The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
*This article has been edited after the original date was postponed.
An iconic rock bass player is taking a trip to Bookmark in Spalding on July 11.
Derek Forbes, a key member of the Scottish band Simple Minds in the 1980s, is at the bookshop promoting his long awaited new biography ‘A Very Simple Mind’.
The 1982 ‘best bassist in the world’ played on and co-wrote on the band’s first six albums which brought them into being one of the biggest bands in the world.
A spokesman said: “Derek is known known for those iconic spine-rattling bass riffs
which we recognise in most Simple Minds’ songs, and he wrote and co-wrote many of the band’s earliest classics.
“Derek is also well known on the international stage as songwriter and bassist for Big Country and Propaganda and has recorded with Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Kirsty MacColl. He won an Ivor Novello Award for ‘Outstanding Song Collection’ in 2016 for his song writing for Simple Minds.
“A Very Simple Mind is his story of the early days of Simple Minds, where a band of working-class lads from 1970s Glasgow took on the world.
“Derek shares stories from the band’s travels on the road – they were friends, they laughed together, they laughed at each other, they had fights and arguments, they
learned to work with luminaries of the music industry, but most of all, they had fun.
“It stopped being fun for Derek in 1985, when he turned up at the Simple Minds office in Edinburgh and Bruce Findlay, the manager, told him he was sacked.
“In the days that followed he felt ‘a screaming silence’ and completely alone, and his mates were nowhere to be seen.
“No Charlie, no Jim, no Mick and no Mel. The fans still discuss and debate the reasons why he was sacked.
“Derek later rejoined Simple Minds in 1995 and toured again with the band.
“Derek’s book tour took him across the UK at the end of last year and he is keen to continue sharing his stories at events in 2024.”
‘An Evening with Derek Forbes’ takes place at Bookmark at 7pm on Thursday, July 11 after being rescheduled from June 25.
Tickets are £10 and available from the store or online from An Evening with Derek Forbes – Bookmark Spalding
