Simple Minds were scattered to the four winds.

 

Mel was at home in Isleworth, London, Charlie and Mick were holed up somewhere down South, working out ideas..Jim was flying in from Nice to London…and I was at home in Glasgow. If you want to know where ‘WATERFRONT’ was written, then the answer is, the basement flat of no: 46 Westbourne Gardens, Hyndland, Glasgow.

 

I had just bought a Dynacord Digital Delay, which allowed me a very short audio  sample, via a toggle switch on the front of the unit…I played in the famous bass note of  WATERFRONT , and then added the melody bass, which is basically the tune that Mick played along with me, on fretless bass..so that blows the ‘only one note’ legend, out of the water…

 

The next morning, I flew to London, to hear what the lads had put together, and after that, we rehearsed for the U2 Show at Phoenix Park, Dublin. At the end of rehearsals, I started to play WATERFRONT, and Jim asked me what it was..I told him, just an idea I was working on in Glasgow..he asked  Mel to play along, and then Charlie and Mick joined in..

 

I showed Mick my part with the melody, and he played along with me…Mick and Charlie worked out the ‘stabs’ at the front “Ba- bammm…and the whole song fell into place..Jim worked on lyrics, so quickly, that we played the song at the Phoenix Park gig the next day…amazing or what??? We booked Barrowlands for the video, and you see the result here..