Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band, formed in Glasgow in 1977. They are one of most commercially successful Scottish bands ever, having achieved five UK number one albums during their career and sold over 60 million records worldwide. Despite various personnel changes, they continue to record and tour.

The roots of Simple Minds are in the short-lived punk band Johnny & The Self-Abusers, founded on the South Side of Glasgow in early 1977. The band was conceived by would-be Glasgow scene-maker Alan Cairnduff, although he left the job of organising the band to his friend John Milarky. At Cairnduff’s suggestion, Milarky teamed up with two musicians he had never worked with before – budding singer and lyricist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill. Kerr and Burchill had known each other since the age of eight. After joining Johnny & The Self-Abusers, they brought in two of their school friends, Brian McGee on drums and Tony Donald on bass (all four had previously played together in the schoolboy band Biba-Rom!).

The band scored a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for their 1985 hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (UK #7, US #1, CAN #1), from the soundtrack of the film The Breakfast Club. Their other more prominent hits include "Alive and Kicking" (UK #7, US #3, Canada #3) and "Belfast Child" (UK #1, Ireland #1, Netherlands #1). In 2016, they won the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection.

The core of the band is the two remaining founding members, Jim Kerr (vocals, songwriting) and Charlie Burchill (guitars, keyboards after 1990, other instruments, songwriting). The other current band members are Ged Grimes (bass guitar), Sarah Brown (vocals), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Cherisse Osei (drums) and Catherine AD (vocals, keyboards, guitar). Former members include bass guitarist Derek Forbes, keyboardists Mick MacNeil and Andy Gillespie, drummers Brian McGee and Mel Gaynor (who first joined the band in 1982).