Top 20 Simple Minds Bass Lines: Nos. 10 - 1 / Tribute to Derek Forbes (bass & backing track covers)

[@brucestellmacher5596]

Nice tribute to Derek Forbes. His bass lines were so essential to the first SM albums.

[@wthornton7346]

"The brilliance of Forbes’ bass lines is not complexity but propulsiveness." Brilliant insight. Thanks for your stimulating top 10. Nice work!

[@michaelsylvester3968]

Bravo! What a great tribute to a phenomenal bass player.

[@RobvanBerlo]

@@michaelsylvester3968 Thank you!

[@jmacdono]

Sons and Fascination was the first Simple Minds album I bought after Once Upon A Time came out. Back in 1986, I didn't even realize they had other albums, frankly. When I first heard 'In Trance As Mission', I was mesmerized. It was so different from other music I had listened to. Nearly 40 years later, they are still my favorite band. And their first 6 albums are so superb!

[@barriem5318]

SAF is pure magic. I was born in 1971 and fell in love with SM in my teens. Still listening to this day!

[@mikahousemouse]

Themes for Great Cities is #1 & one of the best Bass Lines ever!!!

[@twinlamps]

So many bangers from New Gold Dream! An underrated bassist for sure.

[@j.m.6891]

I don't normally comment on videos but I have to tell you how amazing this is. A fantastic tribute to a great bassist.

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you very much!

[@markgollop3726]

Brilliant. I'm sure Derek Forbes would be proud of these renditions of his bass lines.

[@gregr6829]

Wonderful. Forbes is a true genius. Colours Fly soooo good 🙂

[@giuseppegiacomoni7058]

Keep on listening to this over and over again? Keep on sharing your talent with us all and make more of these superb videos!!

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you Giuseppe. Have you seen part 2? kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6exkKOOpqiFmtEsi=LwFwKdEDaL922Twb

[@deletebilderberg]

Changeling is a monster bass line. There are so many!

[@SirSneakerPimp]

That was excellent…their Industrial Sounds period was Simple Minds absolute best. After, Don’t You, they started the downhill decent.

[@MrChippiechappie]

Wrong from Real life onwards.

[@lelenadi99]

I agree with you, but i think Street Fighting Years is a good album too

[@lf170]

I agree that was their best period! But Neapolis was the best album of their later period (not counting the last 3 which I haven't listened to much) and had more of a Euro/dance feel to it. Real Life had mostly great songs on it (along with 2 or 3 really terrible ones). And Once Upon A Time, the album that changed their sound completely and made them more mainstream, wasn't as strong as the previous albums, but it wasn't a bad album. The first half at least, is excellent.

[@grsministries9830]

@@lelenadi99 Yes! Street Fighting Years and Once Upon a Time are their most coherent, complete and comprehensive albums. The songs are more passionate, and make sense because the lyrics are more dynamic and have structure while still being melodically satisfying. I love these albums for this very reason, they're not just a bunch of interesting songs being recorded - they're real albums. Now, with that being said, New Gold Dream and Sparkle in the Rain are still amazing to listen to because of the musicianship (including vocals), but they fall a little flat lyrically. It's like they lack vision and direction - they really don't seem to go anywhere, although there are exceptions like Glittering Prize and Speed Your Love to Me. Again, with all that being said, they sure lost something very special in Derek Forbes when he left as shown by Rob here, and these aren't all of Forbes riffs - Big Sleep for example has an incredible bass riff that pushes the clever keyboard riff, that is completed by the guitar riff.

[@ziggypop79]

I kind of agree but I really like Real Life but agree Forbes was their best bassist.

[@stevie2924]

Great stuff and hit on all my faves. Only one not there was League Of Nations which for me is Derek’s finest ever piece

[@RobvanBerlo]

A monolithic monotonous bass part! I especially like the tone of the bass there.

[@AMASportsPhotoAgency]

can't wait for the next ten!! Love Song, The American, Celebrate, Room, Factory - etc :) :) super stuff

[@grsministries9830]

What incredibly melodic bass riffs! They incorporate so many different techniques from using a pick, to using fingers and slapping and popping, unique timing (In Trans as Mission). Those tone/semitone shifts on New Gold Dream - wow! There's no doubt the bass really stands out in these earlier albums. Watching Rob play these riffs really makes me appreciate how intricate and sophisticated Derek Forbes is on bass. They must be a lot of fun to learn and play.

