Unforgettable Sound For Simple Minds

They may have been around for over three decades, but Simple Minds is still on many a ‘must go to’ gig list. And now the band that scored over twenty Top 20 hits is currently undertaking a major world tour. It kicked off in Dublin at the end of January 2006, marks the release of their album, Black & White 050505, and is reported as ‘an astounding return to form’.

Still best known for their 1985 number one Don’t You Forget About Me from the film The Breakfast Club, Simple Minds is playing all manner of venues, from the most intimate to the vast. The tour is predominantly one-niters, so the tight turn arounds and diversity in size of venues demand a flexible and easily programmed sound system.

Sub-hired from rental company Concert Sound to main supplier EML for the UK leg of the tour, it comprises an Adamson Y10 line array, half of which is flown and half ground stacked, plus EAW subs. System control is courtesy of seven XTA DP226 crossovers via a PC tablet using XTA’s proprietary AudioCore software and their Walkabout Wireless kit.

“We have found the XTA kit offers plenty of scope with EQ and boost and the internal headroom is more than adequate for our needs,” says Front of House engineer Patrick Demoustier. Concert Sound system technician Arron Ross adds: “We’re using Adamson Axis Shooter software alongside the latest version of XTA AudioCore - 8.1. It’s so easy to use and has allowed me to tune the room in fine detail.”