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Biography
Before lead singer Mike Hucknall formed Simply Red he was in a punk band called the Frantic Elevators. This project was largely spawned as a reaction to the inspirational 1976 Manchester Sex Pistol’s concert of which members of the Fall, the Smiths, and Joy Division were also in attendance. The group had a 7 year career, but never broke into the mainstream; however, their final single “Holding Back the Years” was a critical sensation and was revived by Hucknall’s new group Simply Red.
Simply Red was assembled by both Hucknall and manager Elliot Rashman. Hucknall acted as the key creative figure behind the project acting in conjunction with a variety of session and touring musicians. The harsher textures and barren structures of Hucknall’s punk group seemed to be flipped inside out with Simply Red. The sound typified by this project was lushly produced and exhibited a certain smoothness heard from artists like Barry White, The Temptations, and even crooners like Tom Jones.
In addition to Hucknall, the lineup was initially comprised of keyboardist Fritz McIntyre and ex-The Drutti Column band mates: bassist Tony Bowers, brass player Tim Kellett, and drummer Chris Joyce.
The band signed a record deal with Elektra and released two singles “Red Box” and The Valentine Brother’s cover “Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)”. The latter single was a worldwide commercial success and entered the UK and Irish Top 20. It also appeared on the band’s studio debut “Picture Book” along with the Talking Head’s cover “Heaven” and a revamping of “Holding Back the Years”, which went on to top the Irish charts and place at No. 2 on the UK charts.
Simply Red’s 2nd studio album saw release in 1987 and adopted a cleaner, sophisticated soul sound. The standout single “The Right Thing” was another boost in the band’s career, reaching #11 on the UK and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s shift towards sophisticated pop was becoming even more evident with their cover of Cole Porter’s jazz-pop standard “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”.
By the time the group released their third album “A New Flame”, it seemed that they were striving to take the charts by storm even if that meant risking artistic experimentation. Their leap into the homogeny of adult-contemporary seemed to be an advantageous career move. They scored another No.1 hit with their cover of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and established themselves as one of the biggest pop acts in the UK.
When Simply Red’s next album “Stars” was released in 1991 the band didn’t necessarily identify as a band. Rather Simply Red was perceived as the music project of Hucknall. At this point most of the original members of the group had left including Bowers and Joyce who were replaced with Shaun Ward and Gota Yashiki. Despite the major reconstruction in the line up “Stars” proved to be the most commercially successful album of Simply Red’s career, becoming the best selling album in Europe for 2 years and producing a whopping 5 Top 40 singles in the UK.
Simply Red saw their first UK No. 1 single with “Fairground”, which spearheaded the release of their 1995 studio album “Life”. This record became a massive hit as well and was documented as the 4th best selling album in the UK at the time. A greatest hits collection followed in 1996, featuring the Aretha Franklin cover “Angel” on which the neo-soul group the Fugees made an appearance. The trend of releasing covers clearly seemed to work for the group and in 1998 they put out the album “Blue”, which contained revisions of Neil Young, Albert Hammond, and Gregory Isaacs tracks.
The album “Love and Russian Winter” followed a year later, but did not produce any significant hits (at least comparative to their prior releases). Though the group continued to tour they delayed album production for a while (which can possibly be attributed to their expulsion from East West Records).
Simply Red’s next studio album “Home” came out in 2003 and went Platinum twice over in the UK and reached Gold status in many other countries. 2005’s “Simplified” consisted primarily of re-workings of the group’s older material, but also contained 4 newly written songs as well as a cover of Leon Russell’s “My Perfect Love”. “Stay” came out 2 years later, reaching gold status in the UK, Poland, and Italy. One year later the band offered another retrospect of their career, releasing their second greatest hits album “Simply Red 25: The Greatest Hits”.
