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After the demise of The Frantic Elevators, Hucknall linked up with manager Elliot Rashman. By early 1985, Hucknall and Rashmanhad assembled
aband of local session musicians and begun to attract record company attention. The group adopted the nameRed (after Hucknall's nickname,
denotinghis hair colour).[3] The name Simply Red came about when the manager of a local venuewas confused about the band's name and Hucknall
repliedthat it was "Red, simply Red." The resulting misnomer was printed onpublicity posters as "Simply Red," and the name stuck.
The initial Simply Red line-up consisted o ...read more
After the demise of The Frantic Elevators, Hucknall linked up with manager Elliot Rashman. By early 1985, Hucknall and Rashmanhad assembled
aband of local session musicians and begun to attract record company attention. The group adopted the nameRed (after Hucknall's nickname,
denotinghis hair colour).[3] The name Simply Red came about when the manager of a local venuewas confused about the band's name and Hucknall
repliedthat it was "Red, simply Red." The resulting misnomer was printed onpublicity posters as "Simply Red," and the name stuck.
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). Bowers and Joyce had bothpreviously been members of post-punk bands
TheDurutti Column and The Mothmen; Kellett had also been a member of TheDurutti 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 ("Red Box"), Fryman left the group and wasreplaced by
guitaristSylvan Richardson, who was billed only 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 ofa soul songoriginally
recorded by The Valentine Brothers. 'Money' gained international success, reaching the UK and Irish Top 20,later the American, French andDutch Top
30, and the Italian Top 5. It was included on their debut album, Picture Book, alsoreleased in 1985.
Several low-charting singles would follow for the band. Among the comparative flops was a re-recording of the Frantic Elevators'"Holding Back
theYears", done up in a new soul-ballad style arrangement. Released as Simply Red's third single in 1985, the trackinitially 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 Great Britain, #3 in
theNetherlands, #20 in Italy and later #1 in the United States. The songestablished Simply Red as a household name.
Simply Red's second album, 1987's Men and Women, saw the band adopting bowler hats and colourful suits instead of their earlierragamuffin look.
Aswell, the introspection and social commentary of their debut album was replaced by a blue-eyed soul soundwith funk influences. Veteran
Motownsongwriter Lamont Dozier co-authored two tracks with Hucknall for the album—these trackswere credited to 'Hucknall/Dozier/Hucknall' in the
originalalbum credits, in homage to the famous Motown writing team ofHolland/Dozier/Holland.
The album's lead single "The Right Thing" was another international hit, charting in the top 40 throughout Europe and NorthAmerica. Several follow-
upsingles also met with modest success in the UK and elsewhere.
Guitarist Richardson left after the release of Men and Women, and was replaced by Heitor Pereira (billed as Heitor TP).
With their third album A New Flame in 1989, Simply Red adopted a yet more mainstream populist sound aimed for commercialrather than
criticalsuccess, 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 tothat point.
Hucknall was by this time an international superstar, being photographed with models and Hollywood celebrities. This seemed toharm the
band'scoherence as a unit, with Hucknall declaring in 1991 that Simply Red was "essentially a solo project". The rhythmsection of Bowers and Joyce
leftaround this time; they were replaced by bassist Shaun Ward (ex Floy Joy and Everyday People)and drummer Gota Yashiki (often billed just as
Gota).
The band's career peaked in late 1991 with the release of Stars, which became the best-selling album for two years running inEurope and the
UK(though notably had far less success in the US than their previous albums). The album spun off five top 40singles 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 thetour 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 trackprominently featuring
asample from Zki & Dobri's Goodmen project. A massive radio hit, "Fairground" went on to become theband's first and only British #1. Its parent
albumLife sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, making it the fourth-biggestseller of the year. By this time, the band was officially
Hucknall,McIntyre, Kirkham, Pereira, and new backing vocalist Dee Johnson.Guest musicians (including Sly & Robbie) filled in on drums and bass.
During liveshows and TV appearances, Simply Red were alsobacked up by Steve Lewinson on bass, Velroy Bailey on drums, and second backing
vocalist SarahBrown.
McIntyre, the only original remaining band member aside from frontman Hucknall, left the group after the Life album, as didPereira. From that time
in1996, Simply Red was essentially a trade name for Hucknall and a bevy of session musicians, whichwould vary from track to track (and gig to gig)
asneeded—although it should be noted that all post-1996 Simply Red albums andlive shows did include contributions from sax player Ian
Kirkham.Returning drummer Gota Yashiki (co-producing several albumtracks) and backing vocalist Dee Johnson were also frequently involved with the
band'slater recordings and shows, as was newkeyboardist/co-producer Andy Wright.
The group issued the compilation album Greatest Hits in 1996, reportedly against Hucknall's wishes.[citation needed] The albumfeatured one
newtrack, a cover of the 1973 Aretha Franklin hit "Angel" which was co-produced with The Fugees (who also servedas backing musicians). Released as
asingle, "Angel" hit #6 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
IBreathe" The follow-up album, 1999's Love and the Russian Winter, was a relative disappointment, spawningtwo minor hits that failed to break the
top10.
Simply Red were at this point dropped from their label. Hucknall subsequently set up 'simplyred.com' to handle releases of newrecordings; the
newlabel/website venture proved to be quite successful, many of the band's simplyred.com releases selling andcharting almost as well as their
earlierrecordings.
The band's official line-up was Mick Hucknall (vocals), Ian Kirkham (saxophone/keyboards), Dave Clayton (keyboards), KenjiSuzuki (guitar),
KevinRobinson (trumpet/flugelhorn/percussion), Steve Lewinson (bass guitar) and Pete Lewinson (drums). Thesemusicians featured on all albums
prior tothe re-formation and appeared on all tours. From 2003 until 2008, John Johnson(Trombone) Dee Johnson (Vocals), Sarah Brown (Vocals) and
Chris DeMargary (Saxophone) all also appeared on both albumsand tours.
The band released Home in 2003, a mixture of original songs and covers, including a version of The Stylistics' "You Make Me FeelBrand New", which
hitUK #7. The album went Double Platinum in the United Kingdom, Gold in Canada, and Platinum in Europe. Itfeatured two other hit singles: "Sunrise"
(#7 UK) and "Fake" (#21 UK).
Simplified followed in 2005, mainly an album of stripped down versions of their classic hits. The single "Perfect Love" made it tonumber 30 on the
UKcharts, the band's final top 30 placing.
The band's tenth—and, as it would turn out, final—studio album Stay was released on 12 March 2007. This was preceded by thesingle from thatalbum,
"So Not Over You", released on 5 March 2007, which would peak at #34 UK. Follow-up single "Stay"(released on 28 May 2007) peaked at #36UK, and
was the band's final placing in the UK top 100 (although they would releaseseveral non-charting singles in the following years).
Hucknall released his first solo album, Tribute to Bobby on 19 May 2008.
Mick Hucknall announced that the name Simply Red would be retired after a farewell tour that started in early 2009, and ended in2010.
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