Jim Kerr

If <a href="spotify:artist:0oSGxfWSnnOXhD2fKuz2Gy">David Bowie</a>'s rich baritone had melded with <a href="spotify:artist:5RNFFojXkPRmlJZIwXeKQC">Bryan Ferry</a>'s velvety croon, the result would be virtually identical to Jim Kerr's distinct voice. However, that comparison isn't justified if only Kerr's punk beginnings in the late '70s with <a href="spotify:artist:11jhRNZgyM5FQsLcFuE8Ol">Johnny and the Self-Abusers</a> were slipped under a microscope. Back then, Kerr and his raw combo were an energetic yet dull facsimile of <a href="spotify:artist:6VeL8VhaMjHTPc5uovFl3h">the Damned</a>; Kerr's angry, unpolished vocals weren't distinguishable from the raucous screams of numerous spiky-haired youths. However, when Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill formed <a href="spotify:artist:6hN9F0iuULZYWXppob22Aj">Simple Minds</a> in 1978 with Tony Donald (bass), Brian McGee (drums), and Mick McNeil (keyboards), Kerr altered his singing style, smoothing its rough edges while retaining a brooding, enigmatic quality. Panned by some critics as being derivative of <a href="spotify:artist:0oSGxfWSnnOXhD2fKuz2Gy">Bowie</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5RNFFojXkPRmlJZIwXeKQC">Ferry</a>, Kerr became influential himself, inspiring artists like <a href="spotify:artist:3IUisqn0mluZR0LITs8Sqk">Icehouse</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1GWV70Reko15eV2nHCm0bM">the Blue Nile</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4SAdMucvHyws4QTeAUsPtE">the Mission</a>. In May 1984, Kerr married <a href="spotify:artist:2ozLlEZTdSV3pjHgWwZMsi">Chrissie Hynde</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:0GByy3DcfbQwDvXGCWmzv9">the Pretenders</a>; they eventually divorced. In 1985, <a href="spotify:artist:6hN9F0iuULZYWXppob22Aj">Simple Minds</a>' "Don't You (Forget About Me)," recorded for The Breakfast Club soundtrack, ignited the American charts, and the band even performed at Live Aid. Kerr also contributed vocals to <a href="spotify:artist:2bSugToVO8DavocRulW3Yj">the Call</a>'s Reconciled album. When <a href="spotify:artist:6hN9F0iuULZYWXppob22Aj">Simple Minds</a> released the single "See the Lights" in 1991, many radio listeners, anxiously awaiting a new <a href="spotify:artist:51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ">U2</a> LP, mistook Kerr's voice for <a href="spotify:artist:0m2Wc2gfNUWaAuBK7URPIJ">Bono</a>'s. But while <a href="spotify:artist:51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ">U2</a> were able to toy with their signature sound to suit contemporary tastes, <a href="spotify:artist:6hN9F0iuULZYWXppob22Aj">Simple Minds</a> were dismissed as '80s artifacts. ~ Michael Sutton, Rovi