Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr
What's on your rider?Mango, avocado, pineapple, ginger, lemon. It's like a fruit market backstage.
What's your pre-gig ritual/ routine?I keep very quiet in the hours leading up to a gig. Usually I'm working on a new song, as it's the best way to be productive and while away the hours otherwise spent hanging around.
How do you get to the gig – limo, taxi, walking?All of them. The most enjoyable way recently was when we played in Taormina, Sicily. I went to the gig on my Vespa.
What's the best gig you've been to?Seeing Bowie in the early 1970s when he was on the verge of superstardom was pretty sensational.
And the worst?Metallica – everything was all great except the music!
What are your favourite and least favourite venues?I am "in my own head" when I'm working, so I rarely notice the venue. I do like that tent in Cork, though.
Who is the most famous person to have shown up at one of your gigs?Nelson Mandela, I suspect.
Most embarrassing on-stage moment?Recently in Italy I kept saying from the stage how delighted we were to be back playing in Padova, and how we always had a great time in Padova, etc. Except we were not in Padova. We were in Pordenonne. Ooops! Padova was about 150 km away!
Groupies. Would you?Groupies? You are showing your age here!
How many roadies does it take to change your lightbulbs (ie, how big is your entourage)?A handful with Lostboy!, around 70 with Simple Minds.
Do you like to meet and greet fans after the gig?I don't hang around after gigs. I give my all on stage, then I try to save the energy and the voice for the next show.
Any useful stage tips?Give 100 per cent no matter if you are playing to 10 or 10,000.
What's the worst thing ever thrown at you?A pig's head back in the punk days.
If you could be in any other band, which one?I like the one I am in plenty enough.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea. Lostboy! plays Belfast on Wednesday and Cork on Thursday
