Watch Simple Minds Play The Billboard Music Awards, First U.S. TV Performance In 20 Years
Simple Minds performed at the Billboard Music Awards last night, their first American TV performance in 20 years. The last time they appeared on television was in 1995 when they performed on Jay Leno and David Letterman as musical guests, but they returned last night to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” hitting #1 on the Billboard charts. (Side note: I was in the other room when they started playing this song last night and I thought it was Tom Petty’s “Refugee” for a solid minute and a half; I never realized how similar these two songs are before). Molly Ringwald of The Breakfast Club fame introduced the band before comparing that club to Taylor Swift’s ever-growing front row posse and making a beeline straight to Swift’s side for the performance — smart move, Ringwald. The band put out a new album last year called Big Music and we interviewed frontman Jim Kerr about it, if you’re interested in what the band have been up to. But if you’re just here for the award show spectacle, then watch that below.