This is the tour history of the Scottish rock band Simple Minds.
Formed in 1977, the band have toured internationally on a semi-regular basis since 1979.
Simple Minds' August 1986 shows in Paris on their Once Upon A Time Tour were recorded and released in May 1987 as the live album Live in the City of Light. The double album set reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.
Simple Minds released in May 1990 on (VHS) home video as Verona their first ever live film featuring (only) parts of their show on 15 September 1989 in Verona, Italy during their Street Fighting Years tour.
24 years later, Simple Minds released in May 2014 on DVD/CD their second ever live film titled Celebrate – Live at the Glasgow SSE Hydro featuring their complete show on 27 November 2013 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, UK during their Greatest Hits + tour.
On 4 October 2019, Simple Minds released the double live album Live in the City of Angels, mostly recorded on 24 October 2018 at the Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, California (i.e. the City of Angels) during their biggest ever (2018) North American tour.
1970s tours
1977 "Johnny and the Self Abusers 1977" (11 April – November 1977; Scotland Tour as "Johnny and the Self Abusers") (for the final 1977 gig of this first line-up which took place in November 1977 at the Glasgow Art School, the band was billed as "Simple Minds")
1978 "Simple Minds 1978" (17 January-28 December 1978; Scotland Tour) (Simple Minds gave "officially" their first gig on 17 January 1978 at Satellite City in Glasgow during which they played (among other tracks) 'Act of Love', 'Pleasantly Disturbed', 'White Light-White Heat', 'Wasteland'; they particularly performed at the Astoria, Edinburgh supporting The Only Ones)
1979 "Life in a Day Tour" (January–September 1979; UK Tour) (9 January: one-off appearance at Edinburgh University's Pollock Halls of Residence; 28 March-8 September: UK Tour) "Real To Real Cacophony Tour" (October 1979-June 1980; mostly Europe Tour) (11–18 October 1979: Europe leg#1; 24&25 October 1979: (2) USA gigs; 29 October-4 November 1979: (Northern) Europe leg#2; 15 November 1979 – 24 February 1980: UK leg)
1980s tours
1980 "Real To Real Cacophony Tour" continuation (October 1979-June 1980; mostly Europe Tour) (15 November 1979 – 24 February 1980: UK leg; France gig in Paris on 12 January 1980; 2 March-20 June 1980: Europe leg#3 [including 2–7 March 1980: Germany leg & 14–23 March 1980: The Netherlands leg]) "Empires And Dance Tour 1980" (August 1980-January 1981: Europe Tour) (26 August 1980: UK gig in London; 30 August-6 September 1980: Europe leg#1; 7–14 September 1980: France leg; 15 September-11 October 1980: Europe leg#2; 17 October 1980 – 2 January 1981: UK leg)
1981 "Empires And Dance Tour 1981" (March 1981: mostly North-America Tour) (1&3 March: (2) UK gigs; 13 March: France appearance at Studio Gabriel in Paris; 17–27 March: North-America Tour) "Sons And Fascination Tour 1981" (August–December 1981; World Tour) (28 August-25 September: UK leg#1; 16 October-9 November: North-America leg (USA & Canada); 13 November-13 December: Australia leg; 20&21 December: (2) Spain shows; 22–29 December: UK leg#2)
1982–1983 "Sons And Fascination Tour 1982" (February–August 1982; Europe Tour) (16 February-16 June: Europe leg#1; 14–18 July: UK & Ireland leg; 24 July-16 August: Europe leg#2) "New Gold Tour" (September 1982-August 1983; World Tour) (3 September 1982: Finland show in Helsinki; 8–17 September 1982: UK leg#1; 27 September-21 October 1982: Australia & New Zealand leg; 24 October-7 November 1982: North-America leg#1 (Canada only); 18 November-21 December 1982: UK (& Ireland) leg#2; 1–29 March 1983: Europe leg#1; 8 April-15 May 1983: North-America leg#2 (USA & Canada); 23 May-16 July 1983: Europe leg#2; 23 July-3 August 1983: North-America leg#3 (only 2 USA gigs & 1 Canada gig); 14 August 1983: Ireland show in Dublin)
