Jim Kerr.html |
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| Jim Kerr | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Kerr |
| Born | 9 July 1959 |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genre(s) | Rock Folk New Wave |
| Occupation(s) | Singer Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1978 - present |
| Associated acts | Simple Minds |
| Website | SimpleMinds.com |
James "Jim" Kerr (born in Toryglen, Glasgow on 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter, famous for his work with the band Simple Minds. They achieved five UK number one albums and a number one single "Belfast Child".1
Biography
Kerr attended Holyrood R.C. Secondary School in Glasgow. In 1977, he was one of the founder members of the 6 piece Punk rock band Johnny And The Self Abusers. Calling himself Pripton Weird, he played keyboards and shared vocals with John Milarky. Allan McNeill was also involved with the band, and went on to be the manager of the successful Pop band Hue and Cry. The band only lasted 8 months, during which time Kerr emerged as one of the main songwriters. In November '77 they changed their name to Simple Minds, and very quickly reduced to 4 members, then increased to 5, then 6, then back to 5 before a period of stability ensued.2
Kerr was married to Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of The Pretenders, in 1984 (divorced, 1990). Together, they had a daughter named Yasmin Paris Kerr (born 1985). He was subsequently married to actress Patsy Kensit in 1992 (divorced, 1996) with whom he had a son, James Kerr (born, 1993).
He continues to record and tour with Simple Minds, who released their latest album Black and White 050505 in September 2005. He currently lives in Taormina in Sicily, where he runs a hotel called Villa Angela. 3
On 6 May 2008 Kerr announced that he had helped organise a ninetieth birthday party for former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, to be held at Wembley Stadium in London on 27 June.citation needed The event comes 20 years after Kerr and Simple Minds played a leading role (releasing the single Mandela Day amongst other activities) in the 70th birthday concert (also at Wembley) which was held to demand Mandela's release. Mandela is expected to attend the 2008 event in person.
Kerr is a well known Celtic F.C. supporter and is often linked with takeover proposals at the club.4
References
- ^ [1] Five number one albums and number one single (retrieved 19 August 2007)
- ^ dream giver redux | welcome
- ^ http://www.hotelvillaangela.com/en/description.htm Villa Angela: a dream come true (retrieved 20 February 2008)
- ^ BBC News | Football | Keep Celtic alive and kicking: Kerr
External links
- SimpleMinds.com Simple Minds official site
