Memories Change Me In These Times

On Sunday 23rd July 2006, Mrs. K and I saw Simple Minds live in concert for the first and last time.

Earlier that day, we made what would turn out to be our last visit to the Ashton Court Festival in Bristol. The signs of decline were already there, but the final nail in the coffin came the following year when torrential rain aborted the festival after the first day, at great financial cost from which the organisers didn't recover.

The festival was a staple of my teenage years, the annual rendezvous of friends at a city centre or Clifton pub before a stop at an off licence to load up on alcohol then our steady (already unsteady in some cases) walk to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, into the Ashton Court estate and towards the cluster of stages, performance tents, food stalls and sprawling mass of bodies in various states of intoxication, exhilaration and/or sunburn. 

 

The last leg, entering the estate and arriving at the festival always seemed far longer than I expected, even though I'd been going for years. On arrival, we'd grab a patch of ground and the size of the group would grow and diminish over the hours, from day to night, as some of us would wander off to check out other performances, meet up with other people, pass out or have a piss. For some, the last two occasionally happened simultaneously. At some point, we'd remember to eat and portions of goat curry or tasty noodles would duly be bought to soak up the alcohol.

 

It was an open festival so people would be turning up throughout the day, families, individuals, couples; generally, it was a great opportunity to bump into people you hadn't seen for ages. As it was free of charge - volunteers would wander round with collection buckets - Saturday was generally the main day to go but, hangover and hair of the dog permitting, a Sunday visit was generally on the cards too.

By 2006, the festival was a much different beast. Corporate sponsorship (Orange that year), a move towards "big name" headliners that had started a few years previously and, most controversially, the erection of a fenced boundary and admission fees meant that a different vibe from the carefree days of my youth. 

 

There was still a predominance of performers on the local circuit during the day and, looking back, the admission price of £7.00 (advance) or £9.00 (on the gate) per day was bloody amazing, given the range of artists and performers on offer. I don't know what the going price for Simple Minds was at the time, but I suspect rather more for what was a relatively intimate festival gig.

 

I think Mrs. K and I stayed on to see Simple Minds because, well why not? we were there already but I can't say that either of us were particularly bothered about seeing them. It might be my ropey memory - my days of getting blotto at Ashton Court were far behind me - but I don't recall the crowd being especially huge, so maybe many felt the same way. 

 

Despite being compos mentis for the entirety of the gig, I remember little of it and had to turn to Concert Archives website for Simple Minds setlist that night. It was clearly a solid, hits-packed show, with a sprinkling of tracks from then-current album Black & White 050505 but I can also see why it left me rather cold...and no, that wasn't just down to the setting sun and rapid temperature drop as day turned to night.

 

My favourite Simple Minds' albums at the time were Sons And Fascination and Sister Feelings Call, plus New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84). It subsequently expanded backwards to include the first three albums, but I was less familiar with them at the time. I was less bothered by what came after and my apathy grew into annoyance in the late 1980s/early 1990s. By the 21st Century, I had no idea what Simple Minds even sounded like.

 

From what I can remember of the gig, not very good. I wasn't necessarily going to be won over by either the new material or a set that was drew heavily on the excesses of 1985's Once Upon A Time, but I also recall being irked by the fact that Jim Kerr seemed overly reliant on "audience participation" for the big choruses. And, let's face it, Simple Minds songs circa 1985 were mostly big choruses.  "Just sing the bloody song!" I probably thought but was too cowardly to shout out loud. 

 

Sound at the festival was always a bit hit-and-miss and I don't recall the band sounding at their best either. Messrs. Kerr and Burchill may have been equally frustrated by this, especially as the Bristol appearance was in the midst of a worldwide tour where, frankly, the quality and audience energy might have been higher on any other night. It was all grist for my mill, of course.

 

So, all in all, one of the most disappointing gigs I have ever been to although I suspect I was predisposed to dislike it. Looking at the setlist with rheumy eyes in 2023, it's actually not as bad as all that. I would have ditched the risible cover of Gloria and swapped out (at least) Ghostdancing and Sanctify Yourself for Promised You A Miracle and Love Song. I would have loved to have heard The American or Sweat In Bullet or some of the other "not hits" but this is clearly not where Simple Minds were at in 2006.

 

It was a sad and slightly anti-climatic end to what had been an annual tradition of going to the Ashton Court Festival. I wish I could remember them all more clearly, but I was clearly off my face most of the time. It might have helped with Simple Minds in 1986...!

 

Note (1): I realise that if I had been a little more organised, I should have written and posted this last Sunday for perfect synchronicity, which was also 23rd July, 17 years on.

 

Note (2): I struggled to find credits for the first two photos, but the third ("Ashton Court throng") was discovered on Canis Major (Steve)'s Flickr site, along with lots of other rather lovely photos of Bristol back in the day. Thanks for the memories, Steve!

 

1) Stay Visible (Album Version) (2005)

2) Home (Video Version) (2005)

3) Speed Your Love To Me (Edit) (1984) 

4) See The Lights (7" Mix) (1991)

5) All The Things She Said (Edit) (1985)

6) Ghostdancing (Album Version) (1985)

7) Gloria (Album Version) (Cover of Them) (2001)

8) Waterfront (Edit) (1984)

9) The Jeweller Part 2 (Album Version) (2005)

10) Glittering Prize (Club Mix) (1982)

11) Don't You (Forget About Me) (Single Version) (1985)

12) Sanctify Yourself (Alternative Edit) (1985)

13) Stranger (Album Version) (2005)

14) New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (Album Version) (1982)

15) Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) (Album Version) (1982)

16) Alive & Kicking (Single Edit) (1985)

1982: Glittering Prize EP: 10

1982: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): 14, 15

1983: Waterfront EP: 8

1984: Speed Your Love To Me EP: 3

1985: Alive & Kicking EP: 16

1985: Don't You (Forget About Me) EP: 11

1985: Once Upon A Time: 6

1986: All The Things She Said EP: 5 

1986: Sanctify Yourself EP: 12

1991: See The Lights EP: 4

2001: Neon Lights: 7

2005: Black & White 050505: 1, 2, 9, 13

Memories Change Me In These Times (1:10:50) (KF) (Mega)