Simple Minds star Jim Kerr has told how his late dad Jimmy helped put a drunk Bob Dylan to bed hours before the song legend was due to play Live Aid.
The Minds were one of dozens of top acts who played in America when simultaneous Live Aid shows took place in July 1985, at London’s Wembley and Philadelphia’s JFK stadiums.
Others on the bill for the US show included Dylan, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Mick Jagger and Neil Young.
Jim, 65, recalled: “I had so many events to do the day before the show and I had taken my dad with me.
“Kirsty McCall wasn’t playing at Live Aid, but she was there. She was a great pal of ours because she met her then husband, Steve Lillywhite, through Steve working with us.
“Steve was working with Jagger and Keith Richards who were in Philadelphia.
“Kirsty used to come down to the studio and that’s how she met Steve. She had been over the house many times and loved my mum and dad.
“So as soon as Kirsty saw my dad, she said, ‘Jimmy, come with me’. So, I thought ‘Great, Kirsty can babysit him while we get on with it’.”
Jim, who had helped Simple Minds rocket to No1 that year with the hit song Don’t You (Forget About Me) realised something was up when his dad, who passed away in 2019, went AWOL.
He added: “But this was the days before mobile phones. I didn’t know where my dad was.
“My dad didn’t drink, but we were setting off the next day for the concert and I couldn’t find him until, eventually, he turned up in the lobby.
“I said, ‘Dad, where were you?’ He went, ‘Aw, that Bob Dylan, what a state he’s in. I had to help get him to his bed’.
I said, ‘What are you talking about?’
“He said, ‘Aw, I was with Kirsty and Steve and Keith and Ronnie Wood. We were up in the private suite. And, aw, Dylan has drunk too much.
“And if you look at Dylan and Keith Richards performing that day, they can barely stand up. They put in quite a shabby performance and my dad’s telling me he and Kirsty had to get Dylan to his bed.”
Next year marks the 40 th anniversary of the Live Aid shows that were seen by 1.9 people worldwide.
170,000 people attended the concerts.
Simple Minds will play what is bound to be another unforgettable outdoor show at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park on June 27, next year.
The band will play hits from throughout their career as well as the 1985 album Once Upon a Time in full. Special guests on the day include Future Islands, KT Tunstall and Hamish Hawk.
The show is the band’s biggest headline date since 1991.
Jim said: “There’s always the desire to do something special in your hometown. It did dawn on us, as much as we’ve played in Glasgow, rarely have the shows ever been outdoors.
“Last time was just across from Bellahouston at Ibrox Park in 1985, and what a year that was for Simple Minds.”
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