From slicingupeyeballs.com:

Simple Minds today unveiled plans for a 16-date European tour early next year dubbed “5X5 Live” that will see the band each night perform five songs off of each of its first five albums — Life In A Day, Real To Real Cacophony, Empires and Dance, Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Calling and New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84), which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year.

That trek will be preceded by the release, on Feb. 13 via EMI Music, of a new box set called Simple Minds X5 that will feature those five albums spread across six CDs — Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Calling will be packaged as separate discs in a gatefold sleeve — and include “bonus material on each disc including rare and previously unavailable CD, B-sides and remixes.”

A tracklist has not yet been released.

The tour opens Feb. 14 in Portugal and runs through March 4 in Dublin, with four U.K. dates interspersed, including in London and the band’s hometown of Glasgow. Tickets go on sale 9 a.m. Friday; watch simpleminds.com for more details on tickets and pre-sale offers.

According to the announcement on the band’s website:


“These five albums have had a massive cultural impact from the time of their release during the birth of the new wave electro scene in the late 1970s, through the dance revolution of the ‘80s and ‘90s, to the music of the Manic Street Preachers and the recent sound of The Horrors’ Skying album, making them five of the most vital albums of the post-punk period and the last 35 years.”

Adds frontman Jim Kerr: “This is the set that so many who appreciate Simple Minds have been begging us to play and finally this is that one-off chance to see it.”



Simple Minds ‘5X5 Live’ tour dates:

Feb. 14: Coliseum, Lisbon, Portugal
Feb. 15: Riviera, Madrid, Spain
Feb. 16: Razzamatazz, Barcelona, Spain
Feb. 18: Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Feb. 19: Admiralpalast, Berlin, Germany
Feb. 20: Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
Feb. 21: Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway
Feb. 23: Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium
Feb. 24: Academy, Birmingham, UK
Feb. 25: Barrowland, Glasgow, UK
Feb. 27: Casino De Paris, Paris, France
Feb. 28: Alcatraz, Milan, Italy
Feb. 29: Komplex 457, Zurich, Switzerland
March 2: Roundhouse, London, UK
March 3: Ritz, Manchester, UK
March 4: Olympia Theatre, Dublin

Very cool. I'd rather the albums be releases seperately, but it's all the same I suppose. These first 5 albums are so very good and influential, before the "we must be U2 and play stadium rock" thing started (which by the way, I also like).
New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) is such a great album, although IMO their best is what followed with Sparkle In The Rain.
Anyway, I hope all the appropriate rare tracks appear and I sincerely hope another box will follow. But, this really sounds nice.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006GX3ONK/?tag=imwan-21

Disc 1

Someone (2002 - Remaster)
Life In A Day (2002 - Remaster)
Sad Affair (2002 - Remaster)
All For You (2002 - Remaster)
Pleasantly Disturbed (2002 - Remaster)
No Cure (2002 - Remaster)
Chelsea Girl (2002 - Remaster)
Wasteland (2002 - Remaster)
Destiny (2002 - Remaster)
Murder Story (2002 - Remaster)
Special View (2012 - Remaster)
Garden Of Hate (2012 - Remaster)
Disc 2

Reel To Real (2002 - Remaster)
Naked Eye (2002 - Remaster)
Citizen (Dance Of Youth) (2002 - Remaster)
Carnival (Shelter In A Suitcase) (2002 - Remaster)
Factory (2002 - Remaster)
Cacophony (2002 - Remaster)
Veldt (2002 - Remaster)
Premonition (2002 - Remaster)
Changeling (2002 - Remaster)
Film Theme (2002 - Remaster)
Calling Your Name (2002 - Remaster)
Scar (2002 - Remaster)
Kaleidoscope (2012 - Remaster)
Film Theme Dub (2012 - Remaster)
Premonition (Live at Hurrah's Club New York 24/10/79) (2012 - Remaster)
Disc 3

I Travel (2002 - Remaster)
Today I Died Again (2002 - Remaster)
Celebrate (2002 - Remaster)
This Fear Of Gods (2002 - Remaster)
Capital City (2002 - Remaster)
Constantinople Line (2002 - Remaster)
Twist/Run/Repulsion (2002 - Remaster)
Thirty Frames A Second (2002 - Remaster)
Kant Kino (2002 - Remaster)
Room (2002 - Remaster)
New Warm Skin (2012 - Remaster)
I Travel (Extended Mix) (2012 - Remaster)
Celebrate (Extended Mix) (2012 - Remaster)
Disc 4

In Trance As Mission (2002 - Remaster)
Sweat In Bullet (2002 - Remaster)
70 Cities As Love Brings The Fall (2002 - Remaster)
Boys From Brazil (2002 - Remaster)
Love Song (2002 - Remaster)
This Earth That You Walk Upon (2002 - Remaster)
Sons And Fascination (2002 - Remaster)
Seeing Out The Angel (2002 - Remaster)
Sweat In Bullet (Extended Remix) (2012 - Remaster)
In Trance As Mission (Live at Hammersmith Odeon London 25/9/81) (2012 - Remaster)
This Earth That You Walk Upon (Instrumental) (2012 - Remaster)
Disc 5

Theme For Great Cities (2002 - Remaster)
The American (2002 - Remaster)
20th Century Promised Land (2002 - Remaster)
Wonderful In Young Life (2002 - Remaster)
League Of Nations (2002 - Remaster)
Careful In Career (2002 - Remaster)
Sound In 70 Cities (2002 - Remaster)
The American (Extended Mix) (2012 - Remaster)
League Of Nations (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London) (2012 - Remaster)
Disc 6

Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) (2002 - Remaster)
Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel (2002 - Remaster)
Promised You A Miracle (2002 - Remaster)
Big Sleep (2002 - Remaster)
Somebody Up There Likes You (2002 - Remaster)
New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) (2002 - Remaster)
Glittering Prize (2002 - Remaster)
Hunter And The Hunted (2002 - Remaster)
King Is White And In The Crowd (2002 - Remaster)
Promised You A Miracle (Extended Version) (2012 - Remaster)
Glittering Prize (Club Mix) (2012 - Remaster)
Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) (Extended Mix) (2012 - Remaster)
Soundtrack For Every Heaven (2012 - Remaster)
New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) (German 12'' Remix) (2012 - Remaster)
In Every Heaven (2012 - Remaster)

AmazonUk has this 6 CD set listed at 14.76 lbs and it's only 12.99 lbs at Play.com. To say the least, that is great! Also, I believe the albums are the 2002 remasters with the new bonus cuts, so no fears of new crappy sounding remasters.

my old band used to do Themes For Great Cities

I didn't really pick up on Simple Minds until "New Gold Dream" and it and "Sparkle In The Rain" will always be my favorites. Still, for this price, I may have to pick this one up. I guess some people are griping about the lack of any kind of booklet, but you can't beat the price for the music.