The Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda Files: The Second Most Famous Simple Minds Song Of All Time

Brian Raftery | November 16, 2006 1:36 am

Time to comb through our archives for another installment of the Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda files, where we give an unfairly neglected artist, song, or cassingle its due.

Artist: Simple Minds Song: “Life In A Day,” 1982 1979 What happened: A few years before their career as a credible rock band was stuffed into a locker by John Hughes, Simple Minds were a Glasgow synth-pop band trying awfully hard to capture the brooding song-from-under-the-floorboards sound of Magazine. Then they managed it on Life On A Day, and then went new-wave, pop, and nowhere–in that order. Why it should have been a hit: Produced by British mastermind John Leckie (Radiohead, XTC, Stone Roses), “Life In A Day” is go-for-broke pop of the highest order, with a percolating intro and a rasping synthesizer line. We’ve always secretly believed that U2–who were often lumped in with the Minds in their early days–re-discovered this record in the early ’90s, when they were in their keyboards-from-space phase.

Simple Minds – Life In A Day [MP3, link expired] SPECIAL WHY-NOT BONUS: Simple Minds – Someone [MP3, link expired]

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