[@Bigsbeee]

Mick along with Derek of course. Once they disappeared it all went to sh*t for me. I bought my first bass after seeing Simple minds in 79.. I was 16. Seen them Manchester Apollo & Hacienda - looong time ago. Gig is here on YT. I still play these Bass lines today . GREAT vid mate.

[@soepil]

Wow! I'm totally floored. Love the lines, love the playing, love the record covers ... time to get the bass out and try some of them myself. What an inspiration. Thank you.

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you. Play the hell out of that bass! 🙂

[@girlvagabond]

Sons and Fascination is my new fave Album by SM, although I will always have a soft spot for New Gold Dream.

[@emcash7042]

This is great! I love Derek’s bass lines on all those songs… a huge loss when he left.

[@petebellmusic]

Brilliant. Saw Derek Forbes play at a festival today. What a bassist!! And your versions highlight how good he is. Thank you!!

[@jiros00]

Theme for Great Cities and New Gold Dream are my favourites. Very pleasing on the ear. Thanks.

[@TheMusicianTom]

You’re spot on in the description about Forbes’s playing being propulsive. Melodic too in songs like Glittering Prize. Great playing by the way man!

[@Slaneous]

Great playing on some brilliant tracks. Theme for great cities had to be number one, a bassists dream and one of the best instrumental songs of all time.👏🏼

[@lf170]

Nicely done. Derek Forbes' playing on those first few albums was a huge part of their sound. While Burchill's guitar, MacNeil's keyboards, and Kerr's voice were key ingredients, that bass really drove a lot of their songs. It's too bad he (and later McNeil) left. And 1998's Neapolis, the album on which Forbes returned, is extremely underrated! It was a much needed return to form after the bloat of Street Fighting Days and mediocre radio-friendly pop-rock of Good News From the Next World (Real Life was good and could have been excellent if not for 2 or 3 tracks that should have been left off). (I find it pretty messed up that Neapolis has been forgotten about, but U2's 1991 Achtung Baby is considered groundbreaking for bringing dance and electronic elements to their sound, something which Simple Minds had been doing in the early 80s and returned to in 1998).

[@lemsolaris67]

But then also during Neapolis making and touring something went wrong again with Forbes, why did they split again?

[@eliastheod]

Spot on! Indeed Neapolis was a great album. Forbes distinct style gave the Simple Minds, to me, a unique sound. Brilliant bass player! Keep up the good work!

[@RobvanBerlo]

I have to admit that I’ve hardly listened to any Simple Minds music after Don’t You. Afraid of being disappointed. Which I was on the rare occasions I did. On the U2 comparison. I was fan of both at the time. For many years after say 1984 I would’ve said that U2 stood the test of time best. And 90’s U2 beats anything Simple Minds from that era by a mile I think. Now though I rate the album run from Real to Reel until Sparkle highest for adventurous experimentation and musical development in such a short time span. Truly inspired and inspiring.

[@lf170]

@@RobvanBerlo Oh, I'm not saying U2's work wasn't great - I love that later period stuff: Achtung Baby and Zooropa were fantastic and Pop is severely underrated (I lost them after that period), but they got credit for their Euro-pop + dance sound when Simple Minds was doing it in 1980 (when U2 was still a Boy - har har). But definitely check out Neapolis. And Real Life would have been a real classic without 2 or 3 tracks that are pretty bad (one embarrassingly so). But there are some truly great songs in that album, and real musical growth. Just listen to "Woman", "Banging on the Door", "Rivers of Ice", and "Travelling Man". The radio hits were also pretty good, if a bit "safe": "See the Lights" & "Let There Be Love". Skip tracks 5 - 7 (maybe 8, but it's not terrible).

[@bluemondayuk8967]

Waterfront was as amusing as I expected. Well done for keeping straight face. TFGC always going to be number one...

[@Baranoeda]

Thank you so much for this excellent bass playing. Simple Minds were New Age for sure, but I always also considered them as the first "trance" act. Premonition from 1979 is so incredibly ahead of its time.

