''Live in the City of Light'' is the first (double LP / CD)

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Scottish

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

. It was released in May 1987 to document their successful worldwide ''Once Upon a Time'' tour, and charted at No. 1 in the UK. The album spawned one chart single release, a live version of " Promised You a Miracle".

Overview

The album was recorded live mainly on 12 & 13 August 1986 at

Le Zénith Le Zénith () is the name given to a series of indoor arenas in France. The first arena, the "Zénith Paris" is a rejuvenation of the Pavillon de Paris. In French culture, the word "zénith" has become synonymous with "theater". A zénith is a ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France (Paris is nicknamed "La Ville de Lumière" which means "The City of Light", hence the album title), on the last dates of the ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'' world tour, with the only track "Someone, Somewhere In Summertime" recorded in late October 1986 at Sydney Entertainment Centre in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia. It features the band's 1986 touring lineup, which included second vocalist

Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1966, when Clark was 16, she and future s ...

and percussionist

Sue Hadjopoulos Sue Hadjopoulos is an American percussionist. Early life and education Hadjopoulos was born in Flushing, New York to a musical family. Her brother Chris Hadjopoulos is a drummer, and her brother Steve, who died in 1991, played flute, keyboards, ...

. Additional "fixing and mixing" was done at Castle Sound Studios in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Bearsville Studios Bearsville Sound Studio was a recording studio founded by Albert Grossman in Bearsville, New York, west of Woodstock in 1969. History Albert Grossman, who was the manager of Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, first arrived in Bearsville in 1 ...

Bearsville, New York Bearsville is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the town of Woodstock. It is located along New York State Route 212, within Catskill State Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United Sta ...

. Lisa Germano (at the time, a

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

band member who would perform on Simple Minds' next studio single, ''

Belfast Child "Belfast Child" is a song by Simple Minds, first released as the lead track on the ''Ballad of the Streets'' EP on 6 February 1989. The EP also included "Mandela Day" (originally its B-side). The record reached number one on the UK Singles Cha ...

''), contributed studio-overdubbed violin on "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" and former Simple Minds member Derek Forbes contributed uncredited bass guitar overdubs.

Album cover

Although the album was not recorded there, the inside of the

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimetre square). The larger gatefo ...

sleeve curiously features a photograph taken at another show from the same ''Once Upon A Time'' tour: on 9 July 1986 at Piazza Grande, a square in Locarno,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Release details

''Live in the City of Light'' was released as a double vinyl album with the band's logo in gold lettering over black sleeve. The package featured a 12" x 12" attached giant-sized booklet with state-of-the-art photography of the band's performance and outdoor session pictures. This art could not be reproduced faithfully on later CD releases (an original 1st pressing on double-fat jewel case and the USA version packaged in a long box on two separate discs).

Track listing

All tracks recorded live on 12 & 13 August 1986 at Le Zénith, Paris, France except "Someone, Somewhere In Summertime" recorded live on 24 (or 30) October 1986 at the Entertainment Centre,

, Australia.

Side one

Side two

Side three

Side four

Complete setlist of the shows on 12 & 13 August 1986 in Paris, France

Source # Intro / Waterfront # Speed Your Love To Me (missing track on the live album) # Come A Long Way (missing track on the live album) # Book Of Brilliant Things # Ghost Dancing # Don't You (Forget About Me) # Big Sleep # Promised You A Miracle # Hunter And The Hunted (missing track on the live album) # Once Upon A Time # Oh Jungleland # All The Things She Said (missing track on the live album) # Alive And Kicking # New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) # Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) # Sanctify Yourself # East At Easter # Medley: Love Song / Sun City / Thank You / Dance To The Music

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes. ; Simple Minds * Jim Kerr – vocals * Charlie Burchill – guitars *

Michael MacNeil Norman Michael MacNeil is a Scottish songwriter and keyboardist born 20 July 1958 on the Isle of Barra, Scotland. He is best known as a former member of the group Simple Minds. MacNeil joined the band in 1978 and left in 1990. He released the ...

– keyboards, piano * Mel Gaynor – drums, backing vocals * John Giblin – bass ;Additional personnel *

– additional vocals *

– percussion * Lisa Germano – studio-overdubbed violin on "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" * Derek Forbes – bass overdubs on "Promised You a Miracle" and "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" (uncredited) ;Technical *Bruce Lampcov – producer, mixing *Steve Riddle – engineer *Douglas Cowan – computer work *Callum Malcolm – assistant engineer (Castle Sound Studios) *Tom Cadley – assistant engineer (Bearsville Studios) *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering * Malcolm Garrett – sleeve *Guido Harari – photography *William F. Ryan – " Claddagh" drawing *

Mick Haggerty Mick Haggerty is an English graphic designer, illustrator, art director, video director and artist. Haggerty has received four Grammy Award nominations for Best Recording Package, and in 1980 was jointly awarded, with Mike Doud, the Grammy for Sup ...

– original Simple Minds logo

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1987 live albums Simple Minds live albums Virgin Records live albums