Just hearing that evocative, melodic piano reminds me what has been missing from SM for all these years. Reminiscent of some of the brilliant quiet parts on Live in the City of Light, my favourite SM album and one of the greatest live albums of all time. It's much more than Once Upon a Time live. Scary how time goes by. A lovely tribute to some of the unsung heroes, Thanks for sharing it
I remember Mick from when he was the keyboard player in a pub & club band called Diversion. His brother Donnie was the drummer, he played a silver double Premier set. Excellent drummer. I was their roadie for a while, at 18yrs of age it was great fun. Mick's talent was obvious to anybody who knew anything about music, or had tried to learn an instrument. He made it look effortless, and he was also a great guy, and it was plain to see that he was only killing time before moving on to something bigger and meaningful. Even at 18yrs of age, I could see that. It's to his great credit that he is obviously the same down to earth, sociable, approachable guy, especially as he has had such a huge global success as an artist, and an artist he is, and has been from when he was a kid. Mick will be gloriously happy that no footage of his days in Diversion exist, and I would be absolutely shocked if he remembers me, but I had great fun learning how to set up all the gear on stage. I always wondered if Donnie continued in the music business. Very talented too. Must run in the family.
I don't know if it's such a simple decision. My guess is that Jim is insufferable (What do they call it, lead singer's disease?) and also doesn't fully appreciate how important Mick was to the band. Asking Mick to grit his teeth through that for an album and/or a tour probably isn't reasonable. From what I can tell, he's happier now than when he was in the band. Sure, he might someday decide to suffer through the indignity of being minimized and nickle-and-dimed by Jim for the sake of fans and giving this story a (somewhat) happy ending, but I don't think any of us would really want him to do it if it made him miserable.
Life doesn't work like that, I'm afraid. You're of the opinion Mick has to just click his fingers and Jim jumps up and down with glee and simply fires the current keyboard player.
@@timo-ma in my opinion Mick is the biggest loss in history of Simple Minds. His sounds and ideas were absolutely brilliant. He was part of the best songs.
Mick, your writing, your keys are a vital part of the DNA of that band. When Derek went, it was jarring but we had you. When you left, honestly, the band lost their right arm songwriting wise and never recovered. The last Simple Minds album for me was SFY. I cant listen to anything beyond that album, its like the songwriting quality control is at 35% tops beyond SFY.
After reading Derek's recent book and Theme for Great Cities ..it's great to be able to put a face to all the characters of the "behind the scenes guys " that are mentioned in the books . Fantastic to see and many thanks for taking time to do all the editing and release on here . Like most of the die hards ...you must get sick of hearing it ....but please do at least a one off gig if previous politics can be overcome. Yourself ,Derek , Jim , Charlie and either Brian or Mel ... Those early albums deserve to be heard with the musicians who created them to do them full justice live.
SM have never been the same since you left Mick. The Vertebrae of the Band. Loving these videos and your keyboards. Met you back in 87 in the Virgin Megastore Dublin. The coolest member of Simple Minds
Retrospectively, "come a long way" might be my fav cut of "once upon a time". I played it as a DJ in the 2000s in some late-night radio shows. I always imagine people driving in the middle of the night listening to the radio. It s a perfect tune for it. I love this rendition. you can take a tune and change the feel of a song several times. Without destroying the original intent. Also, Thanks for all these footages. It s very generous of you !! That s the way i like to remember Simple Minds
You "cannae" find a better album bookend. Just knocked me the f out. Nothing like it, some tried to copy later but regardless of what some say about going commercial, it's one of my favorite albums ever. It sounds amazing, even 40 years on.
Thank you Mick for that treasure. Your piano playing on those videos is so wonderful. Full of atmosphere and feeling, make an album, just with those tunes
Absolutely wonderful! This made me laugh, and cry. Where did all those years go? And Cone A Long Way was always a favourite, and your piano lines were what first drew me into Simple Minds, so hearing that isolated piano track sent a massive shiver down my spine…..thank you for sharing!❤️
Saw Bill Lawford there for a fleeting moment. All your SM videos are amazing to watch Mick and great to see all these familiar faces and good friends of mine from back in the day. Thanks for uploading them!
