4 Great Simple Minds Songs from the 1980s that Aren’t “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”

Simple Minds had one of the strangest trajectories for a popular band in the 1980s. They slowly grew in popularity, first breaking through with some minor hits and MTV exposure. The Scottish band then exploded in 1985 with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”—a song that was uncharacteristic in style and for not being written by the band. The tune, written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, gained massive exposure from its inclusion in the film The Breakfast Club. It created a wave of popularity that was large enough to make Simple Minds’ next album Once Upon a Time a smash hit.

However, a long hiatus between Once Upon a Time and its follow-up, Street Fighting Years, killed Simple Minds’ hard-won commercial momentum in the U.S. The band experienced a resurgence in the ‘90s with hits like “See the Lights” and “She’s a River,” but as the decades have passed, they are largely remembered for “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”—and, to a lesser extent, their Top-10 hit from Once Upon a Time, “Alive and Kicking.” It would be a shame to misremember Simple Minds as a one- or two-hit wonder, so let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of some of their other great ‘80s hits.

“Promised You a Miracle” from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)

Kenny Hyslop’s time as Simple Minds’ drummer was brief; he played on exactly one song on a studio album. He not only drummed on “Promised You a Miracle,” but he was instrumental in the song’s creation. Hyslop recorded the song “Too Through” by The Bad Girls from the radio on his Walkman while the band were in New York, and he played it repeatedly. The rest of Simple Minds liked the song, too, and they jammed to “Too Through,” ultimately creating a new tune of their own. The synth horn line from “Too Through” is instantly recognizable in the synth hook for “Promised You a Miracle.”

“Promised You a Miracle” was Simple Minds’ attempt to write a big hit, and compared to their previous efforts, they succeeded. Until “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” became their first Top-10 single in the UK, no Simple MInds song had charted higher on the Official UK Singles Chart than the No. 13 position achieved by “Promised You a Miracle.” In the U.S., it received a smattering of airplay on mainstream rock and college radio stations and spent five weeks on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, peaking at No. 65.

“Glittering Prize” from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)

For those who remember when Simple Minds made their initial splash in the U.S. with “Promised You a Miracle,” it’s hard to not think of “Glittering Prize” as its companion song. Both were released as singles from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), and both made it onto playlists of rock-oriented stations that were on the adventurous side. More spacious than “Promised You a Miracle,” “Glittering Prize” features the sunny synths, bouncy bass lines, and Jim Kerr’s buoyant vocals that were characteristic of this era of Simple Minds.

“Waterfront” from Sparkle in the Rain (1984)

In an interview for the video series Top 2000 a go go, Kerr explained the idea behind the lead single from Sparkle in the Rain came from a stroll he took along the River Clyde in Glasgow. In looking at a landscape that had been altered by the demise of industry, Kerr thought about the cyclical nature of change. A week later, he heard Derek Forbes playing a pulsating one-note bass line that would be perfect for a song about the renewal of Glasgow’s waterfront. Kerr said, “It actually felt like a steamship or something. … It had a size to it.”

“Waterfront” became Simple Minds’ only No. 1 single in New Zealand, and it resonated with audiences in the UK as well. It matched “Promised You a Miracle’s” peak position of No. 13 on the UK Official Singles chart. However, it did not make a dent on any of Billboard’s charts in the U.S.

“Sanctify Yourself” from Once Upon a Time (1985)

Yet another Simple Minds song driven by a powerful bass line, “Sanctify Yourself” has a call-and-response chorus that was inspired by Sly & the Family Stone, according to Kerr. A close listen to the chorus reveals a pair of familiar voices in the backing vocals. Robin Clark, who provided backing vocals for David Bowie’s “Young Americans,” does so as well as for “Alive and Kicking” and “All the Things She Said” from Once Upon a Time. Particularly during the song’s outro, you may also recognize Michael Been, whose band The Call were once an opening band for Peter Gabriel, just like Simple Minds had been a few years earlier.

Sandwiched in between “Alive and Kicking” and “All the Things She Said” as the second single from Once Upon a Time, “Sanctify Yourself” has gotten overlooked as the years have passed. Upon its release, it was nearly as popular as “Alive and Kicking,” particularly on album-oriented rock stations. The track spent 13 weeks on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, making it all the way to No. 3—one spot short of the peak for “Alive and Kicking.” It also went to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Photo by Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock