"Love Song" by Simple Minds.

[Gerontophile]

Hey y'all. I've been lurking. No matter.

So, currently watching "MyMix" on youtube, usual subjects, no harm no foul.

When suddenly, this pops up. Now, I love this song to bits and pieces, but I hadn't though of it in at least ... a time span. Funnily enough, I'd been reading the Graun's piece on their comeback. They never went away, but I digress..

I am literally in the process of watching the video to this song. It's not the best, is it? The song is over-the-top, fabulous... but the video?

Perhaps I missed the context. 1m 40s on, you decide, and the song remains the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_H7...=RDMM&index=23

(Back soon. Insane insanities. Who knew?)

[Jah Womble]

It's very decent, but I've always been more of a 'Sweat in Bullet'-man, myself.

[hobbes]

Hey y'all. I've been lurking. No matter.

SO what you're saying is "Don't You Forget About Me?"

[Gerontophile]

Hobbes: I hate you so much right now!

With love, obviously.

(Jah, mine was all the weird non-interactive shit on "Empires". That stuff was strange, and yet, alluring. "Love Song" has always been my favourite. Which is why I put the video on.... does no-one else see the bass player dropping a tablet in someone's drink?)

[Cal Alamein]

Hadn't heard that song before, thought it surely couldn't be a cover of this classic:

[Gerontophile]

I saw the Damned, in Las Vegas. I went with a guy, still alive, who had no fucking idea about the Damned, and trusted my judgement.

He's still alive. Moved to Oklahoma. I surmise that it might be this, and Psychedelic Furs, live. Probably broke him. Understandably.

When my glasses flew across the room in Brighton, when I and ex were moshing our arses off, was one of the best ... and then they played 'Eloise'. (Haven't I written this before?) and THAT was the moment I knew, I can't fucking see, and people are dancing where my glasses are, were, oh, wait.

I hope that anyone in Brighton, and or Hove, goes and sees what I did to that poor man. He beat me up, I killed his llama. (I didn't, but it helped.) I'd never kill a llama.

[Gerontophile]

Oh, wait! I went to see (the) Sweet in Vegas about 6 weeks ago. It was so good, that the person who got me the ticket (free) is having a triple bypass. No, sorry, recovering from said stuff.

Christ, Julia Fordham, you were right.

[danielmak]

A bunch of random comments.

That song was such a key part of a my teenage life that was so fun. But I had never seen that video before.

I read one of those Omnibus books about Echo and the Bunnymen in the late 80s. You know the books that basically synthesized NME, Melody Maker, and Sounds articles. The underlining theme of the book is that the Bunnymen should have been the next U2 but Simple Minds became the next U2 when Don't You Forget About Me blew up. With time on our side, Simple Minds had one massive hit and then faded. I don't know if we'd say that Simple Minds had more of a career.

Watching this video was a tipping point to make me think that TV/film/music video screenwriters love include full-blown barroom brawls. I admittedly have not and currently don't spend time in places where a full-blown brawl would break out, but I have never heard from anyone I know that such a brawl has happened. I have seen fights that at most involved 4 people (two sets of friends squaring off) but usually just two guys fighting to prove their manliness to someone. Have any of you actually witnessed a full-blown brawn in a bar, pub, club, etc?

[Gerontophile]

Daniel, I will reply shortly, as I stop some cocks from fighting. Nope, not a typo.

[Gerontophile]

Hey. Echo and the Bunnymen were 2nd division at best. "Everyone" knew that they had some great guitar, a bassline to kill for, and some intricate drums.And that cunt as a mouthpiece.

Simple Minds were slightly different, They didn't ask to be put on a pedestal, and just did their thing. And at the point of "Don't You..." U2 were already stratospheric. The only connection between U2 and Simple Minds, was one asking the other how the fuck that shit (fame) works. Oh, one other connection. I saw Big Country as a support band almost as much as The Alarm.

Simple Minds are cool. There is no getting away from it. Bastards. But bastards with some extra ordinary music. Charlie lived across the back from me, although I knew fuck all about it. Him and my brother, used to fanboy each other (my brother was a soccer player for a very specific team), and then when Simple Minds went insane, Charlie kept calling to ask how my brother was doing, with his knee injury. And yes, I think Mark might be related, fact fans.

Simple Minds did enough to warrant "yeah, you'll do" status.

[danielmak]

In terms of cool, no way Simple Minds were cooler than the Bunnymen. Simple Minds might have been more popular with a few hits that did better than the Bunnymen's hits. But cooler? No way. haha.

And I say that liking both bands.

But back to the next U2 thing. Around the time this book would have been published since I don't have it anymore. I'd guess 1988 or 1989. U2 were flying with Joshua Tree and then Rattle and Hum. The idea was who is going to be next? The author was claiming that the Bunnymen had been on the verge but it never really happened. Instead, Simple Minds happened. I can't speak for the UK, but in 1986 (looking at Setlist) they were playing outdoor amphitheaters. That's impressive. Same venues that REM would have been playing around that time in major markets but Simple Minds could do multiple nights in a region, whereas REM would have been doing one night. By 1991 Simple Minds were playing the same size venues that Sonic Youth might play. That's a big fall. So, yeah, they were nowhere near U2 in terms of star status or longevity. But the guy who wrote that book was right in that Simple Minds surpassed the Bunnymen in terms of fame at that time (88 or 89). But not in terms of cool (just to get that one in again haha).

