A biography for Jim Kerrhasn’t been written yet.
“I'm a kid from housing estate in Glasgow.”
“We had this thing that hometown gigs were the best and the worst because there was this unbearable pressure.”
“I'm not an easy one when it comes to nostalgia - as long as I've got a new idea I'll always think that this is the best song we've ever written and all that.”
“We were blessed in many ways.”
“When that punk strain came to Britain and infected everyone. It was more than just a sound. There was an ethos, an ethic that went with it.”
“Punk was a very liberating force.”
“When you go though the door to the big league, your band is no longer your band. I wouldn't want anyone to feel sorry for us. We'd worked and we'd gone for it. We were pretty gung-ho. I liked our attitude.”
“Like everyone else, when you start out you must begin from a position of being completely unknown. No option.”
“Glasgow - don't get me wrong, I love Glasgow, but in the '60s and '70s the city was on its knees. It was kind of bankrupt. It was pretty monochrome.”
“For us, the world makes sense through music, and we escape through it, too.”
“If you're in a band, you can dress like a daft teenager for as long as you like. In fact, it's expected of you!”
“It was the mid-80s and we were on the verge of making it big all over the world, having just released Sparkle in the Rain. However, as with many U.K. bands, the U.S. was proving tough to crack.”
“I never find myself sitting down to write a song with a goal or an attitude that I'm trying to express. The words bring out the attitude in me.”
“By 1980, we'd been round Europe three or four times, and our eyes were wide open.”
“I am a huge sports fan and could easily reel off a load of sports stars who became idols to me.”
“I try not to be one of these dads who foists their innate good taste onto their children.”
“When we were growing up the Barrowland was ominous. It had closed down. It was synonymous with Bible John.”
“As for my all-time sporting hero? There is one who towers above all. I first knew him when he was called Cassius Clay but it was when he changed his name to Muhammad Ali that I became mesmerised by him.”
“The concert stage is where Simple Minds do their best work, it is where we forged our live reputation.”
“I go to bed at 8 P.M. and get up at 4:30 A.M. Who the hell is gonna live with that?”