Simple Minds will return to Australia in February 2027 for a five-date arena tour celebrating five decades of music, with electronic music pioneer Gary Numan joining the tour as special guest.
by Paul Cashmere
Scottish rock veterans Simple Minds have announced a major Australian arena tour for February 2027, marking the band’s V Tour 2027 and celebrating 50 years since the group first formed in Glasgow in 1977. The five-date run will take in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with special guest Gary Numan making his first Australian tour appearance in more than a decade.
The news from Destroy All Lines brings one of the most enduring acts of the post-punk and new wave era back to Australian arenas. Led by founding members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, Simple Minds have maintained a strong touring presence for nearly five decades, building a catalogue that stretches from their experimental late 1970s recordings through to international chart successes that defined much of the 1980s.
For Australian audiences, the tour offers a retrospective of a career that has produced some of the era’s most recognisable songs, including Don’t You (Forget About Me), Alive And Kicking, Promised You A Miracle, Waterfront, Belfast Child, Sanctify Yourself, She’s A River and Let There Be Love. The band has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide and remains one of Scotland’s most commercially successful music exports.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, frontman Jim Kerr reflected on the band’s long-standing relationship with local audiences.
“Simple Minds go back a long way with Australia and New Zealand, the thrill of performing for our fans down there never wears off,” Kerr said.
The upcoming tour also highlights the continuing appetite for legacy artists whose catalogues remain active on streaming platforms. Simple Minds recently achieved another milestone when Don’t You (Forget About Me) entered Spotify’s Billions Club, introducing the band’s music to a younger generation decades after its original release as part of The Breakfast Club soundtrack.
The band’s history stretches back to 1977, when Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill formed Simple Minds in Glasgow. After a series of critically acclaimed early albums including Life In A Day, Real To Real Cacophony and Empires And Dance, the group achieved a commercial breakthrough with 1982’s New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84). Success accelerated through Sparkle In The Rain and Once Upon A Time, albums that established Simple Minds as arena headliners throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
While many of their contemporaries have become largely heritage acts, Simple Minds have continued releasing new music in recent years, including Direction Of The Heart in 2022. Their longevity has also seen them cited as an influence by artists working across alternative rock, electronic and contemporary pop.
Joining the tour is Gary Numan, whose influence on modern electronic music remains substantial nearly half a century after his breakthrough. Numan first emerged as the leader of Tubeway Army before launching a solo career that produced landmark recordings such as Cars and Are ‘Friends’ Electric?. His pioneering use of synthesizers helped shape the development of electronic, industrial and alternative music.
Numan’s appearance is significant given the length of time since his last Australian tour. Over the past two decades he has undergone a critical resurgence, with later albums embracing darker industrial textures while attracting audiences well beyond the generation that first embraced his late 1970s and early 1980s work.
The pairing of Simple Minds and Gary Numan also reflects a broader trend in contemporary touring, where artists from the post-punk, synth-pop and new wave era continue to draw arena-sized audiences. Both acts have experienced renewed visibility through streaming services, social media discovery and the ongoing influence their music has had on younger performers.
For Simple Minds, the Australian dates form part of a wider celebration of a career approaching its 50th anniversary. For fans, it represents an opportunity to see two artists whose work helped define a transformative period in popular music and whose influence continues to be felt across rock, electronic and alternative genres.
Simple Minds With Special Guest Gary Numan Australian Tour 2027
13 February 2027, Perth, RAC Arena
16 February 2027, Adelaide, Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena
18 February 2027, Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
20 February 2027, Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
21 February 2027, Brisbane, Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Ticketing Information
Presale tickets available from 18 June at 9am local time.
General public tickets on sale 19 June at 9am local time.
