Brother of Simple Minds lead jailed after harrassing music fan
Stalker brother of Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr is jailed again for continuing to terrorise a superfan of the band and his wife while behind bars with murder threats and child rape claims
- The brother of Jim Kerr, the frontman of Simple Minds, has been jailed for a second time
- Paul Kerr, the 49-year-old former tour manager of the band, is estranged from the singer
- He was jailed for harrassing a couple following a Facebook argument
The brother of Simple Minds’ lead singer has been jailed for second time after he was found guilty of terrorising a superfan of the band and his wife despite already being banned from contacting them.
Paul Kerr, the 49-year-old estranged brother of Jim Kerr, was already serving a nine-year jail sentence for harrassing both John Fagan, 55, and his wife Julie, 56, but was last week given an additional four years by a Brighton judge after he managed to harrass them from behind bars.
The former Simple Minds tour manager’s campaign of terror began when he targeted the couple following a Facebook row in which John, a longtime fan of the band, said the band’s 18th album, Walk Between Worlds, was ‘pure s***.’
Furious Paul, who in both trials denied the allegations, then threatened to murder John and drag Julie by her hair.
He also falsely accused the fan of raping a nine-year-old boy, and posted sexually abusing comments about him and his wife on Facebook.
Paul Kerr (pictured), the 49-year-old estranged brother of Jim Kerr, was already serving a nine-year jail sentence for harrassing both John Fagan and his wife Julie
John got into an argument with Paul after he called Jim Kerr’s (pictured) band’s 18th album ‘pure s***’
Paul Kerr is the younger brother of Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr (pictured) who achieved fame in the 1980s with hits Don’t You Forget About Me
The couple said that Paul, who told the court that he was bipolar, also doctored copies of their wedding photos, and claimed in social posts that Julie was a promiscuous woman.
While he was jailed in 2020 for the targeted campaign, the harrassment did not stop there.
He defied a restraining order that prevented him from contacting the couple, writing to the NHS, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the police to make malicious claims about John.
John, who lives in Canterbury, Kent, told the Daily Record: ‘We thought when he was sent to prison we were safe and could finally get some respite but we didn’t.
‘He started writing to my employer and bosses at the NHS calling me a paedophile and saying when I work nights I download the most terrible pornography.
Paul aggressively harrassed John and Julie (pictured) following a Facebook row turned sour
The former Simple Minds tour manager threatened to murder John and drag Julie by her hair
Paul sent letters to the NHS, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the police to make malicious allegations against John
John said that even a mere allegation of abuse could’ve left a dark stain on his career
‘He said in court he did it because he wanted revenge and he wanted to get me sacked.’
John said that the police ended up getting in contact with him to begin an investigation into the allegations.
‘Months after he had began writing letters, I got a letter from Sussex police asking for permission to release personal information to the NMC.
‘The moment I got it I knew he was behind it. The NMC said there had been a serious allegation made against me.’
He said that even a whisper of an allegation could’ve permanently blighted his career.
‘If the NMC had chosen to hold an investigation, although I’d have been cleared, I’d still have to declare on future job applications that someone had accused me of being a paedophile. The NMC decided not to take any action but it was a terribly stressful time.’
Stephen Hopper, prosecuting, said in a court hearing that Paul falsely accused John of being a molester, paedophile and child rapist who neglected his patients.
The prosecutor revealed that he wrote to the former chief executive of the NHS and the former chief constable of Sussex with his malicious accusations.
Judge Mooney told Kerr as he sentenced him: ‘[There] is no excuse for meting out the form of cruel behaviour to others that you have done. I fall short of characterising you as evil.’
‘You sought to ruin his life again,’ the judge added before imposing a fresh restraining order on him that bans him from contacting the couple or writing to anyone else about them.
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