1983–1984 "Tour Du Monde" (November 1983-September 1984; World Tour) (27 November-23 December 1983: UK leg#1; 27 January-9 February 1984: Australia & New Zealand leg; 18–21 February 1984: Ireland leg; 22 February-20 March 1984: UK leg#2; 24 March-27 April 1984: Europe leg#1; 5–19 May 1984: UK leg#3; 25 May-19 June 1984: North-America leg#1; 24 June-8 July 1984 : Europe leg#2; 25 July-5 September 1984: North-America leg#2; 11–15 September 1984: Japan leg)
1985 "Barrowland 1985" (only 3 UK shows on 3, 4 & 5 January 1985 at the Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow) "Live Aid" (short appearance at the "Live Aid" benefit concert on 13 July 1985 at the JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US with a 3-track set-list: 'Ghostdancing' / 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' / 'Promised You A Miracle')
1986 "Once Upon A Time Tour" (31 October 1985 – 9 November 1986; World Tour) (31 October-24 November 1985: North-America leg#1; 1 December 1985 – 17 February 1986: Europe leg#1; 23 February-3 March 1986: UK leg; 25 March-28 May 1986: North-America leg#2; 6 June-17 August 1986 : Europe leg#2; 10–15 October 1986: Japan leg; 20 October-9 November 1986 : Australia & New Zealand leg)
1987 "Cash For Kids" (only 3 UK shows on 14, 15 & 16 December 1987 at Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow where the band played the rare trio of 'Pleasantly Disturbed', 'Room' and 'Capital City')
1988 "Brazil 1988" (7 & 14 January 1988; only 2 shows in Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo) "Summer 1988 UK shows"(only 2 shows: on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London, UK (Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute during which Simple Minds played 'Mandela Day' live for the first time) & on 14 July 1988 at Wembley, London, UK)
1989 "Street Fighting Years Tour" (16 May-28 November 1989; Europe & Australia Tours; 16 May-18 July: Europe leg#1; 23 July-26 August: UK (& Ireland) leg; 28 August-30 September: Europe leg#2; 18–28 November: Australia leg)
1990s tours
1990 "Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa"(short appearance on 16 April 1990 at Wembley Stadium, London, UK; 2-track set-list: 'Mandela Day' / 'Sun City') "Germany 1990" (25 August-2 September 1990; Germany Mini-Tour; 4 shows)
1991 "Real Life Tour" (23 May-23 October 1991; World Tour) (23 May-19 June: North-America leg; 25 June-5 August: Europe leg#1; 7 August-24 August: UK leg; 27 August-23 October: Europe leg#2)
1994 "US Christmas Shows" (3 – 18 December 1994; US Tour; nine promotional shows sponsored by local radio stations such as HFS Baltimore, WDRE New York and KROQ Los Angeles, featuring a 4/5-track setlist: 'She's A River' / 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' / 'See The Lights' / 'Sanctify Yourself' / 'Alive And Kicking')
1995 "Good News From The Next World Tour" (9 February-5 November 1995; World Tour) (9 February-2 March: North-America leg; 17–27 March: UK leg#1 & Ireland dates; 30 March-26 August: Europe leg#1; 3–13 September: UK leg#2; 16–21 September: South America leg; 24–30 September: South Africa leg; 3–22 October: Europe leg#2; 23 October-5 November: France leg). Including *"Rock Summer" (14 July 1995; Tallinn Estonia)
1997 "(Spring/Summer) Festival Tour 1997" (13 June-10 August 1997; European Tour (including UK & Ireland legs)) "Night of the Proms '97" (31 October-7 December 1997; 32 shows mostly in Belgium, Netherlands & Germany with a 4-track set-list: 'Alive And Kicking' / 'Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)' / 'Belfast Child' / 'Don't You (Forget About Me)')
1998 "Neapolis Tour" (11 February-21 July 1998; European Tour; 39 shows)
1999 "Scotland Rocks For Kosovo" (Simple Minds was invited to play at this benefit gig on 31 May 1999 in aid of refugees settling in the country; with a 4-track set-list: 'Waterfront' / 'Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)' / 'Alive And Kicking' / 'Don't You (Forget About Me)')
2000s tours 2001 "Grand Prix Night of the Proms" (only 2 low-key Proms gigs on 24 & 26 May 2001 in Belgium & France with a 3-track set-list: 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' / 'Belfast Child' / 'Alive And Kicking')