[Jah Womble]

Probably 1985 - Don't You Forget About Me onwards. Simple Minds were basically very good/cool 'until' they went stadium-sized.

I guess that applies to several bands, tbh.

[Disco Child Ballads]

It's kind of depressing that Simple Minds' only UK number 1 (Belfast Child) is one of their worst songs.

Empires and Dance is their best album.

[WOM]

I saw the Damned, in Las Vegas.

I'm seeing them here, in May. And Echo & The Bunnymen the week prior. I saw Simple Minds once and it was so dull we left early.

[Auntie Beryl]

Geography and chronology lead to varying perspectives. It's odd to think of Simple Minds being considered a 'one hit' band.

Too young to have known them as they emerged - I think the first I heard of them was Promised You A Miracle on TOTP - my two favourites from that pre-Breakfast Club purple patch are This Earth That You Walk Upon and Someone Somewhere In Summertime.

I've seen both Echo & The Bunnymen and Simple Minds in the last decade or so. Preferred ver Minds tbh - they were careful to focus on the early years, almost exclusively. No Belfast Child. The Bunnymen lacked oomph.

[danielmak]

Simple Minds had one massive hit in the US and then a few minor hits. It's hard for me to assess scale without doing a little research (not feeling up to that haha) because I was in Los Angeles. There was a big radio station there KROQ that played what would become known as commercial alternative music. Bands like the Cure, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode could play a stadium or multiple nights in an arena whereas in other cities they'd play a range of large, medium, or smaller venues. Simple Minds got airplay before "Don't You (Forget About Me)." Oddly, linking this back to the OP, I don't remember "Love Song" being played. But it was one all of my friends and I loved. It was a regular on the LP > cassettes that we had in our cars.

[Jah Womble]

The follow-up to DYFAM, Alive and Kicking, also went gold in the US (Billboard # 3).

[WOM]

My god, did that get airplay back in the day. It was on heavy rotation. Their big song when I saw them was Waterfront, which they opened the show with...and then collectively fell asleep afterward. Shriekback opened for them and had 10x the energy.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Here's an alternative love song:

[Toby Gymshorts]

No idea why I thought that thread crash was a good idea. I'm very tired.

[Jah Womble]

My god, did that get airplay back in the day. It was on heavy rotation. Their big song when I saw them was Waterfront, which they opened the show with...and then collectively fell asleep afterward. Shriekback opened for them and had 10x the energy.

Underrated band, Shriekback. Their Lined Up is a classic of the era, while Hand on My Heart almost gave them a hit. (Effectively a post-punk 'supergroup', they were formed by XTC's Barry Andrews and Dave Allen of Gang of Four.)

As for Stone Temple Pilots, well, cheers anyway...

[multipleman78]

Watching this video was a tipping point to make me think that TV/film/music video screenwriters love include full-blown barroom brawls. I admittedly have not and currently don't spend time in places where a full-blown brawl would break out, but I have never heard from anyone I know that such a brawl has happened. I have seen fights that at most involved 4 people (two sets of friends squaring off) but usually just two guys fighting to prove their manliness to someone. Have any of you actually witnessed a full-blown brawn in a bar, pub, club, etc?

I once saw a large brawl in the Garage nightclub in Glasgow. It appeared to start out as two sets of friends having a ding dong but seemed to spiral into other pockets of friends as they banged into unsuspecting clubbers who responded to the infringement on their dance space as an invitation for more violence.

The arrival of the first couple of bouncers actually made it worse and they became embroiled in scraps too but more bouncers/staff showed up and it all fizzled out remarkably quickly. I think everyone involved was satisfied with whatever licks they had gotten in.

Unlike the movies, it was a brawl lacking in proper blows. Lots of grappling and clothes being torn but not many scoring shots. Everyone walked away and I don’t remember any injury worse than a bloody nose. I think the bouncers threw the most meaningful punches.

[ursus arctos]

I used to pride myself on being aware of potential trouble and quick to get out before things went south, but I once saw a pool cue-involved brawl among two groups (total 6-10) at a Native American dive bar in the SF Tenderloin (we lived across the street).

The dynamic wasn't really different from the one danielmak describes; the difference was only the size of the groups.

The most unrraliatic aspect of the film/tv trope for me was the idea that everyone in the bar immediately takes sides and ploughs in.

[Felicity, I guess so]

One very drunken summer trip to Düsseldorf military base, attached to the airport, saw our youth club embroiled in a big brawl with theirs. There was chicken in a basket and a band but I feel the fact that even I, 15 and occasionally nicknamed 'Diddyman', was getting served the draft Alt in the squaddies' bar had rather more to do with it.

It kicked off late on, the disco scratched to a halt and it was a sea of limbs in the flashing lights. I backed towards the window then got knocked out of it, thankfully open to the warm summer air. I landed on the soft grass, pissing myself laughing and then stood on tiptoes watching the rest of the proceedings, still greatly amused at the unreality of it all.

[danielmak]

I have been in a food fight when I was in 8th grade and that was akin to what is seen in media: it was a rainy day and this was Southern Calfiornia so we normally ate outside anywhere on the campus. Because of the rain, the entire 8th grade was in the cafeteria. The food fight was total chaos. Not nearly as romantic as the barroom brawl but as someone who only wants to see violence in a boxing ring, I'll take the food fight any day.