Scottish stadium rockers Simple Minds are the first of two legendary bands heading for leafy Bedgebury next weekend. More than two decades after Glittering Prize and Promised You A Miracle entered the national consciousness, Chris Price speaks to the band's frontman, singer and songwriter Jim Kerr.

Do you ever think your music will chart again?Can you see Paul McCartney coming into the charts again? Can you see Bruce Springsteen? If you look at the backdrop of the charts I would say few acts like us do, but at the same time the people who interest me are people like Lou Reed and Bob Dylan. They do not look at the charts, but when they make a record, people still hear it.

The idea of getting in the charts belongs in the past. There were only something like three rock songs in the charts over the last three months, so it is not the time for bands like us. But the music goes on and anything is possible.”

Is there any song that stands out for you in your career?There are landmark songs like Don’t You (Forget About Me), Alive and Kicking and Belfast Child but to me there are songs we did on our first demos which I have strong feelings for because they led us to the next step in our career. Without those first songs that journey never gets under way.

When Don’t You (Forget About Me) came out you had just gone through a big musical reinvention?Back in the day you rarely had someone just arrive. Now it is much more easy to be a huge overnight success and then not hang around for too long, sadly for them.

Back then it was hard to make it overnight. Bands like Depeche Mode and The Cure all had two, three or four albums before they had their breakthrough. It was step by step back then.

But was the goal to always make a hit record when you were starting out and you kept changing the band until you got there? If you said to me way back on day one “what do you want?” I wouldn’t have had a concept of how things could be or how things would pan out. I’m sure I would have said “I want to do this with my life and be a great live band and take my music around the world”.

You have had lots of line-up changes over the years. Why is that?Not many bands stay together for 20, 30 or 40 years. The Beatles only lasted 10 years.

You can look at some iconic bands and say they have lasted with the same guys, like U2, but that is rare. 10 years is a long time and I think the way we have done it is more normal.

If the same people are always around you they run out of rapport with you. Imagine working in the same office for 10 years.

I have been very lucky over the years to work with many great people and I am very grateful for their vast contribution. But I like change. Overnight things can become stale and sometimes you feel people need to move on.

Simple Minds with special guest James Walsh are at Bedgebury Pinetum, near Goudhurst, on Friday, June 10. See next week's What's On for more on Erasure and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who will perform at Bedgebury on Saturday, June 11. Money generated through ticket sales is invested back into UK woodlands through organiser the Forestry Commission.