What a lovely tribute to the former crew, and especially to those who sadly passed away. Also very moving your choice and beautiful piano version of the song to accompany this nostalgic footage - Mick, you are a crack!
Thanks once again Mick! It's great to actually see people that we've read mentioned in the credits section of the records and such. So many people behind a great tour that we never get to see. Many thanks to all of them for everything! ✌️👍🙏❤️
Come on Long Way is my all time favourite Minds track and your keys were always the main reason for this. Thanks for playing these parts over the footage Mick, they sound hauntingly beautiful. Please keep posting these clips as they evoke a wonderful time when you guys were at your peak. You're so missed by us all and have been constantly for the last 35 years. If you ever post any of the OUAT demo tracks I will die a happy man! 🙏
Good morning Mick from sunny Glasgow. This video made me smile, laugh and cry so you’re now officially a bonafide filmmaker. The music was simply beautiful. We have certainly Come A Long Way. Cheers Mick.
That piano... an absolutely *beautiful* rendition of Come a Long Way 🩵 🩵. Like snow crystals in the sun, beauty unfolding with every next note that touches the heart, delivering a smile as the mess of this age vanishes in sound, melting it away and all youre left with is happiness.
Mick please release an album of SM songs, piano, squeeze box, loads of space. Would be beautiful. You should be making film scores as well. Ok going for a lie down now.
I watch these videos as much for the new soundtracks. Would love, love, love it if you could release the music from them. No need for press interviews or 100-stop world tours, but this really is beautiful music and it deserves to be released. Please, please, please!
This is just absolutely stunning and what every Minds fan needs ! Wow !! Thank you again for sharing this incredible footage Mick ! Love the piano in these videos you’re sharing too ! Any chance you can upload just you playing the piano to the classic Minds tunes please? Just sounds so haunting and beautiful. The SFY you did a while back was amazing but I could listen to you playing the keyboard all day !
Magic stuff Mick , simpler and happy times. Great to see this as a fan. Back in Bearsden now from The Bahamas.Lovely to see Robin Clark in this montage. Get writing a book Mick , you must have sooooooo many stories.
Thanks so much Mick for sharing all the footage and the wonderful instrumentals! Pure class and pure SM. Here's hoping this will lead to the reunion that we are all waiting for!🤞
Freakin' Mick, you silly silly, having Robin wondering if John had crutches for show as a big "hypochondriac". Who knew there was a character behind the serious eyes of the most glorious board man in all of music? I'm so glad you're chronicling this period as it was criminally underdocumented. Yeah, we had Rotterdam but wouldn't the entire show make for a crackin' Blu Ray? Hint hint. I saw both shows in the SF Bay Area after watching my favorite band slingshot out the clubs and into arenas in the blink of an eye. I love that you stand by Once Upon A Time as "the record we wanted" because it's such a banger. Would love to learn more about how it was made, where those amazing melodies were brewing. The piano accompaniment that is the bridge to Come A Long Way is one of those things that just come round every so often. As good as those early albums are, you planted your music right in the middle of those great records that defined the 80's. How many bands have a song that, when played in a supermarket is instantly recognizable? Let alone, a couple handfuls of em? You've all so much to be proud of and you took that music round the world and what an event that was. Thank you so much for inviting us into your space while you were coming to see us all and play those unforgettable songs. I'm so bloody proud to call Simple Minds "my band" and sharing why to anyone who will listen. RIP John "Big Jah" and Johnny, what a smile Mr. Ramsey had, must've been the times of yer lives. "Cannae" get enough!
Beautiful emotional melody.. And nice behind-the-scenes. You have a camera eye and humour! That shot from 1:54 Potential murderer? 😅 Last night saw the docu 'Everything is possible' on Dutch tv, and brought back to my late teens in 1989 in which I - very late - really discovered Simple Minds through all their (older) albums that I bought one by one (or two 😉). What a wealth of music styles and soundscapes that I tried to understand (in the wrong order), and still treasure, thanks Arlette 😊 PS 9:28 Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, december 1985 I think
I was there in Rotterdam - Ahoy in 1985. You guys were at your best. But the biggest surprise in this video was your stay at the Parkhotel in Rotterdam, only 200 meters from my student home! If only I had known at the time.
