Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. The most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s,[3] they achieved five UK Albums chart number one albums and have sold more than 60 million albums.[4] Despite various personnel changes, they continue to record and tour.
The band scored a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for their 1985 hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)", from the soundtrack of the film The Breakfast Club. Their other more prominent hits include "Alive and Kicking" and "Belfast Child" (UK #1). In 2016, they received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.[5]
The core of the band is the two remaining founding members, Jim Kerr (vocals, songwriting) and Charlie Burchill (guitars, keyboards after 1990, other instruments, songwriting). The other current band members are Ged Grimes (bass guitar), Sarah Brown (vocals), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Cherisse Osei (drums) and Catherine AD (vocals, keyboards, guitar). Former members include bass guitarist Derek Forbes, keyboardists Mick MacNeil and Andy Gillespie, drummers Brian McGee and Mel Gaynor (who first joined the band in 1982).
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a 1985 pop rock song performed by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. It was written and composed by producer Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, a guitarist and songwriter from the Nina Hagen band. The song is best known for being played during the opening (Forsey's demo) and closing (Simple Minds' recording) credits of the John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. It was also used for the close of The Handmaid's Tale's second episode.[2]