Charlie Burchill: Last News

Simple Minds have sold their “key music interests” to major label BMG.The agreement was made between the label and the band’s core members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, giving BMG the publishing rights to over 240 songs.“We are very pleased to have struck this deal,” Kerr said in a statement obtained by Music News. “It feels like the right time for us and our families.

Simple Minds have shared new single ‘Vision Thing’, which is the first to be taken from the band’s upcoming eighteenth studio album ‘Direction Of The Heart’.The euphoric ‘Vision Thing’ features music written by guitarist Charlie Burchill and lyrics by frontman Jim Kerr, with the song described as a tribute to Kerr’s “best pal” – his late father who passed away in 2019.The new single is ‘Direction Of The Heart”s opener and is followed by eight new tracks, which were all recorded at Hamburg’s Chameleon Studios. ‘Human Traffic’ features a guest appearance from Sparks’ frontman Russell Mael, and elsewhere the album includes a cover of The Call’s 1983 single ‘The Walls Came Down’.‘Direction Of The Heart’ is the follow-up to 2018’s ‘Walk Between Worlds’ and is out on October 21.

Manic Street Preachers‘ frontman James Dean Bradfield has launched a new podcast to accompany his forthcoming second solo album, ‘Even In Exile’.Entitled Inspired By Jara, the three-part series sees Bradfield explore the world of Chilean musician Victor Jara – who inspired his new record – and the enduring cultural influence that still resonates after his death.Part 1 arrives today (August 5) and features Simple Minds guitarist Charlie Burchill as well as Joey Burns from Calexico, who together discuss the impact Jara’s work has had on modern music.For next week’s instalment (August 12), Bradfield will be joined by Emma Thompson and Christopher Bruce, while the final episode (August 19) will focus on Jara’s influence on protest singing.