"All the Things She Said" by Simple Minds

Song#:  2677
Date:  04/05/1986
Debut:  82
Peak:  28
Weeks:  13
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Simple Minds were on a roll. Their eighth album, Once Upon a Time, grabbed them two Top 20 hits including the #3 "Alive and Kicking." This came on the heels of their breakthrough #1 "Don't You (Forget About Me)." To keep things going, this third single was lifted from the album. It would become their fourth straight Top 10 at Rock getting to #9. At Pop the song didn't do quite as well, but it did making it into the Top 30. It would be the last single released from the album, which would be a #10 gold seller. Unfortunately, it would also mark the end of the band's hit making days in the US. They would not place a song on the Pop chart for the remainder of the 80s.

ReduxReview:  The band was riding a wave of popularity due to their previous three singles and that certainly helped this one along. It's unusual MTV-supported video probably helped as well. I'm pretty certain that without the prior hits, this one wouldn't have even gotten near the Top 40. It's just not a strong single. The only thing I've ever remembered from the song was the title hook. While normally that is a good thing, the problem was that there was nothing else memorable about the song to go with it. I had the same problem with the album as well. Besides the two main hits, nothing stuck with me. I listened to it a couple of times and then filed it away.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Although the band would issue out a live album in 1987 titled Live in the City of Lights, they would not put out a new studio album until 1989. Street Fighting Years would be their third consecutive #1 album in the UK. It was boosted by four Top 20 hits including the #1 "Belfast Child," which had first been released as part of an EP a few months prior to the LP's release. Despite the album's success in many countries, it barely registered in the US. None of the singles from the album made an impression ("This Is Your Land" was a minor blip at Rock getting to #37) and that didn't help the album, which stalled out at a low #70. The band's first album of the 90's, Real Life, didn't fare any better, but it did get them a #1 Alternative Rock/#10 Rock track with "See the Lights." The song would also manage to reach #40 at Pop. Their final Pop entry would come in 1995 with the #52 "She's a River" (#6 Rock/#10 Alt. Rock), the lead single from their album Good News from the Next World. Despite the lack of support in the US, Simple Minds would continue to do well in the UK where in the 90s they scored seven Top 20 hits including three Top 10's.

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