Simple Minds - Alive And Kicking In The Catskills

Did you know that the video for the Simple Minds song "Alive and Kicking" was filmed here in New York? Simple Minds first hit big with "Don't You (Forget About Me)".

The video alone has been viewed more than 176 Million times and that particular song played over the opening scenes and closing credits of the movie The Breakfast Club.

On the success of "Don't You (Forget About Me)" Simple Minds were invited to play Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985. The day after the legendary festival the band drove North to New York do the final mixing of their next album Once Upon A Time and that took place at Bearsville Studios on Spear Road in Bearsville. That is when the band fell in love with Upstate New York.

Hudson Valley One reports that the video for “Alive and Kicking,” was shot by Academy Award-winning director Zbigniew Rybczynski in the North/South Lake area of the Catskill Forest Preserve. Simple Minds are seen performing at the edge of a cliff with a vast tree-filled valley below them.

According to Wikipedia, a portion of the video was filmed on the overlook at the site of the old Catskill Mountain House. Here are some of my observations from the video.

1:06 - Someone needs a haircut
1:14 - Bass player is making me nervous. Too close to the edge
1:18 - Bass player over-acting for the camera. Relax dude
1:46 - Jim Kerr (singer) looks like Dana Carvey
2:02 - Keyboard player is hitting on you
2:12 - Drummer is pissed
2:26 - Bass player still not relaxed
2:58 - Drummer still pissed
4:07 - Bass player...quit it
4:15 - Drummer really pissed now
4:56 - Bug flying around drummer. Now we know why he is pissed
5:07 - How did they get on that island?