Jim Kerr
| Jim Kerr | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Kerr |
| Born | 9 July 1959 |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | Rock, folk, punk rock, post-punk, new wave, pop rock, alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, dobro, keyboard, percussion, harmonica |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Associated acts | Simple Minds |
| Website | SimpleMinds.com |
James "Jim" Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter, best known as lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds, who achieved five UK No. 1 albums and a No. 1 single "Ballad of the Streets EP". He released his first solo album, Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr, on 27 May 2010. Kerr's voice has been described as "David Bowie's rich baritone melded with Bryan Ferry's velvety croon".
Born in Toryglen, Glasgow with Irish ancestry, Kerr attended Holyrood R.C. Secondary School there. He had a stammer during childhood and in his early teens.
In 1977, he was one of the founding members of the 6-piece punk rock band Johnny and the Self Abusers. Calling himself Pripton Weird, he played keyboards and shared vocals with John Milarky. Allan McNeill was also involved with the band, and went on to be the manager of the Pop band Hue and Cry. The band lasted 8 months, during which time Kerr emerged as one of the main songwriters. In November 1977 they changed their name to Simple Minds, quickly reduced to 4 members, then increased to 5, then 6, then back to 5 before a period of stability ensued.
He continues to record and tour with Simple Minds, who released their latest album Big Music in October 2014 and are currently working on their 18th album. Jim currently lives in Taormina, Sicily, where he runs a hotel, Villa Angela.
Three UK club dates in the spring of 2010 featured both new material and Simple Minds' back catalogue and a full European tour followed.
"Shadowland" was released as the first single from the album. The album version of the song was made available to listen as an audio stream on 13 March 2010. A new remix, more suitable for radio airplay, was done by Cenzo Townshend whom Jim Kerr chose because of Townshends's previous work with Simple Minds' latest album Graffiti Soul. A promotional single with the new radio mixes of the song was shipped to radio stations on 4 April 2010.
"Shadowland" was originally meant to be released as a commercial physical release, but it was eventually only released as a download single on 9 May 2010. The three tracks on the download single were the same three tracks previously available on the "Shadowland" radio promo single.
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