“Real Life came back to the real Simple Minds sound,” says Mel, who cut the record using a custom-built fibreglass kit. Showing his versatility, Mel broke out the brushes for the haunting ballad Woman.

Mel Gaynor says:

“Real Life was a great album to record. It came after Street Fighting Years, which was okay, but as far as the drums went it was very staid. We had Steve Lipson working with us and he got some really fantastic sounds on this album.”

“I had a Pearl fibreglass kit, which was kind of a one-off. I went to Japan and just picked out some shells that were lying around in the factory. It was a very loud kit but it had a warm tone. It was a pity I never got a snare drum to go with it. I should have, because it would have been unique.”

“Woman was quite strange, I wasn’t sure how to track it but it turned out alright in the end. It started off with a drum machine and I came in with brushes. The full kit was too overpowering, so I just added texture over the top.”