Simple Minds. Sparkle In The Rain (Blu-Ray)

Originally released in 1984, Sparkle In The Rain (title taken from a line in Book Of Brilliant Things) was Simple Minds' sixth studio album and, following 1982's crossover album New Gold Dream, the one to cement their commercial success. Sparkle In The Rain was initially started on the run with stays in residential recording studios booked during gaps during the New Gold Dream tour. A wintery sojourn at the Old Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire during January 1983 resulted in a number of interesting ideas, but it wasn't until the summer when the majority of touring had finished, that Simple Minds' new direction would solidify. To that end, Sparkle In The Rain sees the line up of Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Derek Forbes, Mick MacNeil and Mel Gaynor (now a permanent fixture - playing on his first full Simple Minds album) move in a more cohesive, rock-orientated direction, in part, propelled by Gaynor's powerhouse drumming, though the album still retained traces of their new wave past.