Simply Red are an English soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985.[4] Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010.[5] They have released thirteen studio albums, from Picture Book (1985) through Time (2023), all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Albums Chart; with the albums A New Flame (1989), Stars (1991), Life (1995) and Blue (1998), along with their Greatest Hits (1996) album, reaching number one. Their 1991 album Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.[6]
At the 1992 and 1993 Brit Awards, they received the award for Best British Group.[7] They have received three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist in 1987. Their version of "If You Don't Know Me by Now" won songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff the Grammy Award for the Best R&B Song. The band re-formed in 2015. Simply Red have sold over 50 million albums.[8]
History
1977–1984: The Frantic Elevators
Hucknall was in a punk group called The Frantic Elevators, whose seven-year run produced limited releases on local labels and ended in 1984 upon critical acclaim for their final single, "Holding Back the Years".[9]
1985–1988: Formation and early success
After the demise of The Frantic Elevators, Hucknall linked up with manager Elliot Rashman. By early 1985, Hucknall and Rashman had assembled a band of local session musicians and begun to attract record-company attention. The group went under a number of names: "World Service", "Red And The Dancing Dead", "Just Red" (after Hucknall's nickname "Red", denoting his hair colour) but Hucknall decided it would sound better with the addition of the word 'Simply'.[10] The band's name is also linked to Hucknall's allegiance to being a supporter of Manchester United, as the club's home shirt colour is red.[11]
The initial Simply Red line-up consisted of Mick Hucknall (vocals), David Fryman (guitar), Tony Bowers (bass), Fritz McIntyre (keyboards and vocals), Tim Kellett (brass and live backing vocals) and Chris Joyce (drums).[9] Bowers and Joyce had both previously been members of post-punk bands The Durutti Column and The Mothmen; Kellett had also been a member of The Durutti Column, though not at the same time as Bowers and Joyce.
Simply Red signed a contract with Elektra in 1985,[9] but after recording one track ("Red Box"), Fryman left the group and was replaced by guitarist Sylvan Richardson, billed as 'Sylvan'.
"Red Box" would eventually see release in 1985 as a B-side to the group's first single, "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", a cover of a soul song originally recorded by The Valentine Brothers. "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)" gained international success, reaching the UK and Irish Top 20,[9] then later the American, French and Dutch Top 30, and the Italian Top 5. It was included on their debut album, Picture Book, also released in 1985.[9]
Several low-charting singles would follow for the band. Among the comparative flops was a re-recording of the Frantic Elevators' "Holding Back the Years", done up in a new soul-ballad style arrangement.[9] Released as Simply Red's third single in 1985, the track initially placed outside the UK Top 50. However, upon being re-released in 1986, "Holding Back the Years" became a major hit, peaking at #1 in Ireland, #2 in the UK, #3 in the Netherlands, #20 in Italy and later #1 in the United States.
Simply Red's second album, 1987's Men and Women,[9] saw the band adopting bowler hats and colourful suits instead of their earlier ragamuffin look. As well, the introspection and social commentary of their debut album was replaced by a blue-eyed soul sound with funk influences. Veteran Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier co-authored two tracks with Hucknall for the album—these tracks were credited to 'Hucknall/Dozier/Hucknall' in the original album credits, in homage to the famous Motown writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.[9]
The album's lead single "The Right Thing" was another international hit,[9] charting in the top 40 throughout Europe and North America. Several follow-up singles also met with modest success in the UK and elsewhere.
1989–1995: Peak years
Guitarist Richardson left after the release of Men and Women and was replaced by Brazilian Heitor Pereira (billed as Heitor TP). Saxophonist Ian Kirkham, who joined the group during the Picture Book tour in 1986 and played on Men and Women, became an official member.
With their third album A New Flame in 1989, Simply Red adopted a yet more mainstream popular sound aimed for commercial rather than critical success, typified by their cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' pop classic "If You Don't Know Me by Now", which became their second U.S. #1 hit, and one of the biggest singles of the year internationally; and their greatest success to that point.[9]
Hucknall was by this time an international superstar, being photographed with models and Hollywood celebrities. This seemed to harm the band's coherence as a unit, with Hucknall declaring in 1991 that Simply Red was "essentially a solo project". The rhythm section of Bowers and Joyce left around this time; they were replaced by bassist Shaun Ward (ex-Floy Joy and Everyday People) and drummer Gota Yashiki (often billed as just Gota).