Went see the Minds in Manchester last week (went for del amitri actually ). Both were great but I was at two gigs on the 89 tour with Mick and Mel with Jim and Charlie and they were stunning. Saw them on 91 tour without Mick and some of the atmosphere in the sound had gone(still great though). Now know Mel either( who is playing in a covers band at present bizarrely ) . Minds not as good without these two fantastic members. I realize now that the fantastic atmosphere in the bands sound was brought by Micks playing. Watching the band now is like watching the Who without Entwistle. Mel is an awesome drummer , one of my 3 faves along with Kenney Jones and Terry Williams
Wow, i`ve watched all your vids over the last hour or so. So good to see the crew getting some much deserved recognition. And i love the keyboard music to go with it. You here it in the songs, but so nice to hear it individually to truly hear the complexity of it. I hope you post up a lot more Mick?. Oh, and one other thing, Thanks for the music all those years ago, such a great part of my earlier years.
Simple Minds without Mick McNeil is like Van Halen without Eddie, U2 without Edge, Genesis without Tony Banks, Guns without Slash, Zeppelin without Page, Doors without Ray, Fleetwood Mac without Buckingham, REM without Mike Mills, Talking Heads without Harrison.
If Mick, Mel and Derek would have stayed in the band. The perfect example of what could have been. I love Jim and Charlie but the if we all see what could have been then they must see it too.
What makes me laugh is that this wasn't recorded on a phone but a huge recorder the size of the one Del Boy had in his flat.😂 Not immediately apparent from the footage.
Mick.....pleeeeease.....for the love of God......put down a video of the Herbie Hancock synth solo on Hunter And The Hunted, as near to the original as possible, before it is lost forever 😢. After all these years, there is not one cover of it on UA-cam, yet it means so much to so many people. I know you'll do the right thing 🙏🙂
Just hearing that evocative, melodic piano reminds me what has been missing from SM for all these years. Reminiscent of some of the brilliant quiet parts on Live in the City of Light, my favourite SM album and one of the greatest live albums of all time. It's much more than Once Upon a Time live. Scary how time goes by. A lovely tribute to some of the unsung heroes, Thanks for sharing it
Jesus, this is absolute fucking gold dust to a minds fan…. Mick you’re a legend for recording this stuff…
I remember Mick from when he was the keyboard player in a pub & club band called Diversion. His brother Donnie was the drummer, he played a silver double Premier set. Excellent drummer. I was their roadie for a while, at 18yrs of age it was great fun. Mick's talent was obvious to anybody who knew anything about music, or had tried to learn an instrument. He made it look effortless, and he was also a great guy, and it was plain to see that he was only killing time before moving on to something bigger and meaningful. Even at 18yrs of age, I could see that. It's to his great credit that he is obviously the same down to earth, sociable, approachable guy, especially as he has had such a huge global success as an artist, and an artist he is, and has been from when he was a kid. Mick will be gloriously happy that no footage of his days in Diversion exist, and I would be absolutely shocked if he remembers me, but I had great fun learning how to set up all the gear on stage. I always wondered if Donnie continued in the music business. Very talented too. Must run in the family.
All your hard work, effort, sweat, and tears to make people happy with your music. You all are just amazing.
Mick please please please 🙏 go back and join Simple minds.
Just listening to this piano now is what is missing.
Everyone is saying it.
I don't know if it's such a simple decision. My guess is that Jim is insufferable (What do they call it, lead singer's disease?) and also doesn't fully appreciate how important Mick was to the band. Asking Mick to grit his teeth through that for an album and/or a tour probably isn't reasonable. From what I can tell, he's happier now than when he was in the band. Sure, he might someday decide to suffer through the indignity of being minimized and nickle-and-dimed by Jim for the sake of fans and giving this story a (somewhat) happy ending, but I don't think any of us would really want him to do it if it made him miserable.
Yes please comte back
Yes please I am nostalgic of the sound of eighties with you
Life doesn't work like that, I'm afraid. You're of the opinion Mick has to just click his fingers and Jim jumps up and down with glee and simply fires the current keyboard player.
@@timo-ma in my opinion Mick is the biggest loss in history of Simple Minds. His sounds and ideas were absolutely brilliant. He was part of the best songs.
