James Kerr

James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, best known for being the frontman of the rock band Simple Minds. Commercially successful singles released by Simple Minds include "Glittering Prize" (1982), "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" (1982), "Waterfront" (1983), "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985, #1 U.S. and #1 Canada), and "Alive and Kicking" (1985), as well as the UK number one single "Belfast Child" (1989). With Kerr as their lead singer, Simple Minds have achieved five UK Albums chart number one albums, Sparkle in the Rain (1984), Once Upon a Time (1985), Live in the City of Light (1987), Street Fighting Years (1989) and Glittering Prize 81/92 (1992); they have sold more than 60 million albums. They were the most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s. Simple Minds have also achieved considerable chart success in the United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy and New Zealand. Kerr released his first solo album, Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr, on 27 May 2010. His voice has been described as "David Bowie's rich baritone melded with Bryan Ferry's velvety croon". James Kerr was born in Toryglen, Glasgow, into a family of Irish Scots ancestry. 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. Simple Minds achieved major commercial success throughout the 1980s, releasing the UK number three album New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) in 1982, and then scoring four consecutive UK number one albums with Sparkle in the Rain (1984), Once Upon a Time (1985), Live in the City of Light (1987) and Street Fighting Years (1989) and one UK number one single, "Belfast Child" (1989), followed by a fifth UK number one album with Glittering Prize 81/92 in 1992. In 2026 Kerr recorded his twentieth studio album with Simple Minds, and there will be an Australian and New Zealand tour in 2027. "Shadowland" was released as the first single from the album.