Simple Minds | King is White and in the Crowd | Rockpalast | Koln | 6 June 1982

This week it is 40 years since Simple Minds released the album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) on 17 September 1982. Here is a restored and edited version of one of the early live performances of a track from the album, King is White and in the Crowd. "I have the most beautiful memories of New Gold Dream. It was made in a time between Spring and Summer and everything we tried worked. There were no arguments. We were in love with what we were doing, playing it, listening to it. You don't get many periods in your life when it all goes your way." Jim Kerr Prior to the 4 European shows in June 1982, that include this one, there had been an almost 2-month hiatus in the Sons and Fascination tour. During that time, Simple Minds were at the Manor recording studio in Oxford, finishing the New Gold Dream album. Some of the new material had already been added to the Sons and Fascination live shows since earlier in the year. That tour would finish in mid-August 1982. But there would only be a 2-week pause between the end of what had been an almost year-long tour, and the commencement of the New Gold Dream tour, in early September 1982. • When New Gold Dream was released in September 1982, Paul Morley wrote in the NME, "…I am jarred by the constant beauty of this music. New Gold Dream robs me of my breath." A more recent article in the Guardian review describes New Gold Dream as, “.. an album of almost supernatural-sounding positivity and ethereal wonderment. However, the final track on the album, King is White and in the Crowd, has a dark, foreboding feel. The lyrics were inspired by a TV broadcast of the (then recent, 6 October 1981) assassination of President Sadat of Eygpt: "There was a thing of beauty in that tragedy. It was a coincidence that it concerned Sadat, it didn't make any difference. I saw it on TV: Sadat was inspecting a parade, some soldiers walk past and suddenly they shoot him like an animal. And the next thing you saw was a close-up of his wife." Jim Kerr This great site http://www.simpleminds.org was invaluable in helping me piece together a snapshot of Simple Minds in 1982. • In 1982 there was no new albums by Bowie, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, Talking Heads or Japan. The albums I loved that year were Junkyard by The Birthday Party, Hex Enduction Hour by The Fall, Miami by The Gun Club and New Gold Dream by Simple Minds. Simple Minds were having hit singles then, and yet they were quite an oddity and certainly an acquired taste. I remember at the time, the band seemed to have many appearances on Top of the Pops. And in each successive one, Jim Kerr appeared to be thinner and paler, and his dancing more eccentric. Since then, New Gold Dream has reached almost universal acclaim and classic album status. Rightly so, in my opinion. So I was seeking a suitable video to add some new gold sheen to. This solid, early performance of King is White and in the Crowd appealed to me, and I could see a lot of room for improvement in sound and vision. The visual has been processed in various ways and slightly re-edited. On the audio side, producer pal, Particledots separated the vocal and the music. That allowed me to more easily edit, EQ, compress and generally squeeze more out of the flat, uneven and narrow sound of the original. For example, on the original, Jim Kerr’s vocal is very dry; adding some judicious reverb has really improved it, I think. Thanks for watching, I hope you dig it! • Video and Audio Source: Simple Minds | King is White and in the Crowd | Koln | 6 June 1982 | Rockpalast | West German TV show | WDR Personnel: Jim Kerr | vocals Charlie Burchill | guitar Michael MacNeil | keyboards Derek Forbes | bass Mike Ogletree | drums • Always more videos to follow, so please keep your electric eye on me babe! I don't own the rights, and I'm not making any money out of this etc. Just a fan making videos for other fans. Please Share, Like, Comment, Subscribe NachosVideos.com Facebook.com/TheNachoVideos YouTube.com/NachoVideo DailyMotion.com/NachosVideos Instagram.com/NachoVideo Twitter.com/NachosVideos Patreon.com/NachosVideos TheNachoVideos@gmail.com I edit, therefore I am #SimpleMinds #KingisWhiteandintheCrowd #NewGoldDream

Added 31 May 2026