Mick, your writing, your keys are a vital part of the DNA of that band. When Derek went, it was jarring but we had you. When you left, honestly, the band lost their right arm songwriting wise and never recovered. The last Simple Minds album for me was SFY. I cant listen to anything beyond that album, its like the songwriting quality control is at 35% tops beyond SFY.
Michael these video's are incredible, priceless..Keep them coming 💜 Come a long way piano... Wow 🎹
These clips are wonderful and evocative of a different time which I remember fondly. Thanks Mick for showing us these and please keep them coming. x
Priceless footage, and boy, what a beautiful soundtrack! Thanks so much for sharing
After reading Derek's recent book and Theme for Great Cities ..it's great to be able to put a face to all the characters of the "behind the scenes guys " that are mentioned in the books .
Fantastic to see and many thanks for taking time to do all the editing and release on here .
Like most of the die hards ...you must get sick of hearing it ....but please do at least a one off gig if previous politics can be overcome. Yourself ,Derek , Jim , Charlie and either Brian or Mel ...
Those early albums deserve to be heard with the musicians who created them to do them full justice live.
Just imagine that if Mick stayed in the band the albums that would have come out, blimey the stuff we've missed out on.
SM have never been the same since you left Mick. The Vertebrae of the Band. Loving these videos and your keyboards. Met you back in 87 in the Virgin Megastore Dublin. The coolest member of Simple Minds
Just great Mick ! Haunting piano accompaniment. It just feels really sad that some of these guys are not with us anymore.
Your way of stroking the piano while finding the perfect melodies is absolutely unique! Mick, you are the measure of all things!
Retrospectively, "come a long way" might be my fav cut of "once upon a time". I played it as a DJ in the 2000s in some late-night radio shows. I always imagine people driving in the middle of the night listening to the radio. It s a perfect tune for it. I love this rendition. you can take a tune and change the feel of a song several times. Without destroying the original intent.
Also, Thanks for all these footages. It s very generous of you !! That s the way i like to remember Simple Minds
You "cannae" find a better album bookend. Just knocked me the f out. Nothing like it, some tried to copy later but regardless of what some say about going commercial, it's one of my favorite albums ever. It sounds amazing, even 40 years on.
I love Come a long way so much. This piano only version is driving tears in my eyes. So beautiful. 🤜❤️🤛
The piano versions that you are doing to accompany these videos are just wonderful. If I was the needy type I'd be begging you to release them all...
thanks Mick trip down memory lane indeed, loved your Stan Laurel impression at the end btw! ; )
Another great video! Beautiful piano....
Thanks Mick, you are the best. Thanks for the great music. You are Simple Minds. Kind regards Fred van Engelen
Fantastic, just absolutely fantastic.
Thank you Mick for that treasure. Your piano playing on those videos is so wonderful. Full of atmosphere and feeling, make an album, just with those tunes
Love it Mick. The slo-mo and your piano makes it beautiful, very poignant. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thank you so much for uploading these Mick and the beautiful music that accompanies it
Absolutely wonderful! This made me laugh, and cry. Where did all those years go? And Cone A Long Way was always a favourite, and your piano lines were what first drew me into Simple Minds, so hearing that isolated piano track sent a massive shiver down my spine…..thank you for sharing!❤️
Saw Bill Lawford there for a fleeting moment. All your SM videos are amazing to watch Mick and great to see all these familiar faces and good friends of mine from back in the day. Thanks for uploading them!
That was a great watch. Thanks Mick.👌
Showing exactly what the Minds were,and aint anymore ... anyone got room in a time machine ??? Oh to go back then 👌👌✌️✌️🇬🇧🇬🇧
What a lovely tribute to the former crew, and especially to those who sadly passed away. Also very moving your choice and beautiful piano version of the song to accompany this nostalgic footage - Mick, you are a crack!
Thanks a lot Mick!!🙏🏻❤️
Very beautiful!!😍😍😍
Thanks once again Mick! It's great to actually see people that we've read mentioned in the credits section of the records and such. So many people behind a great tour that we never get to see. Many thanks to all of them for everything! ✌️👍🙏❤️
Very very beautiful, thank you Mick!