The band's career peaked in late 1991 with the release of Stars, which became the best-selling album for two years running in Europe and the UK (though notably had less chart success in the US than their previous albums, still earning however a gold certification). The album spun off five top 40 singles in the UK, and the singles "Something Got Me Started" and "Stars" were also significant chart hits throughout all of Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.[9] After the tour, Tim Kellett left to form dance band Olive.
After touring and promoting Stars for two years, Simply Red returned in 1995 with "Fairground" (at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool), a dance-influenced track prominently featuring a sample from Zki & Dobri's Goodmen project. A massive radio hit, "Fairground" went on to become the band's first and only UK #1. Its parent album Life sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, making it the fourth-biggest seller of the year. By this time, the band was officially Hucknall, McIntyre, Pereira, Kirkham, and new backing vocalist Dee Johnson. Guest musicians (including Sly & Robbie) filled in on drums and bass. For the subsequent live shows, Simply Red were joined by new recruits' Steve Lewinson on bass, Velroy Bailey on drums, and second backing vocalist Sarah Brown.
1996–2000
Fritz McIntyre, the only original remaining band member aside from Hucknall, left the group after the Life album, as did Heitor Pereira. From that time in 1996, Simply Red was essentially a trade name for Hucknall and a bevy of musicians, which would vary from track to track (and gig to gig) as needed, although all post-1996 Simply Red albums and live shows did include contributions from sax player Ian Kirkham. Returning drummer Gota Yashiki (co-producing several album tracks) and backing vocalists Dee Johnson and Sarah Brown were also frequently involved with the band's later recordings and shows, as was new keyboardist/co-producer Andy Wright.
East West Records issued the compilation album Greatest Hits in 1996, reportedly against Hucknall's wishes.[citation needed] The album featured one new track, a cover of the 1973 Aretha Franklin hit "Angel" which was co-produced with The Fugees (who also served as backing musicians). Released as a single, "Angel" reached #4 in the UK.
1998 saw the release of the cover-heavy Blue, which produced four UK top 40 singles, including the top 10 hits "Say You Love Me" and "The Air That I Breathe". The follow-up album, 1999's Love and the Russian Winter, was a relative disappointment, spawning two minor hits that failed to break the top 10.
Simply Red ended their professional relationship with their label, East West Records in April 2000 (years later, in 2014, Mick Hucknall clarified in an interview that this was his and the band's decision, and contrary to media reports back then, Simply Red weren't actually dropped).[12][13] Hucknall subsequently set up the website Simplyred.com to handle releases of new recordings; the new label/website venture proved to be quite successful, many of the band's Simplyred.com releases selling and charting almost as well as their earlier recordings.
2003–2010: Re-establishment as a band and disbanding
Between 2003 and its disbandment in 2010, the band's core members were Mick Hucknall (lead vocals), Ian Kirkham (saxophone/EWI/keyboards), Dave Clayton (keyboards), Kenji Suzuki (guitar), Kevin Robinson (trumpet/flugelhorn/percussion), Steve Lewinson (bass guitar) and Pete Lewinson (drums). These musicians featured on Simply Red's shows as well as on albums, though in the studio, they were often augmented or replaced by session musicians. From 2003 to 2008, Dee Johnson (backing vocals), Sarah Brown (backing vocals), John Johnson (trombone/percussion) and Chris De Margary (saxophone/flute) also continued to be in the band and have appeared on albums and tours.
On 24 March 2003, the band released Home, a mixture of original songs and covers, including a version of The Stylistics' "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which hit UK #7. The album went Double Platinum in the United Kingdom, Gold in Canada, and Platinum in Europe. It featured two other hit singles: "Sunrise" (#7 UK) and "Fake" (#21 UK).
On 13 October 2005, followed Simplified, mainly an album of stripped-down versions of their classic hits. The single "Perfect Love" made it to number 30 on the UK chart, the band's final top 30 placing.