[@emcash7042]

I agree! ‘Trance’ is a great way to describe their music

[@brianmcaleer3958]

Sons & Fascination/ Sister Feelings Call their best work for me - produced by Steve Hillage of Gong fame. Trance mastery.@@emcash7042

[@marcomodena8076]

Wow che ricordi 👍👍grande basso bravissimo

[@jamesmilne8445]

One of my favourites is Thirty Frames A Second. I am surprised no one has sampled the song.

[@Bradonomous]

Superb. Totally solid. Dereks baselines are tricky to get right without them sounding too mechanical and plodding. You managed to get that urgent, manic, driving feel while still keeping the groove just right. Your choices of baselines really highlight how Derek was an integral part of the overall melodic structure, not just the bassline. This is some incredible work, not just technically but in terms of emotion and showing respect for the music.

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you.

[@micflanell6211]

Very cool , Sparkle In The Rain , Yeah!

[@jfrlucas]

Very nice and clean. I love it. I appreciate the album in the background. It's a nice touch.

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thanks for looking at the details beyond the bass. Much appreciated.

[@permaveg]

I watched an interview with Derek recently and he said his favourite bassline in the Minds was 'This Fear of Gods'.

[@BIGeSTRING]

Derek Forbes was de basis van de Simple Minds. Toen hij de band verliet hebben ze nooit meer dat vette bas sound gehad, want Forbes was een meester in lekker klinkende bass lines

[@richardgudino7630]

You've TONE for days sir, thank you for these tasty lines.

[@Undercoverbrotherfromanother]

You crushed them all, excellent work!! It made my day. Thank you.

[@stephanemallemont2989]

Je viens de regarder un Live de 2003, que du lourd, je suis batteur, ça fait 40ans que je joue du Simple Minds en accompagnement, bravo et bonne continuation 🙌💪☝️

[@stefanobutini8838]

Bravo.

[@rogerstalbans7225]

This is great, I've listened quite a few times. I love early Simple Minds and Derek's bass lines are a big part of why. A Top 12 with Love Song and Sweat in Bullet would be even better!

[@RobvanBerlo]

Choices, choices. Sweat in Bullet would have been in my top 10 if I hadn’t excluded (most of the) fretless bass lines. I wouldn’t be doing those justice with my fretted bass.

[@floydlay9189]

Great jpb,,thank you!

[@Tobias-he4hl]

Fantastisch! Ik ga altijd los op Simple Minds - King Is White (Live 1984, Extended Version) van Dexbam. Heel anders als de plaat is.

[@vracaricstefan2686]

Glittering prize is simply amazing👌

[@virginiafernandez4435]

This. Fear. Of. Gods!!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@dinalli]

Ive watched this a few times now, absolutely spot on sound.

[@Judith.13.]

It’s so cosy over there. Thank you for playing🌷

[@stephenmorse342]

New Gold Dream! :) I worked this out on my 6 string as I am not a bass player but love the groove. Later I nicked my sons bass and gave it a whirl and its great. Nice video.

[@andrewhughes3740]

Brilliant mate, Love simple minds !!👏👍👌💪✌😎💯

[@brianmcaleer3958]

Brilliant. Saw SM with Forbes several times in the early 80s and have always been a massive fan of his. The guy is a genius nobody played bass the way he did (although you do a fine take on it)

[@Eoin109]

What great songs they are!😊

[@LiquidAudio]

Awesome work, super smooth, my faves are New Gold Dream, Colours Fly and Theme for Great Cities.

[@michaelweinman9051]

Cool vid! wow modern, impressive, stylish. Well done, mate.

[@sdw1106]

I don't much care for precision basses, but DF (and this) may change my mind....

[@mariorecuero7451]

Briliant .... that is the core of Simple Minds , the amazing bass.

[@Dont_stay_long_k077]

Superb , SM , New Gold Dream , album of the year , in fact best I'd say they did great sound man

[@nigelgoodwin5094]

Great lines! Thanks for this. Woot!

[@davidboyce8683]

I love Jaco , but Derek was a bass machine for sure .That early simple minds stuff was great . But then I'm a Scot living in America, so my allegiance to my music gets a wee bit muddled sometimes.Great video Rob .

