Ged Grimes

Ged is a musician, producer and composer and currently the bass player for Simple Minds. ‘Jack’s Hoose Music’ was set up by Ged in 1997 specialising in producing music for the video games industry. Dundee born and bred, Ged returned to the city after many years away living in Spain.

"Dundee's music scene is as good as ever. The city has definitely changed over recent years but there's still such an eclectic and fantastic mix of music here - from great dance music and DJs right through to top singer/songwriting talent and traditional folk music. I think the city is of a size that allows people to grow at their own pace musically and that really breeds a varied scene. Dundee has such a great record when it comes to producing successful musical talent." 

"Creative industries are driving Dundee forward. For me, that's great and it's exciting. I personally have had lots of support from bodies like Scottish Enterprise Tayside when I've set my sights on doing business in Japan or California. It's great that people recognise the importance of these industries and the benefits they bring to a city." 

"Dundee's got a real multicultural feel. When I returned from living in Coin, a wee town in the mountains above Malaga, I was passionate about keeping up my Spanish- especially for my son's sake. So I put out a call to the university - were they any Spanish-speaking people around? I got a brilliant response - Colombians, Mexicans - all these people living in and about Dundee. Now there's a group of us who meet every week and speak half an hour of Spanish and 30 minutes of ‘Dundonian'."

"It's a plus being from Dundee when you're working internationally. It gives you a story and people like that. It's definitely possible to base yourself here and work with companies all over the world, especially in the creative or digital industries, so long as you take a global view of what you're doing. I've had to work hard to compete against other US based companies to win business in California. That's the tough bit - breaking into someone else's culture and creating new opportunities abroad. But anything is possible if you set your sights high and are prepared to commit to doing business internationally." 

"There's a forward-thinking culture here. The arrival of youth culture has given the city a real boost. I love the fact that we have such a vibrant student population who bring with them their own creativity and life."