Come on Long Way is my all time favourite Minds track and your keys were always the main reason for this. Thanks for playing these parts over the footage Mick, they sound hauntingly beautiful. Please keep posting these clips as they evoke a wonderful time when you guys were at your peak. You're so missed by us all and have been constantly for the last 35 years. If you ever post any of the OUAT demo tracks I will die a happy man! 🙏
Good morning Mick from sunny Glasgow. This video made me smile, laugh and cry so you’re now officially a bonafide filmmaker. The music was simply beautiful. We have certainly Come A Long Way. Cheers Mick.
Thank you so much for putt‘n this stuff up
A lovely tribute Mick.Come a long way is one of my favourite tracks.Nice to hear it in a different way.
More magic! Thanks again Mick. Love the instrumental Come a long way too. Just heavenly...
That piano... an absolutely *beautiful* rendition of Come a Long Way 🩵 🩵.
Like snow crystals in the sun, beauty unfolding with every next note that touches the heart, delivering a smile as the mess of this age vanishes in sound, melting it away and all youre left with is happiness.
So sweet thank you. X
Mick please release an album of SM songs, piano, squeeze box, loads of space. Would be beautiful. You should be making film scores as well. Ok going for a lie down now.
I watch these videos as much for the new soundtracks. Would love, love, love it if you could release the music from them. No need for press interviews or 100-stop world tours, but this really is beautiful music and it deserves to be released. Please, please, please!
Fantastic Mick, do you and Derek have anything planned this year. Would love to her that big sound again. Wow 👍🏻😀
Golden days of SM, thanks for sharing this Mick. The Stevie Wonder comment made me chuckle. 😂
Doing the Lord’s work here for fans of 79-89. Thank you!
This is just absolutely stunning and what every Minds fan needs ! Wow !!
Thank you again for sharing this incredible footage Mick !
Love the piano in these videos you’re sharing too !
Any chance you can upload just you playing the piano to the classic Minds tunes please? Just sounds so haunting and beautiful. The SFY you did a while back was amazing but I could listen to you playing the keyboard all day !
As a lifelong fan these clips are just fascinating Mick. I so hope you have some more?.
Love that piano out take. Beautiful
Lovely to see the late great John Giblin. RIP
Mick please one more album with the band and see who else you can get to do it.
Come on Mick you know it'd be the bollocks fella.
Magic stuff Mick , simpler and happy times. Great to see this as a fan. Back in Bearsden now from The Bahamas.Lovely to see Robin Clark in this montage. Get writing a book Mick , you must have sooooooo many stories.
Wow! Thank you for sharing your footage from an amazing era, takes you right back there! Happy days
Thanks so much Mick for sharing all the footage and the wonderful instrumentals! Pure class and pure SM. Here's hoping this will lead to the reunion that we are all waiting for!🤞
Thanks again Mick, Another section of your footage, Always great to see, cheers
This really is something. Jesus, it’s bringing back everything man!
Memories...❤
Keep going. Love watching these videos❤❤❤
Absolute gold. Best regards from an old Lebanese fan from Beirut, Lebanon.
They were a great crew Mick, made me feel so welcoming
Freakin' Mick, you silly silly, having Robin wondering if John had crutches for show as a big "hypochondriac". Who knew there was a character behind the serious eyes of the most glorious board man in all of music? I'm so glad you're chronicling this period as it was criminally underdocumented. Yeah, we had Rotterdam but wouldn't the entire show make for a crackin' Blu Ray? Hint hint. I saw both shows in the SF Bay Area after watching my favorite band slingshot out the clubs and into arenas in the blink of an eye. I love that you stand by Once Upon A Time as "the record we wanted" because it's such a banger. Would love to learn more about how it was made, where those amazing melodies were brewing.
The piano accompaniment that is the bridge to Come A Long Way is one of those things that just come round every so often. As good as those early albums are, you planted your music right in the middle of those great records that defined the 80's. How many bands have a song that, when played in a supermarket is instantly recognizable? Let alone, a couple handfuls of em? You've all so much to be proud of and you took that music round the world and what an event that was. Thank you so much for inviting us into your space while you were coming to see us all and play those unforgettable songs. I'm so bloody proud to call Simple Minds "my band" and sharing why to anyone who will listen. RIP John "Big Jah" and Johnny, what a smile Mr. Ramsey had, must've been the times of yer lives. "Cannae" get enough!