[@Etatdesiege1979]

Correct

[@RobvanBerlo]

Aside from my inability to reproduce anything Jaco I prefer minimal and propulsive bass lines anyway. A bit like my preference of edgy, industrial Glasgow above woowing Edinburgh.

[@Gkirby001]

Excellent. Hard to choose a favourite but Glittering Prize is outstanding. Premonition is deceptively amazing.

[@philipsims337]

Every one a Forbes bass part. Damn right! As a young bass player he was my man.

[@darrenseymour7568]

Excellent stuff!

[@danieljacobson6223]

Introduktionen till In trance as mission är mitt favorit-intro alla kategorier inom populärmusiken. Från den inledande nakna basen i all sin enkelhet byggs låten upp mästerligt.

Derek, alongside Mick Karn, were my top bassplayers back then.

[@thewrongman6709]

Wow wow wow Stunning bass playing and what a great selection! The face says you're in your element. Perfecto

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you!

[@giuseppegiacomoni7058]

Absolutely brilliant!! Thank you for sharing this with us? Brings back all the good memories of old!

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you Giuseppe. Have you seen part 2 also? kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6exkKOOpqiFmtEsi=rIs64mhXW6GiBIWA

[@davecarty6503]

Excellent playing with the perfect tone... well done 👌

[@eamontdmas]

Beautifully done Sir. Did you by any chance consider including Hunter and the Hunted at any point? I know its sparse as hell but its also a thing of beauty.

[@RobvanBerlo]

There you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKGsaXWMrJyhm68

[@solismuzik]

Very nice. It took me forever to figure out how to play Big Sleep, until I figured out he's using a flanger with a fretless bass, sliding the middle notes after the initial octave thing. I think he also uses a fretless with Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel.

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you! Not necessarily fretless though: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fImTln2hfNKMi9k

[@Eerke66]

Yes these are all great, enjoyed watching it, but Big Sleep is the one I'm really missing here, one of the songs that made me want to play bass! Not that I'm anywhere near able to do it yet :)

[@RobvanBerlo]

@@Eerke66 Bass on Big Sleep is great! I chose not to include original fretless parts in my Top 10. As I don't own a fretless and don't want to be doing it disservice by playing it on a fretted bass. Although I think This Fear of Gods was performed on a fretless too.

[@Eerke66]

@@RobvanBerlo Aha, snap ik!

[@artsantosv6198]

Super cool - thank you - hopefully more is coming

[@marcomodena8076]

Bravissimo e amiamo lo stesso Bassista 👍🙋🏻‍♂️🤙

[@CarlosWilde]

Very cool, Rob - Great playing and sound. Like that fact that you have the vinyl in the background!

[@thorholgersson6860]

This illuminates the fact that the bass line is the true core of all the classic Simple Minds songs. On Sparkle in the rain album, the bass was pushed back in the final mix , the result is brash, top-heavy and thin sounding with screechy guitar, clanging piano and overworked drumming. Significantly, Forbes left the band shortly after.

[@RobvanBerlo]

Although my favourite SM album over time alternates between NGD, E&D and S&F, I do have a soft spot for Sparkle in the Rain.

[@thorholgersson6860]

@@RobvanBerlo Some truly terrific songs on Sparkle also, but, in my opinion, they never reached their full potential with the ham-fisted production of Steve Lilywhite. Thank you so much for honoring Derek Forbes, I never bought any SM records after he quitted

[@drprick7432]

Some of the greatest bass lines ever. I love all their stuff bu especially NGD because it was so bass driven. Once Upon a time was key/piano heavy, and Sparkle was drum heavy. They all take me back

[@nadiruddin]

Just wow! Amazing

[@markcbb]

Lovely stuff he's a really underrated bassist , top work.

[@shaunsmith1825]

When I hear the first few notes of 'In Trance As Mission' I know things are gonna be ok.

[@LAFKO1]

thank you so much, you make me feel so happy !!

