Die anstehende Veröffentlichung des neuen U2-Albums 'How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb' hat auch Simple Minds'-Frontman Jim Kerr dazu bewegt, einige Worte darüber auf der offiziellen Simple Minds-Homepage http://www.simpleminds.com zu veröffentlichen. Er schreibt:

[i]Wednesday 17 November 2004 : Ali Ooops!!
In a world of little certainty one of the only things
that you safely can bet on right now is that the new
album released by U2 will command an untold amount of
worldwide media exposure. Oh, you can also bet that
millions upon millions of dollars will have been spent
on a marketing campaign to make sure that this is so,
but that is a cynical thought and besides the point.
I have not heard this new album yet, I have not heard
their pre-released single yet either. In fact as I
recall I doubt that I have heard any of their last
four or five albums the whole way thru. But that was
more to do with the fact that for a long time I was
uninterested in the sound of most rock records
regardless of who made them. As much as I am however
looking forward to hearing this new record, one thing
for sure is that due to liking both Bono and Edge so
much, (loving them actually) I will lack any real
capacity to judge the music fairly. My feelings for
this group are very partisan and to be honest it has
been like this since I first came across them when we
played together in a field in Belgium a heck of a long
time ago.
It was the two day Tourhout and Werchter festival that
brought us together actually. Prior to that I had
noticed the rave press that they were getting, but I
had not bought any of their albums, feeling that it
would be too "rockist" for me despite quite liking
some of the singles. Interestingly, my brother was a
massive fan and had seen them a couple of times when
they played in Glasgow Tiffanys ballroom. He said that
they were the proverbial bees knees, maybe even as
good as us!!! Forgive him he was my wee brother after
all.
Apart from that Charlie had met these "great Irish
guys, in a band" previously. Least that was how he
described them on the night both bands stayed in the
same cheap Mancunian B&B, literally passing each other
in the corridor and politely saying hello. Charlie did
however catch up with both the singer and guitar
player later on in the evening and chatted to them for
about five minutes, chuffed with the praise that they
were giving to our then new single "The American".
It would be a while before we would meet up again,
although everyone who either knew or worked for both
of us had at varying times commented on how we would
really like these people. That we had so much in
common, same sort of spirit, similar energy etc. I did
not pay much attention, to be frank I was absorbed in
our thing and our thing only.
And so to Tourhourt where in all truth we had a great
show that day. It rained heavily when we went on but
the sun then came out as we were peaking emotionally.
We were blinding that day, or so everyone seemed to
think. I thought we could have done better and got a
little moody as I recall, all because Mick seemed to
be blasting out way too loud, killing all subtleties.
Childish really. Me, not Mick! Next up, U2 followed
us, and by their own admission they were a little
under par. Impressive for sure but maybe a little
tired having flown in just the previous day from
America.
Afterwards their little lead singer Bono (yes, even
littler than me) was showing no sign of fatigue as we
talked enthusiastically about our dreams and hopes.
Generosity of spirit was pouring out of him, and we
instantly got to striking up a friendship that lasts
to this day. He was great company and just so fired up
about...well just about everything. It left me in no
doubt that with a fire like that going on inside their
lead singer, they would achieve their even then self
declared goal of becoming the biggest band in the
world.
Afterwards I agreed to ride back to the hotel with
Bono and his beautiful young wife Ali. A wonderful
girl. Unfortunately for her, it had been a long
boiling hot July day and we were crammed into a tiny
mini bus for the ride back to Bruxelles. Equally I
remember how both Bono and I stank really badly of
stale sweat. We were rancid actually, as a result of
performing earlier and having had no opportunity to
shower. Even now I still blush and feel sorry for what
poor Ali had to endure as she sat sandwiched between
us in the backseat on that musky evening!
The next day at Werchter was a different story. They
put on a set that was electrifying. Out of this world
in fact. So strong it was like nothing I had
previously witnessed, the kind of set that is
impossible to follow. Yet, in our own way we did just
that. Both acts went down an absolute storm in front
of a festival audience that matched us for energy and
enthusiasm. Afterwards although totally drained,
everyone involved was flush with a great feeling of
satisfaction. Ever since then and continuing to the
present I have had no doubt as to the thorough
greatness of U2, both as a band and as people. Good on
them then, and congratulations with their continued
success that they have worked so hard for!
Good luck to Bob Geldolf also with Band Aid 20. I just
admire Geldolf so much for his global commitment that
has never waned. Differing views exist of course as to
how effective Band Aid was twenty years ago when it
was formed to seek relief for the famine victims in
Ethiopia. Personally I have no doubt that once the
dust had settled and all the hype and hot air faded,
the proceeds of the campaign would still have helped
to save millions of lives at least. Surely that has to
be a positive thing. Regarding the bigger question of
how to solve world hunger, well only politicians and
not pop stars can answer that! The responsibility lies
with them but they can be influenced by all of us. Let
us hope that Band Aid again can be like an ignition
key for the political "bandwagon" to get mobile and
moving in the right direction. God speed!
JK
:: Posted by :: JK[/i]
(Danke an Miri für den Hinweis)