Jim Kerr has stood on an open air stage in Dublin before, quite a few times in fact. The last time though was the RDS in 1989, three years after Croke Park. He might, reasonably, have felt at the time that this status was set to last for a while. Within a few years, however, the world had turned upside down and Simple Minds were experiencing much the same fate of the stadium bands that had preceded the punk scene from which they themselves had emerged. The next twenty years saw Kerr and Charlie Burchill alongside a revolving cast of new and former band members, producing a succession of largely forgettable albums.

And still the world kept turning and after decades in the wilderness, Simple Minds fell back into favour. The songs that had maintained their live profile at a reasonable level revealed themselves, not as nostalgic eighties throwbacks, but a timeless cocktail of post-punk oddness and pop craft. Unexpectedly, incredibly, Simple Minds were cool again. Thus Jim Kerr is back in Dublin watching the golden light fade on a sea of hands. It’s not quite Phoenix Park, yet he is clearly glad to be back.

‘Waterfront’ rolls the night into action, as it has done for over forty years, and we’re instantly in safe hands. 2014’s ‘Midnight Walking’ proves that not only did the rest of the world catch up with Simple Minds, the band themselves did too. Largely made up of tracks from New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) and Once Upon A Time, the night reflects a band on the cusp of huge mainstream success and what they did next. Both periods stand up well, the latter a retooling of the former’s left of centre template for mass consumption. Admirably they didn’t take the easy route, adding the potent combination of politics and soul to the mix. While there are still hints of that musical evolution evident (predominantly thanks to vocalist Sarah Brown), the old activism is largely missing. A vague mention of this “fucked up world” is as deep as it gets, the political baton clearly (and disappointingly) passed to a new generation.

If the songs have stood the test of time, Simple Minds aren’t doing too badly themselves. Given the last minute non-appearance of guitarist Gordy Goudie due to illness they’re a formidable prospect and the addition of Brown and drummer Cherisse Osei nearly ten years ago was clearly a masterstroke – injecting a youthful energy that’s still evident. Kerr pulls the old moves with some success and there is a healthy lack of cliche, with only a dragged out version of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ outstaying its welcome. Even then, they pull it back with a powerhouse Brown vocal on ‘Book Of Brilliant Things’ and a euphoric ‘Alive and Kicking’. Taking their bow to Sly and the Family Stone, what goes around has gone around and brought Simple Minds back to this point. They deserve nothing less.