Real Life is the ninth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in April 1991 by record label Virgin Records worldwide apart from the US, where it was released by A&M.
Background and Recording
This was the first album without founding member keyboardist Mick MacNeil as he left the band to spend time with his family. Peter John-Vettese played keyboards on the album. The rest of the band included lead singer Jim Kerr, guitarist Charlie Burchill who also took up keyboards, and drummer Mel Gaynor. Bass was played by Malcolm Foster. Stephen Lipson, who had co-produced Street Fighting Years produced the album and also played some bass parts.
For the title track, the chord sequence was built up around a drum loop called the Bonham Loop Idea or Loop Idea - inspired by the rhythmic backing of When The Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin. It was one of the later demos, first appearing in March 1990. The opening intro was one of the last flourishes added to the album. (The edited version of the song, which appears on the single, was how early versions of the album opened).
"See The Lights" was first composed in November-December 1989. It was formally recorded (on the 11th December 1989) and committed to a compilation tape of potential ideas. Unlike most of the ideas floating around at the time, the song had its final title and some working lyrics.
"Let There Be Love" first appeared during the writing sessions at Wisseloord between November and December 1989. The first demos were called Anthem. It was premiered by national radio in February 1991 and confirmed that the post-MacNeil Simple Minds had not lost any vital musical elements. The song was a slick continuation of the sounds from Street Fighting Years, complete with celtic-sounding melodic pipes, but with modern drums and rhythms. (Trills and synth swoops came courtesy of Steve Lipson which he borrowed from Grace Jones' "Slave To The Rhythm").
"Banging On The Door" was formally demoed during the second Real Life writing sessions at Wisseloord in March 1990. Six takes of a new live arrangement was recorded at Loch Earn/Bonny Wee Studios on the 1st May; and this formed the basis of the various mixes and session recordings which took place at the studio during the following months. The opening intro, indexed separately on most CDs, was taken straight from a demo called Dark Isle. The voice in the background was Jim, directing changes within the song. (During the early stages of songs when the arrangement wasn't finalised, he'd direct the course of the song, often suggesting "Charlie. Go to the chorus" or "Repeat the verse.") The intro was one of the last things to be added to the album. A cassette from Olympic Studios (dated 16/1/91) has a different track order, but the songs are all in their final form, with the exception of Banging On The Door, which had yet to gain this magical opener. The song was many of the highlights of the album and was played during the Real Life and Good News From The Next World Tours. After other performances during the catalogue-spanning Alive And Kicking Tour, it enjoyed a comeback in the mid 2010s, becoming a staple of the various tours at the end of the decade.