Simply Red
Simply Red are an English pop and soul band formed in Manchester in 1985. The band is led by singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who is the only original member remaining in the band. They have released thirteen studio albums, from Picture Book through Time, all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Albums Chart; with the albums A New Flame, Stars, Life and Blue, along with their Greatest Hits album, reaching number one. Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.
The group have released ten songs that have reached the top 10 on the UK singles chart, including "Stars", the Fugees-assisted "Angel", "The Air That I Breathe" and "Sunrise", with the single "Fairground" peaking atop the UK chart. Their singles "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me by Now" both reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
At the 1992 and 1993 Brit Awards, they received the award for Best British Group. 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 broke up in 2010 but re-formed in 2015. Simply Red have sold over 50 million albums.
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".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, and Red but Hucknall decided the latter name would sound better with the addition of the word 'Simply'. 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.The initial Simply Red line-up consisted of Mick Hucknall, David Fryman, Tony Bowers, Fritz McIntyre, Tim Kellett and Chris Joyce. 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, but after recording one track, Fryman left the group and was replaced by guitarist Sylvan Richardson, billed as 'Sylvan'.
"Red Box" was released in 1985 as a B-side to the group's first single, "Money's Too Tight ", a cover of a soul song originally recorded by the Valentine Brothers. "Money's Too Tight " gained international success, reaching the UK and Irish top 20, 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.
Several low-charting singles followed. 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. 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 number one in Ireland, number 2 in the UK, number 3 in the Netherlands, number 20 in Italy and later number one in the United States.
Simply Red's second album, 1987's Men and Women, 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.
The album's lead single "The Right Thing" was another international hit, 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. 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' Philadelphia soul classic "If You Don't Know Me by Now", which became their second U.S. number 1 hit, and one of the biggest singles of the year internationally; and their greatest success to that point.
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 and drummer Gota Yashiki.
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. 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. 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", 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 number 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 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
McIntyre, the only original remaining band member aside from lead singer Hucknall, left the group after the Life album, as did Pereira. From that time in 1996, Simply Red was essentially a trade name for Hucknall and a bevy of session musicians, which would vary from track to track as needed, although all post-1996 Simply Red albums and live shows did include contributions from sax player Ian Kirkham. Returning drummer Gota Yashiki 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. The album featured one new track, a cover of the 1973 Aretha Franklin hit "Angel", which was co-produced with the Fugees. Released as a single, "Angel" reached number 4 in the UK.
In 1998, the cover-heavy Blue was released, which had four UK top 40 singles, including the top 10 hits "Say You Love Me" and a cover of "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 were dropped from their label, East West Records in April 2000. 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, Ian Kirkham, Dave Clayton, Kenji Suzuki, Kevin Robinson, Steve Lewinson and Pete Lewinson. 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, Sarah Brown, John Johnson and Chris De Margary 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 number 7. The album went Double Platinum in the United Kingdom, Gold in Canada, and Platinum in Europe. It featured two other hit singles: "Sunrise" and "Fake".
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 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 number 34 in the UK. Follow-up single "Stay" peaked at number 36 UK, and was the band's final placing in the UK top 100.
On 19 May 2008, Hucknall released his first solo album, Tribute to Bobby. 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, saying, "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."
The band's concert at the O2 Arena in London on 19 December 2010 was their last concert until a reunion in 2015. The concert was shown live at cinemas throughout the UK.