Changeling

Changeling was written by the original line up of Simple Minds in 1979. In this period band comprised of Charlie Burchill, Derek Forbes, Jim Kerr, Michael MacNeil and Brian McGee. Released at the last breath of the 70s, on their second album Reel to Real Cacophony, it was the sole single from an LP deliberately non-commercial. Drawing on the electronic rock influences of Krautrock, Changeling and its associated album is still revered by the band’s peers such as The Cure, U2, Echo & The Bunnymen and Primal Scream.

The band had served their apprenticeship with Bruce Findlay’s Zoom Records releasing their inaugural Life in a Day. The single release of Changeling in January 1980 was to be the last on Zoom, as Arista swallowed up the label in a new recording contract. John Leckie who produced the song acknowledged Forbes’s riff as the original heartbeat and drive of the song and latterly Jim Kerr has pointed out that the Changeling demo was the first time that Charlie and Mick had worked together as a partnership on a track.

Empires That Dance is a studio based project comprising of three Simple Minded friends with an eclectic mix of musical influences. When asked what drew the band to create a new version of the song, vocalist George Porter stated that it was a song they all had a fondness for and in fact hadn't left them since its original version was made public almost 35 years ago. Andy Inniss explained that the inception of this new version started off with a Trance sound but was crying out for a bass line. For him it was a natural progression from the group's last release Another Room. Gordy Goudie's favourite Simple Minds track is Changeling. For this version he wanted a Chic / Giorgio Moroder groove to it. Well it certainly deserves to be heard down in the club!

Former manager and mentor for Simple Minds, Bruce Findlay got the exclusive play of the finished cut and said on hearing it “This version of the song is sufficiently different... You have a character vocal in the middle, it’s good, it works... I liked it, good arrangement” Another ringing endorsement came from Brian McGee who recorded the original version. He enthused “Amazing, love it, love it, great track, great production, great drums, great grooves, great ideas”