[@krg1965]

Cor, what great choices... and so well played. It was a complete revelation to me how sparse and delicate the actual bass for Waterfront is - I always thought that main riff was a flanged bass played with a pick. I love Derek's invention and technique - then put him together with Brian (who I tried to learn from as a young drummer, trying to play those dark, yet funky licks on Empires & Dance) I was lucky enough to see Derek & Brian play together live with Propaganda in 1985 - stunning live musicians. And you, you've certainly got the vibe and the feel - this is definitely a proper tribute to Derek's playing. Thanks for a spot-on video!

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you sir!

[@RobvanBerlo]

If you’re referring to the melodic bass part in Waterfront, I think it was played on a fretless bass with some subtle flanger and reverb. Ik kept a dry signal in this interpretation.

[@andrefranciscodasilva7671]

Excelent performance!

[@barriem5318]

This Fear of Gods is classic!

[@manuelj6853]

FANTASTIC!!!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@TheUglySlug666]

Great playing!!

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you!

[@francescospiga6624]

Great tribute,thanks!

[@lrwebb869]

Love this! Having the vinyl covers on show is a nice touch too 👍🏻

[@ChesterStBackpackers]

Well done. Also helps me to figure out a few that I couldn't work out. Also the backing tracks were well done. Looking forward to the next 10! Thanks

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you! It took me some figuring out too. I made a few choices against the majority of interpretations I watched online. No one seems to use an octaver in the verses of Promised You a Miracle for example. Still I think that’s what I’m hearing in the original recording. Also I play the first notes in the ‘verse’ part of Theme For Great Cities differently. Even from Forbes’ own more recent performances. Still, I think the original recording is different there from live performances. And I think my technique sucks in Glittering Prize. But I’ve been having loads of fun on this little project. Don’t think I’ll make another Simple Minds top 10 though. Plenty of great bass lines. But It’s up to you now :-)

[@zanpietro]

@@RobvanBerlo very good in promise you a miracle , what effect did you use? an octaver?

[@RobvanBerlo]

@@zanpietro Yes, it's an octaver. I think that's what I'm hearing on the original recording.

[@zanpietro]

@@RobvanBerlo great, rock on

[@williamclementsonbass1795]

Well Done. And what a compelling aesthetic!

[@julianpratt9616]

Some absolute classics there Rob, Theme For Great Cities was fabuloso!

[@joeduffy4336]

Excellence great playing and a cool tribute to Derek Forbes 👍

[@KAchtchouk6660]

Excellent selection BRAVISSIMO

[@RobvanBerlo]

Thank you!

[@davidfowers4274]

Amazing!!!!!!!

[@joshkny]

You covered some great ones. Promised You a Miracle, New Gold Dream, and Glittering Prize are favorites

[@darrenlee-ross4432]

Yah great band - I was there in the 1980s but all their popular songs sounded the same. Perhaps they'd found a formula and wanted to repeat it. I certainly would. Good one you Simple Minds :)

[@hollawaldfee6777]

Very nice 👍

[@rexgrignon5538]

Wonderful tribute to a great bass player. Well played man!

[@stephenjackson4516]

Fantastic and very helpful. However, remark about keeping the Transmission line going for the duration, if you listen to line along with the drums (especially the hi-hat) then I'm inclined to say that the drums and bass phrases are both looped, presumably with a load of pencils for the tape to go around and what-have-you that Steve Hillage had in the studio. Reckon the drum part of Boys from Brazil is also looped but happy to be wrong.

[@RobvanBerlo]

Very interesting remark. That could certainly have been a producer's trick in this case. I'll be giving In Trance As Mission a spin with this idea in mind.

[@odaikorob]

Great work there on TFGC, mate!

[@EvilSean62]

thank you so much !!!

[@gagsy100]

Forbes was great… well done sir

[@Lysdexia]

Thank you! I learned more from you in minutes than in years of trying (and failing) to learn by ear myself.

[@namph72]

Wow that was great glad that In Trance As Mission and Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel were in there

[@lucioandriulo9011]

Well done!

[@codyknudtson7851]

Liked 9 & 3 the best, great job.

[@filmworksusa]

Thanks for this - you're nailing them - and you're playing is so clean. Excellent choices for your Top Ten, I was hoping that Someone Somewhere In Summertime would be in there... and so many others... and now I'm thinking Up On The Catwalk would be great too....there are just too many awesome DF bass lines to count!