Another fascinating video Mick. Thanks for sharing
Nice one Mick. Peace n love ❤
⭐️🌠🌞grazie Mick,saluti dall'Italia
These videos you kept are amazing. What a fun crew you had for those tours. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful emotional melody.. And nice behind-the-scenes. You have a camera eye and humour! That shot from 1:54 Potential murderer? 😅
Last night saw the docu 'Everything is possible' on Dutch tv, and brought back to my late teens in 1989 in which I - very late - really discovered Simple Minds through all their (older) albums that I bought one by one (or two 😉). What a wealth of music styles and soundscapes that I tried to understand (in the wrong order), and still treasure, thanks Arlette 😊
PS 9:28 Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, december 1985 I think
Nice music, Mick.
I was there in Rotterdam - Ahoy in 1985. You guys were at your best. But the biggest surprise in this video was your stay at the Parkhotel in Rotterdam, only 200 meters from my student home! If only I had known at the time.
Come a long way ...Fitting track ..
Love it MM nice hearing come along way played like that 👍
As always Mick thanks so much for sharing - this is exactly the sort of footage many of us like to see. Raw and gritty as it should be.
Fab images and the music... superb!
Absolutely loving this footage, Keep it going Mick. Amazing you have kept it all. !
Brilliant! Thanks for posting Mick. Keep em coming!
Went see the Minds in Manchester last week (went for del amitri actually ). Both were great but I was at two gigs on the 89 tour with Mick and Mel with Jim and Charlie and they were stunning. Saw them on 91 tour without Mick and some of the atmosphere in the sound had gone(still great though). Now know Mel either( who is playing in a covers band at present bizarrely ) . Minds not as good without these two fantastic members. I realize now that the fantastic atmosphere in the bands sound was brought by Micks playing. Watching the band now is like watching the Who without Entwistle. Mel is an awesome drummer , one of my 3 faves along with Kenney Jones and Terry Williams
Phenomenal, just phenomenal
What an amazing insight into life on the road.
Thankyou for uploading this 😊😊😊❤❤❤
Love this , thanks so much . A real time capsule. ❤
Wow, i`ve watched all your vids over the last hour or so. So good to see the crew getting some much deserved recognition. And i love the keyboard music to go with it. You here it in the songs, but so nice to hear it individually to truly hear the complexity of it.
I hope you post up a lot more Mick?.
Oh, and one other thing, Thanks for the music all those years ago, such a great part of my earlier years.
Mick an album of this stuff re worked minds material is a must.
Yes absolutely. Goosebumps.
🤜❤️🤛
Simple Minds without Mick McNeil is like Van Halen without Eddie, U2 without Edge, Genesis without Tony Banks, Guns without Slash, Zeppelin without Page, Doors without Ray, Fleetwood Mac without Buckingham, REM without Mike Mills, Talking Heads without Harrison.
He's right.
And depeche mode whitout Alan wilder
If Mick, Mel and Derek would have stayed in the band. The perfect example of what could have been. I love Jim and Charlie but the if we all see what could have been then they must see it too.
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ wonderful memories
Happy Days Mick 🙏🏻
Great Piano Work as well.....S
Brilliant stuff
Just awesome Mick, thanks for posting this
magnifico como siempre, bella melodía y lindas historias
What a song
Real simple minds magic
Great watch mick,thanks for sharing.
Keep em coming, these are great.
Mick and Mel Musical legends. Come back please 🙏
Come back Please
Nice clip of Big Johnny at the desk RIP
Magical to see you guys on tour and just hanging out 🤍🤍
What makes me laugh is that this wasn't recorded on a phone but a huge recorder the size of the one Del Boy had in his flat.😂
Not immediately apparent from the footage.
Bellissimi ricordi ❤
RIP Kenny 😢
fantastic!!! thank you for sharing
RIP Johnny
THX Mick ❤
Mick.....pleeeeease.....for the love of God......put down a video of the Herbie Hancock synth solo on Hunter And The Hunted, as near to the original as possible, before it is lost forever 😢. After all these years, there is not one cover of it on UA-cam, yet it means so much to so many people. I know you'll do the right thing 🙏🙂
Great stuff
R.I.P J.R. and J.G.