On 12 March 2007, the band released its tenth (and, at that time, proclaimed final) studio album, Stay. This was preceded by the single from that album, "So Not Over You", released on 5 March 2007, which would peak at #34 in the UK. Follow-up single "Stay" (released on 28 May 2007) peaked at #36 UK, and was the band's final placing in the UK top 100 (although they would release several non-charting singles in the following years).
On 19 May 2008, Hucknall released his first solo album, Tribute to Bobby.[14] The backing musicians on the solo album were virtually the same group of musicians he had been working with as "Simply Red" for the last few years.
Hucknall announced that the name Simply Red would be retired after a farewell tour which started in early 2009 and ended in 2010.[1]
"I've kind of decided that the 25 years is going to be enough, so I intend that 2009 will be the last Simply Red tour."
Simply Red's final concert took place at the O2 Arena in London on 19 December 2010. The concert was shown live at cinemas throughout the UK.[15]
2014–2015: Big Love and 30th anniversary reunion tour
On 3 November 2014, Simply Red announced that they would be reforming in Autumn 2015 for a 30th anniversary European tour, the "Big Love Tour 2015".[16] The tour debuted on 20 October 2015 in Odense, Denmark, went on in 2016 as the "Big Love Tour 2016" and ended on 26 August 2016 at the Summerdays Festival in Arbon, Switzerland, performing the following month an ultimate show on 10 September 2016 at the BMW Festival Night in Munich, Germany.[17] The line-up for the reunion tour was the same as Simply Red's last formation with the exception of Roman Roth replacing Pete Lewinson as the drummer.
On 19 April 2015, the band announced that they would be releasing a new studio album (also) named Big Love, containing 12 new tracks.[18] The new album was released on 29 May 2015.
2016–2018: Stars 25th anniversary tour and Symphonica In Rosso
On 11 November 2016, Simply Red embarked in Dublin, Ireland on the "25 Years of Stars Live" tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release in September 1991 of Stars by playing live on stage the entire album in its original running order (while the second half of the show featured hits and classic Simply Red songs). The debut date in Ireland was followed by a 10-date UK leg starting on 13 November in Liverpool, England, and ending on 27 November at The O2 in London.[17][19]
In 2017, they announced they would be headlining at the annual Symphonica In Rosso event on 25, 26 and 28 October.[20] A live album of the concert, Symphonica in Rosso – Live at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, was released on 23 November 2018.[21] The live album debuted and peaked at number 58 on the UK Albums Chart.[22]
2019–2023: Blue Eyed Soul
The band's twelfth studio album, Blue Eyed Soul, was released on 8 November 2019.[23] It debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling nearly 10,000 copies in its first week.[24]
To support the album Simply Red announced concert dates for 2021 around the UK and Europe. However, these were postponed to 2022 and 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25]
On 22 October 2022, Simply Red released their first remix album, Simply Red Remixed Vol. 1 (1985–2000).[26]
2023–present: Time
On 2 March 2023, Simply Red announced the release of their thirteenth studio album, Time, for 26 May 2023. The first unveiled track from the album is "Earth in a Lonely Space", which was already released as a single on 18 May 2021.[27] The lead single, "Better with You", was released on 2 March 2023, accompanying the album's official announcement.[28] Although the band's long-time keyboardist Dave Clayton has recorded some parts for Time and has even played "Better with You" with Simply Red during the final shows of 2022, Clayton's decision to leave the group after almost 20 years (with hopes of being able to spend more time with his family) was announced by the time that the year of 2022 was over. In the months leading up to the release of the Time album, Simply Red have released two further singles - "Shades 22" and "Just Like You" - on 31 March 2023[29] and 27 April 2023[30] respectively. In addition, the band announced an intimate album launch show for 5 June 2023 at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London; this was their only UK performance in 2023.[31] Also, at the Shepherd's Bush show, Mick Hucknall officially introduced Gary Sanctuary to the fans, as Simply Red's new keyboard player.
On December 17, 2024, it was announced on social media that the band's longtime bassist Steve Lewinson had died.[32] A few days before, on December 8, Simply Red played a show in Schladming, Austria, with Orefo Orakwue taking over on the bass.
