Ahead of their gig at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on Thursday, lead singer Jim Kerr talks about returning to Dubai after ten years, playing the crowd-pleasers, and that time he hung out with David Bowie and Iggy Pop…

On the influence of David Bowie…
Like everyone else, we felt a profound sense of sadness when David Bowie passed away. I think the second gig I ever went to was a Bowie gig. He shaped our world, and our fans – we sort of looked to him as a compass. He’s still in the ether and I can’t see that ever changing. We haven’t planned any kind of tribute for the gig, but let’s see what emerges.

On meeting your idols…
Another of my idols was Iggy Pop, Bowie’s sort of ‘partner in crime’. Back in 1979, we were lucky enough to be recording in the same studio as Iggy – this tiny studio in the middle of the Welsh countryside. What Iggy Pop was doing in the middle of the Welsh countryside, I have no idea. Anyway, we ended up hanging out with him, and one day he says, “Oh, David’s coming over tonight.” And it turned out to be Bowie. There was this amazing moment where it was me, Bowie and Iggy in the studio – and no one had a camera!

On (arguably) the band’s biggest hit, ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ from The Breakfast Club)…
In a sense, it’s sort of taken on a life of its own. We never expected it to do what it did; we never saw this success coming, but we’re very grateful. We never play it in rehearsal because we know it so well. But when you play it on stage, and you see how much joy it brings people, it makes you play it like your life depends on it.

On what you can expect from Simple Minds in 2016…
This year is actually our calm before the storm. Next year is our 40th anniversary, which we want to go big with. In the meantime, we’re working on a lot of new material. I know a lot of bands who’ve been around as long as we have – and are looking a bit long in the tooth – are slowing down. But we feel like we’ve just got our mojo back.

On opening a hotel in Dubai (Jim has a hotel in Sicily)…
At the moment, I have no plans to open any property in Dubai. I still can’t believe I have this place in Italy. I imagine myself as the Scottish Basil Fawlty!

On what makes Dubai so special…
Dubai is somewhere that we’ve always been interested in, and we haven’t visited in ten years. In fact, our Dubai show at the Irish Village is our first and only gig that we’ll be doing this year. It’s changed a lot, and I’m sure we could come back in five years and it would have changed remarkably again. Besides – who doesn’t want to come to Dubai in January? From Glasgow?!

Finally, on what we can expect from Thursday’s show…
Like I said before, the band’s really got its mojo back. Musically, technically. We’re feeling energetic; it won’t seem like we’ve been around for 40 tears. We’ll be playing all the hits. We have all these songs that mean a lot in people’s memories – songs from Live Aid, from the Free Nelson Mandela concerts, from Top of the Pops. Music takes you back. We have to be as good as people remember.

See Simple Minds at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, next to the Irish Village, on Thursday, January 28 at 7pm. Check out theirishvillage.com for more information.