-specific) of my best representation of the 80's... and more importantly, have a cool new playlist of 25 songs.
I think it's mostly fun (and in some cases... interesting) to see what everyone picks, opening my eyes to songs/bands I wasn't previously familiar with (that's why I DO watch the videos).

Same here. I'm pretty certain I'm not nearly as musically literate or cultured as most of you, but these tournaments have been a great way for everyone to see what others' tastes are, in general.

It's this voting part, or more specifically the attempt to discredit someone else's picks that I get turned off by... especially by those who do not play.

Eh, sometimes I get irritated by the unprompted negative commentary, but I'm pretty sure that comes from my own insecurities and is not anyone else's fault. I love getting the opinions of the well-versed members around here. My musical horizons have been opened tenfold since coming to RM, and I'm definitely appreciative of it.

[BurtReynolds]

I don't care who thinks whose picks are 4th rate, or whose are not obscure enough. I have a good cross-section (not genre-specific) of my best representation of the 80's... and more importantly, have a cool new playlist of 25 songs.

I think it's mostly fun (and in some cases... interesting) to see what everyone picks, opening my eyes to songs/bands I wasn't previously familiar with (that's why I DO watch the videos). It's this voting part, or more specifically the attempt to discredit someone else's picks that I get turned off by... especially by those who do not play.

I've never been too clear on the point of these things. Am I supposed to be trying to pick songs RM would like? Who cares what you people like!

[Kaius]

Vote for Burt

[Lament]

No idea how legitimate it is, and I'd say you're probably in a better position to make this call given you've had interaction with the guy - I'm just going off what I'd seen and heard. Here's the interview I was talking about http://www.annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=1117

It's kind of interesting to me that his telling of the story when he was in FourGoodMen was far less sympathetic to the rest of the band than his telling of the story now that he's essentially in a Simple Minds tribute band. I wonder how much that has to do with things.

In a case like this, I would imagine the truth is ultimately somewhere in the middle. But either way, the records they made without him (especially Street Fighting Years, Real Life, and Good News From the Next World) are pretty awful.

[Jorge]

"Don't You Forget About Me" is a song that could have been performed to more or less the same effect by any number of bands in 1985. It wouldn't be a problem if it were just an "anomaly" in their catalog. The problem is they then spent a decade trying to tailor their catalog to follow in the footsteps of that song and ending up becoming one of the most generic of late 80s bands after being one of the most unique ones of the early 80s.

I understand. It's not a Simple Minds song. It's a song that happened to be performed by Simple Minds. But it seems silly to begrudged the song because of how the band reacted to its success.

And seriously, it's not that good of a song.

No no no. I love this song hard. Like rock hard.

[Kaius]

No no no. I love this song hard. Like rock hard.

[LetMeSleep]

"Don't You Forget About Me" is a song that could have been performed to more or less the same effect by any number of bands in 1985. It wouldn't be a problem if it were just an "anomaly" in their catalog. The problem is they then spent a decade trying to tailor their catalog to follow in the footsteps of that song and ending up becoming one of the most generic of late 80s bands after being one of the most unique ones of the early 80s.

I understand. It's not a Simple Minds song. It's a song that happened to be performed by Simple Minds. But it seems silly to begrudged the song because of how the band reacted to its success.

And seriously, it's not that good of a song.

No no no. I love this song hard. Like rock hard.

Like "I'm on Fire" rock hard?

[Lament]

It's this voting part, or more specifically the attempt to discredit someone else's picks that I get turned off by... especially by those who do not play.

Eh, sometimes I get irritated by the unprompted negative commentary, but I'm pretty sure that comes from my own insecurities and is not anyone else's fault. I love getting the opinions of the well-versed members around here. My musical horizons have been opened tenfold since coming to RM, and I'm definitely appreciative of it.

Hey man, I voted for you!

And to THIP's point, my own picks are out there as well for criticism. Bada and Knee Tunes had no problem expressing their dislike of World Destruction.

[Jorge]

Like "I'm on Fire" rock hard?

Maybe even harder, man. I dunno. I just... I have a raging hardon right now. Excuse me

[LetMeSleep]

Like "I'm on Fire" rock hard?

Maybe even harder, man. I dunno. I just... I have a raging hardon right now. Excuse me

[Kaius]

Hey man, I voted for you!

And to THIP's point, my own picks are out there as well for criticism. Bada and Knee Tunes had no problem expressing their dislike of World Destruction.

Absolutely! Your critique of my list while casting a vote is not what I would consider "unprompted negative commentary" just to be clear.

I am curious what you considered the highs and lows of my squad.

Because I'm an egotistical maniac.

[Jorge]

I listened to two minutes of this. Just... the worst.

[Kaius]

Like "I'm on Fire" rock hard?

Maybe even harder, man. I dunno. I just... I have a raging hardon right now. Excuse me

[LetMeSleep]

I listened to two minutes of this. Just... the worst.

Absolutely would ruin any moment.

[Jorge]

I listened to two minutes of this. Just... the worst.

It keeps getting worse and worse. At around 3:30 it evolves into intergalactic whale mating calls.