MOST bands tend to wait 25 years from its release before they decide to play a complete album live. But then Simple Minds aren't most bands.

Less than two weeks after the launch of Walk Between Worlds, they took the brave step to showcase their latest release to a sold out Albert Hall.

A little self indulgent? Possibly. But Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill did their best to ease the audience into it by bookending it with some of their biggest hits.

They also split the new album into two halves with brief on-stage interview sections used to introduce four tracks each.

Sticking a new album in between such familiar songs as I Travel and Waterfront is risky. But Walk Between Worlds stood up pretty well in comparison to long-established Minds' classics. Barrowland Star and Summer in particular look like becoming welcome additions to the live set for years to come.

Less successful were the Q&A sessions. Sadly it was a signal for that growing band of people who seem to think that it's perfectly fine to talk their way through a gig to raise the volume to such a degree that it was almost impossible to hear what was being said.

But when it came to the music the new Simple Minds line-up was on fine form. Drummer Cherisse Osei was an absolute powerhouse, pounding out rhythms with an almost hypnotic effect.

The addition of singer Sarah Brown has added a new dimension to the band and her blues-soaked version of Dirty Old Town, first performed by the band in Manchester the night after the Arena bombing, was one of the highlights of the night.

The fact that it is 40 years since Simple Minds played their first live date was mentioned several times but with new musicians around them and a highly-promising new album under their belts, mainstays Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill appear to be have been given a new lease of life.

Burchill still hunches over his guitar wringing out every last note and Kerr still postures and poses with the best of them, the voice sounding in remarkably good shape.

The problem of having such a long career is that songs you'd hoped for won't be included in the set. Love Song, New Gold Dream and The American gave magnificent hints at what could have been.

The new album showcase wasn't a resounding success but you can't knock them for trying something different.

And as the final encore Don't You (Forget About Me) turned into a mass singalong you couldn't help being left with the feeling that even 40 years down the road, there are still plenty of miles left in the tank.