Simple Minds – 'Black & White' (Sanctuary) Released 12/09/05

A few years back, when Oasis were going through their imperial phase as a result of their Britpop-based successes, they were forced to curtail the American leg of their World tour when Liam Gallagher walked out on the touring party at Heathrow Airport, heading back to London to try and find a house with girlfriend Patsy Kensit.

The Daily Mail in its infinite wisdom ran the headline 'Is Patsy Kensit ruining our best bands?', the implication being that – looming crap Oasis era aside – she was in some way responsible for the change in fortunes for ex-husband and Minds’ singer Jim Kerr, the band having slid into obscurity.

In reality, with the exception of ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ and at a push ‘Alive & Kicking’ – primarily known for sound tracking Sky Sports’ early coverage of the Premier League in the early nineties – Simple Minds have always been something of a poor man’s U2, peddling chest-beating rock perfect for those who like that kind of thing but, with guitarist Charlie Burchill being no Edge and Kerr lacking the vocal range of Bono, a little too obvious for most of us.

‘Black & White’ has been described as Simple Minds’ comeback album, an ominous statement and a difficult trick to pull off. Their first release for three years – though be honest you can’t remember the name of the previous one, can you? – the band hope that it will reignite their careers after years in the wilderness.

This seems unlikely. Though ticking all the boxes you would expect, single ‘Home’ being a case in point, though (as has been the case before) the lyrics are fairly non-sensical. Less impressive is ‘The Jeweller (Part 2)’ which, along with having a pretentious title (there is no Part 1, geddit?) is basically pretentious guff. Not as bad as many may have feared, ‘Black & White’ will be one for Simple Minds fans only. However, when was the last time you met one of those?