What Is Jim Kerr's Net Worth?
Jim Kerr is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter who has a net worth of $65 million. Jim Kerr is best known for being the lead vocalist of the band Simple Minds, and he has released more than 20 studio albums with the band, including "New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)" (1982), "Sparkle in the Rain" (1984), "Once Upon a Time" (1985), "Street Fighting Years" (1989), and "Real Life" (1991). The aforementioned albums were certified Platinum or higher in the U.K., and three of them reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart.
The band has sold over 60 million albums, and Jim's voice has been described as "David Bowie's rich baritone" combined with "Bryan Ferry's velvety croon." Simple Minds had a huge hit with "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which was featured on the 1985 soundtrack for "The Breakfast Club" and reached the top 10 on the charts in more than a dozen countries. The band is also known for singles such as "Glittering Prize," "Waterfront," "Speed Your Love to Me," "Alive and Kicking," "All the Things She Said," "Belfast Child," "Let There Be Love," and "She's a River." In 2010, Kerr released the solo album "Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr" and the singles "Shadowland," "Refugee," and "She Fell In Love With Silence."
Early Life
Jim Kerr was born James Kerr on July 9, 1959, in Toryglen, Glasgow, Scotland. His ancestry is Irish-Scottish. During his youth, Jim had a stammer, which resulted in him "dealing with ridicule, frustration and embarrassment," according to a 2016 post on the Simple Minds Facebook page. Kerr has a brother named Mark, who is a musician as well, performing in bands such as Gun.
Career
In 1977, Jim and his childhood friend Charlie Burchill formed the punk rock band Johnny and the Self Abusers, and under the stage name "Pripton Weird," he sang, played keyboards, and wrote songs for the group. Later that year the band changed its name to Simple Minds. They released their debut album, "Life in a Day," in April 1979, followed by "Real to Real Cacophony" in November of that year. Their 1980 album "Empires and Dance" reached #41 on the UK Albums Chart and#47 on the New Zealand Albums chart. Simple Minds released two studio albums in 1981, "Sons and Fascination" and "Sister Feelings Call." "Sons and Fascination" peaked at #4 on the Swedish Albums chart, #7 on the New Zealand Albums chart, and #11 on the UK Albums Chart, and it was certified Gold in the U.K. "Sister Feelings Call" also reached #11 on the UK Albums Chart and went Gold in the U.K. The band's next album, 1982's "New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)" reached the top 10 on the charts in four countries and was certified Platinum in the U.K., the Netherlands, and New Zealand and Gold in Belgium, Canada, France, and Sweden. The album featured the top 10 singles "Promised You a Miracle" (Australia and New Zealand) and "Glittering Prize" (Australia, New Zealand, and Norway). Simple Minds had a #1 album with 1984's "Sparkle in the Rain," which topped the charts in New Zealand and the U.K. The album was certified Platinum in the U.K. and Gold in Canada, France, and New Zealand, and the single "Waterfront" reached #1 in New Zealand.
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The band's next two albums, 1985's "Once Upon a Time" and 1989's "Street Fighting Years," both reached #1 on the charts in at least two countries. "Once Upon a Time" was certified 3× Platinum in the U.K., 2× Platinum in Canada, and Platinum in Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Norway, and "Street Fighting Years" went 2× Platinum in the U.K. and Platinum in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. All four singles from "Once Upon a Time" were top 10 hits in at least one country, and "Belfast Child" from "Street Fighting Years" reached #1 in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the U.K. In 1985, the song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was featured on "The Breakfast Club" soundtrack, and it reached #1 in Canada, the Netherlands, and the U.S. and was certified 2× Platinum in the U.K. and Platinum in Canada and Italy.
Simple Minds' first two albums of the '90s, 1991's "Real Life" and 1995's "Good News from the Next World," reached the top 10 in several countries, and "Real Life" went Platinum in Switzerland and the U.K. "Let There Be Love" from "Real Life" was a #1 hit in Italy. The 1998 album "Néapolis" reached #6 in Italy, #7 in Switzerland, and #9 in Germany, and the single "Glitterball" peaked at #3 in Italy. Next, the band released the albums "Neon Lights" (2001), "Cry" (2002) and "Our Secrets Are the Same" (2004). The 2005 album "Black & White 050505" was certified Gold in Italy and reached #6 in Germany and #7 in Italy. Their next album, 2009's "Graffiti Soul," reached the top 10 in Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland, and the U.K. The band then released 2014's "Big Music," 2016's "Acoustic," 2018's "Walk Between Worlds," and 2022's "Direction of the Heart." "Acoustic" was certified Gold in the U.K., and "Walk Between Worlds" and "Direction of the Heart" both reached the top 10 in at least five countries. Kerr released the solo album "Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr" in 2010, and it reached #8 on the UK Independent Chart.
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Personal Life
Jim married The Pretenders' lead singer, Chrissie Hynde, on May 5, 1984, and they welcomed daughter Yasmin the following year. After Kerr and Hynde divorced in 1990, Jim wed actress Patsy Kensit on January 3, 1992. Jim and Patsy had a son, James (born 1993) together before divorcing in 1996. In a 2022 interview with the "Irish Examiner," Kerr spoke about his love for the Celtic Football Club and how he "enjoyed watching the current crop of Japanese players," stating, "I can relate to the culture, I've been with a Japanese woman for 22 years now and she loves the Celtic." Jim has a home in Taormina, Sicily, and he owns the Hotel Villa Angela there.
Awards and Nominations
In 1985, Simple Minds earned MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best Direction and Best Art Direction for "Don't You (Forget About Me)." In 1986, the band received an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Pop/Rock Video Band/Duo/Group, a Brit Award nomination for Best British Group, and a Pollstar Concert Industry Award nomination for Next Major Arena Headliner. They won ASCAP Pop Music Awards for Most Performed Songs for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 1986 and "Alive and Kicking" in 1987, and in 1990, they earned a Brit Award nomination for Best British Single for "Belfast Child." At the Q Awards, the group won the Best Live Act award in 1991 and the Q Inspiration Award in 2014. They received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection in 2016, and in 2019, they earned "Classic Pop" Readers' Award nominations for Group of the Year and Live Act of the Year.
