Simple Minds, best known for Eighties hits "Don't You Forget About Me" and "Alive and Kicking," will release Neon Lights, an album of cover songs, on September 24th. The group's first recording for Eagle Records -- also home to former major-label rock stars like Robert Palmer and John Mayall -- will consist of interpretations of classics by Van Morrison , Patti Smith, the Doors and the Velvet Underground, among others.

"We have tried to stay faithful to the sentiment of the original songs," says frontman Jim Kerr of the set, the Glaswegian band's first studio effort since 1998's Neapolis. "Real fans of Simple Minds want to discover the genesis of our sound, want to hear what we were listening to as fans. There have been so many great songs, so many different sounds, so many artists and acts that have influenced our band. We have tried to hone it down to the key acts involved."

Having taken their moniker from David Bowie 's "Jean Genie," Simple Minds pay tribute to the Thin White Duke in their version of "The Man Who Sold the World." The band also turns in covers of tunes by contemporaries, taking on Echo and the Bunnymen's "Bring on the Dancing Horses" and Pete Shelley's "Homosapien." Of the latter, Kerr comments, "People who know the track would often quote it as being in their top five songs, but it was an obscure record at the time. It's a bit of a cult classic -- not one of the obvious choices."

Simple Minds are currently working on an album of new material that they hope to release early next year, with a worldwide tour to follow. The band's last studio album, Our Secrets Are the Same, remains unreleased. Completed in 1999, the recording is at the center of a legal battle with EMI, the band's former record company.

The complete track listing for Neon Lights:

"Gloria" (Van Morrison)
"The Man Who Sold the World" (David Bowie)
"Homosapien" (Pete Shelley)
"Dancing Barefoot" (Patti Smith)
"Neon Lights" (Kraftwerk)
"Hello, I Love You" (The Doors)
"Bring on the Dancing Horses" (Echo and the Bunnymen)
"The Needle and the Damage Done" (Neil Young)
"For Your Pleasure" (Roxy Music)
"All Tomorrow's Parties (The Velvet Underground)

JOHN D. LUERSSEN
(August 9, 2001)