Simply Red are really Mick Hucknall
and backing band, which has consisted of some really
gifted musicians over the years. Hucknall himself has
proved himself to be one of Britain's outstanding
singers, though he seems unaffected by the adulation and
success. Being unemployed a couple of years before Simply
Red's 1986 US number one single, 'Holding Back The
Years', probably helped keep his feet on the ground.
Mick Hucknall's musical career was really galvanised
after seeing The Sex Pistols in his home city of
Manchester in 1986. The sparse audience of, apparently,
just a few dozen, incredibly included unknowns Hucknall,
Morrissey, and Joy Division/New Order bass legend Peter
"Hooky" Hook...Though how much is myth, who
knows?
Hucknall was inspired to front a punk band called The
Frantic Elevators from 1977 to 1984. They had limited
success, but their final single, 'Holding Back The
Years', was well received, and would prove to be
Hucknall's and Simply Red's most enduring song to date.
It was manager Elliot Rashman who saw Mick Hucknall's
potential, and with good songs, and surrounded by high
calibre musicians, Hucknall's career really began to
flourish under the Simply Red banner - Simply Red being a
nod at his hair colour, political leanings, and the
colour of the shirt of his favourite football team,
Manchester United.
Strangely, 'Holding Back The Years' wasn't Simply Red's
first hit, but 'Money's Too Tight To Mention', which was
released before the former, and was a hit on both sides
of the Atlantic, in 1985, as was Simply Red's debut
album, 'Picture Book'.
Simply Red's next single, 'Come To My Aid', bombed in
1985, but with the release of 'Holding Back The Years'
the next year, a non-stop run of success began, with all
Simply Red singles making the UK top 40 chart up till 2006 - though they had to wait until 1995 for their first UK
number one, with 'Fairground'. Simply Red also had
another US number one single, with 'If You Don't Know Me
By Now' (a cover of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
1970s hit) in 1989. Simply Red have had five UK number
one albums, including the classic 1991 album, 'Stars',
which included 'Something Got Me Started', 'Stars', 'For
Your Babies', and the subtle anti-Thatcher song,
'Wonderland'. 'Stars' is one of the biggest selling
albums in the history of the British albums chart, and
was the top-selling album in the UK for the years 1991
and 1992.
Mick Hucknall and Simply Red have produced some memorable
music. Smooth, but with the ability to move, and the
lyrical content of Simply Red songs is more intelligent
than the standard pop fare. People have sneered at
Hucknall for the amount of hot women he's dated, and put
it down to them being attracted to his fame. But,
apparently, when he was a nobody he seemed to connect
with women, but then women tend to fall for a bit of
crooning! Mick has left millions to plant forests in his
will, so there's a lot more depth to Mick Hucknall than
the tabloids would have you believe.
- Paul Rance,
Peace & Freedom Press. |
