Simple Minds "Chelsea Girl" Live Mars Bar 1978

Simple Minds perfoming "Chelsea Girl" live at the Mars Bar in Glasgow 30/7/78. This was soon after the 1st Simple Minds demo tape was recorded which also featured this song. A lot of the lyrics on the demo tape were different to the eventual album version. Those same demo version lyrics are used here. This is the earliest known live recording of the band. I've included a few stills of the music video they used for this song. The music video was filmed late spring 1979 in the days when few bands recorded videos (the band didn't even know what a video was when approached about it!). The record company were very confident about this song being a hit. It failed to make the top 75 of the music charts!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• simple
• minds
• chelsea
• girl
• mars
• bar
• glasgow
• 1978
• live
• rare
• life
• in
• day
• video
• jim
• kerr
• yt:stretch=16:9

[kenomeat2]

Best venue in Glasgow in its day. Many good nights and many good gigs... including Simple Minds.

[toptonychick]

@kenomeat2 Do you know what happened to this venue? Thanks!

[WinkieAlan]

Ah the memories

[toptonychick]

@kenomeat2 Thanks for that info. A sad end, indeed! Cheers.

[kenomeat2]

@kenomeat2 It stayed abandoned for several years with a charred door, but I have some distant memory it reopened for a short time as just some bar (don't quote me on that). Finally it was all boarded up, building became derelict and eventually knocked down. Sad end to a legendary place.

[kenomeat2]

@toptonychick Under threat of legal action it changed its name to the Countdown Bar. In addition to its trong punk scene, more skinheads started hanging out. Ensuing trouble meant it opening and closing. Eventually the skinheads were banned (rumour of the day was that the police told them to ban the skins) then one night it got torched.

[toptonychick]

@aprilspring770 It was released as a single. It didn't chart although many thought it would. They even made a music video. The single flopped! It didn't even reach the top 75. Thanks April.

[aprilspring770]

@toptonychick I listened to couple of their classic rock and I was asking myself "why"? They have done amazing job. Marvelous. Like this one, Ive never heard before but I loved it instantly. Great tune. Thanks for the post. I will be checking again next time. Good night for me.

[toptonychick]

@aprilspring770 Bob Geldolf once said "If I had recorded this song it would have gone to number one!".  Cheers April.

[aprilspring770]

Spectacular!!! I enjoyed listening to this great rock sound.  Nice post.