Minds star Ged’s Alive
SIMPLE Minds rocker Ged Grimes has swapped power ballads for pixels in a new computer game set in 18th century Scotland.
Bass player Ged enlisted musicians from the Gaelic community for The Bard’s Tale IV Barrows Deep — a sequel to 80s video game Bard’s Tale.
The soundtrack features South Uist piper and singer Rona Lightfoot, 82, 16-year-old Peigi Barker – who was the voice of Young Merida in Disney film Brave – and a 40-strong Gaelic choir.
Ged, 56, was part of 80s trio Danny Wilson before joining forces with Simple Minds legends Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill.
He told the Record: “I had about 10 years just working on games soundtracks between BY JOHN DINGWALL Danny Wilson and working with Jim and Charlie in Simple Minds.
“A couple of years ago, I got approached by one of the producers in America who was doing a game about Scotland.
“They needed me to produce the soundtrack and wanted Gaelic music and artists who could authenticate it.”
Ged visited Rona’s house to record the soundtrack for the game, which is mostly set in Orkney, and says he “learned how many of the songs were handed down through generations”.
He added: “It is brilliant that there is a 16-year-old singer and an 82-year-old singer in a virtual reality game.”