EP · Simple Minds
Ballad of the Streets EP by Simple Minds
Ballad of the Streets EP is an EP by Simple Minds, released in 1989. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 2 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Belfast Child”, on 2 lists with a best position of #8.
Ballad of the Streets was the EP Simple Minds put out on 6 February 1989, and its lead track, "Belfast Child", went on to front the Glasgow band's Street Fighting Years album later that year. Alongside it sat "Mandela Day" and "Biko".
It's a long way from "Don't You (Forget About Me)", the Breakfast Club hit that had broken them in America four years earlier. Jim Kerr sings with a hushed, hymnlike gravity, Charlie Burchill's guitar and Michael MacNeil's keyboards swell slowly behind him, and the whole thing builds like a procession rather than a pop single. Somehow it worked: the EP went to number one on the UK singles chart, and in Ireland and the Netherlands too, and "Belfast Child" was up for Song of the Year at the 1990 Brit Awards.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Ballad of the Streets EP on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Child | 2 | #8 | – | 1989–1990 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.