2002 "The Floating World Tour" (15 April-18 October 2002; World Tour) (27 February 2002: appearance at Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands to receive an award from the Edison Awards; 15 April-3 May: UK leg; 5 May-4 June: Europe leg#1 [including 8–18 May : Germany leg (9 shows)]; 13 June-4 July: North-America (USA & Canada) leg (16 shows) [= Simple Minds' first North-America tour in 7 years]; 7 July-17 August: Europe leg#2 [including a Monaco show on 10 August; last show of Europe leg#2 on 17 August in Bilbao, Spain; last show of The Floating World Tour on 18 October at the "Lifestyle Music" Festival, Dubai, United Arab Emirates) (this tour is named after the last track of the new album Cry (2002); the set-list includes only a handful of new tracks from the new album, mostly 'Cry', 'New Sunshine Morning', 'Spaceface' (with the notorious "Fish & Chips" lyrics on 17 August in Bilbao), 'One Step Closer' but also some tracks rarely played such as 'Space' from the delayed Our Secrets are the Same (2004) or (as an encore) 'Theme For Great Cities', 'Changeling' or 'Dead Vandals') "Night of the Proms '02" (25 October-22 December 2002; 40 shows)
2003 "Alive And Kicking Tour" (27 June-20 December 2003; Europe Tour (including a UK leg)) (a sort of continuation of the previous "Floating World" tour with a different set-list including "new" old tracks such as 'Hunter and the Hunted', 'Premonition', 'Book of Brilliant Things', 'Street Fighting Years', the medley 'Ghostdancing / Gloria / Light My Fire' or (as an encore) 'Let It All Come Down' or (of course) 'Alive And Kicking')
2004 "(Spring/Summer) Festival Tour 2004" (22 May-14 August 2004; Europe Tour (including a UK leg)) (during this tour, Simple Minds followed the tried-and-tested formula of working on the new studio album during the week and playing festivals at the weekends) "Prince's Trust 2004" (Jim and Charlie were due to play 2 tracks (Belfast Child / Mandela Day) on 11 November 2004 at the Prince's Trust charity concert celebrating producer Trevor Horn's 25 years as a record producer alongside a line-up of other acts and musicians but due to an ear injury, Simple Minds had to cancel their appearance)
2005 "Intimate Tour 2005" (19 July-2 December 2005; Europe Tour (including a UK leg)) (this tour was made of (20) intimate showcase events across Europe in which some songs from the forthcoming album Black & White 050505 were played by the band to media along with old ones; many of the shows were promoted and showcased by radio stations with set-lists up to 17 tracks at the very most)
2006 "Black And White Tour" (30 January-28 August 2006; Europe & Australasia Tours) (many countries visited (including new ones): Ireland, UK (one leg), Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany (one leg), Austria, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy (one leg), Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenija, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia & New Zealand (one leg); during the tour, Simple Minds played live every track from his new album Black & White 050505)
2007 "Australian Tour 2007" (17 March-4 April 2007; Australia & New Zealand Tour) (surprise short tour (only 10 shows with an only 9-track set-list) with INXS and Arrested Development) "Lisbon Lions" (short appearance on 25 May 2007 at the Celtic Park, Glasgow, UK (only 5 tracks: 'Waterfront' / 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' / 'Dirty Old Town' / 'Sanctify Yourself' / 'Alive And Kicking') as part of a bigger show in honour of the Lisbon Lions, the Celtic team, on their 40th anniversary)
2008 "Night of the Proms '08 Spring Dates" (18–26 April 2008) "46664 Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute" (short appearance on 27 June 2008 in Hyde Park, London, UK (only 2 tracks: 'Mandela Day' / 'Don't You (Forget About Me)') as part of a 3h-long show in honour of Nelson Mandela's 90 anniversary - "46664" is Nelson Mandela's AIDS charity)