Live reviews
Simply Red was, strangely, the soundtrack to my childhood summer holidays, not really your typical teenage confession, but it’s true. To be fair, this was my parents’ doing - and something that I resented for quite some time before I finally just accepted the fact that I love the enigma that is Mick Hucknall. There – I said it; I love him, he is one smooth ginger fox. So in 2010 when his Simply Red farewell tour came to the Birmingham NIA, I was there, along with all the family. Mick being the only original Simply Red band member left, it made sense that the name should retire after a final tour but the audience seemed sad and sentimental nonetheless. I, too, was glad and sad in equal measure knowing that this was my first and last experience of Simply Red live. The show reflected this nostalgic tone; the set included all the hits like “Your Mirror,” “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and, my personal favourite, “Stars;” the audience sang along as best they could but Mick’s slick and soulful vocals rang out above it all. It goes without saying that the musical talent of the backing band was second to none and the subtle, sophisti-pop supported Mick’s voice impeccably. Perhaps the best part of the show, though, was with the last track, “Holding Back The Years,” as a montage of social and political images, news footage and historic events that spanned the same time frame as Simply Red’s career made up the back drop of the stage. - The perfect way to commemorate a hugely successful career in a way that was wholly relatable and sentimental for each audience member, too.
hbrownn02
Simply Red is one of the UK's most recognisable bands who enjoyed massive success globally in the late 80s to early 90s. Fronted by the ginger haired Mick Hucknall, the group successfully merged the genres of new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz into an overall radio friendly, easy listening sound. Years later they continue to tour and although the original lineup may have changed quite dramatically, Mick remains the ever present force and he is accompanied by some fantastic musicians this evening.
Although it is almost thirty years since Simply Red began performing, Mick's silky smooth vocal does not appear to have aged one bit and should he need any break this evening there is a 1000 strong choir ready to help him out with the choruses to classics such as 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'. The setlist is made up of hits and this means the audience feel included throughout as they bellow back the well known new romantic classics. Hucknall is a wonderfully warm frontman and keeps the stage chatter going all evening before bidding a final farewell as the introduction to the much loved 'Fairground' begins.
sean-ward
A beautifully played music concert, in a poorly managed commercial scheme:
Music: 10/10
Mick Hucknall has excelled once again, communicating well with the audience, with his great songs, lyrics and his voice still in great shape. The excellent and talented Simply Red band conveys a great deal of emotion with great musical arrangements, all wrapped up in a tight, engaging rhythm, never boring! To top it up, the sound quality was very good, with low distortion and ear-friendly volume levels.
Organization and venue: 3/10
The Citibank Hall and the commercial production team in São Paulo have done an unacceptable job, selling more (expensive) tickets than the place can handle in comfort and security. Parking lot overflowed, blocking Marginal Pinheiros avenue, people took forever to get in/out. Inside the venue, an enormous crowd stood in all entrances and exits, making it impossible to get a drink or go to the restroom and return. Citibank Hall employees ignored it all and didn't move to help organize people or cars. Police and city traffic officials were also absent, or invisible.
rdiniz
From the moment I arrived at the O2 I had a great experience!
Simply Red were absolutely fantastic, Mick's voice as usual was brilliant the band were fabulous too.
The music and sound and light show were spot on, I was 3 rows from the front in the middle and I had a great view.
The security was good and the attendants were helpful.
My friend and I danced and sung the night away and were treated to 2 encores words are not enough!
Thank you to Mick and the O2 for such a fun and professional evening, heres hoping to get tickets in the very near future!
Sue
sue-banks
The show was fantastic. It is five years since Simply Red toured so this show was long overdue and it did not disappoint. Hit after hit was the order of the evening and Mick had the audience in the palm of his hand right from the start. A funny moment was when Mick forgot the running order of the songs. Hopefully this will give them a flavour of how much they are loved and they will tour again soon. It was a brilliant show and was well worth the tricky journey into the Hydro
Simplysus
Wow... Utterly amazing! Clever setlist playing the ballads at the opening then the boogie hits all the way through. Hucknall's voice was spot on. Great to see a band of 30 years plus still delivering its music with plenty of honesty live.
alex-eugenio
This was about the seventh time I have seen Simply Red in concert and they still smash it every time. The band was awesome, the crowd were awesome, Mick Hucknall was beyond awesome. It was a perfect night at the Manchester Arena.
michael-ford-8
Thursday 14th June 2016, Edinburgh Castle. Great gig, Mick's voice is amazing and still as powerful and soulful as ever, Band were also fab. All the best songs, real crowd pleasers - would delicately see them again.
gillian-ritchie-1
Amazing concert! Simply Red are in excellent shape! I was truly surprised how good they sound live! They played most of their most recognizable songs. The concert lasted almost 2 hours. Great experience! :)
Papaja5555
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