A deep and thrilling dive into some of the greatest musical minds to have come out of Scotland in modern times ? Ian Rankin

The definitive biography of this most mercurial of bands. Thomson knows how to take it apart - without demystifying the mystery, he gives us the art school band that never had an art school, but went instead on an endless adventure and took a bit of all of us with them ? Alan Warner

A biography that gives the group its long-overdue credit. Thomson's exquisitely written account reaches poetic levels . . . An eye-opening work throughout, Themes for Great Cities may be the final word on Kerr and Co's legacy ? Classic Pop

Brings fresh insight into the early albums in particular. Any music biog which sends you straight to the records themselves is doing its job ? Alistair Braidwood, Scots Whay Hae

For anyone who is newer to the Simple Minds fold or hasn't explored their back catalogue extensively, I implore you to read this book. For the die hards - you need this book! It is a fast and exhilarating ride ? Larelle Read, Priptona Weird (Simple Minds fansite)

[The] mission here is to "remystify" Simple Minds. It's a wholly successful endeavour . . . Thomson's enthusiasm for tracing the cultural and geographical roots of Simple Minds is infectious, and the result shines a bright light into the forgotten corners of the band's story -- Tom Doyle ? MOJO

Excellent . . . shows how the five-piece Simple Minds found their place -- Jim Wirth ? Uncut

Thomson expertly handles proceedings . . . best of all is the coverage of the epic early albums, which all too often seemed to be forgotten as soon as the mega stardom called ? Electronic Sound

Music has such a capacity to uplift, to inspire, to recognise, to connect, and Graeme Thomson's latest book explores how the work of Simple Minds captures those possibilities ? Books From Scotland

In focusing largely on their pre-stardom records ... Thomson elegantly reminds us how Simple Minds influenced Primal Scream, Manic Street Preachers and contemporaries U2. **** ? Mail on Sunday

An essential read ? Echoes & Dust

An engaging, insightful, and welcome biography and history of one of Scotland's greatest bands ... it'll make you return to those glorious early albums and fall in love with them all over again - the ultimate accolade for any music biography ? Product

One of the (many) pleasures of ... Themes for Great Cities is its desire to be an act of reclamation. Thomson wants to challenge the lazy cliches that have attached to the band's reputation, to complicate the story, to, as he says in his introduction, "remystify" his subject ? The Herald

Insightful and engaging ... [Thomson] writes with authority and passion about Simple Minds' best work ... The clear-headed and artfully conveyed analysis will have you returning to the material ? Irish Independent

A thoughtful and eloquently expressed listeners' guide, taking deep dives into the track listings of those early albums ? Scotsman

It starts with the idea of an idea: a five-headed writing machine, built from necessity, each part imperfectly locked into the other, leaving room for the accidental miracle, the magic of chance. There is a no fixed stance, no stated cause. It is all atomised atmosphere, movement and mystery. The music is a unified projection of something more potent and profound than the sum of its individual parts.


Simple Minds have been many different bands and several great ones. Emerging in 1978 from Glasgow's post-punk scene, they transitioned from restless art-rock to electro Futurism, mutated into passionate pop contenders and, finally, a global rock behemoth. The drama of their story lies in these transformations and triumphs, conflicts and contradictions.


Written with the full input and cooperation of the band, in Themes for Great Cities Graeme Thomson reclaims and revivifies the magnificence of Simple Minds' pioneering early records, from the glitchy Euro-ambience of Real to Real Cacophony and Empires and Dance to the pulsing, agitated romance of Sons and Fascination, New Gold Dream and beyond.


It is a fast story. Things move quickly. Between spring 1979 and autumn 1982, Simple Minds released six albums and toured constantly. Nothing mattered but the music, forged from perpetual motion. Creation without reflection. Make and move. Brimming with youthful energy and a powerful sense of collective mission, the sounds they made were bold, intense, extraordinary.


Featuring in-depth new interviews with Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill and the original band members, alongside key figures from within their creative community, Themes for Great Cities tells the inside story of a band becoming a band. It covers a period of transition lasting several years, celebrating the ground-breaking work made by a group continually testing its capabilities.


Inspiring, insightful and enlightening, Themes for Great Cities gives long overdue credit to the trailblazing early music of one of Britain's greatest and most influential bands.

'The Simple Minds story has been too condensed. After Live Aid and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" there hasn't been quite the credit for those first few records. I think they contain some really special music. I can hear the flaws but there's something about the spirit and imagination in them that feels good. They draw from such a wide range of influences . . . but the spirit of it was always Simple Minds' Jim Kerr, to the author
Graeme Thomson is the author of several acclaimed music books, including Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush, described by the Irish Times as 'the best music biography in perhaps the past decade', and Cowboy Song, the authorised biography of Philip Lynott, published by Constable in 2016. In 2020, Small Hours: The Long Night of John Martyn was a Book of the Year in the Sunday Times, Financial Times, Telegraph, Evening Standard and MOJO. Graeme is pop columnist for the Spectator and writes on music, literature and popular culture for a number of publications, including the Guardian, Radio Times, Uncut and Pitchfork.

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