Simply Red - Farewell - Live In Concert At Sydney Opera House (2011)

Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz. Since their early days the main driving force behind the band was singer Mick Hucknall, who by the time the band broke up in 2010 was the only a
original member left.

Simply Red originated from the 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. Manchester art student Mick Hucknall was one of the many young music fans present, along with Mark E. Smith of The Fall as well as original members of the bands Joy Division, The Smiths and Buzzcocks. The first incarnation of the band was a punk group called The Frantic Elevators, which existed for 7 years, with limited releases on local labels. They split in 1984 with only limited local attention and critical acclaim for their final single, "Holding Back the Years".
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 began to attract record company attention. Around this time, the group adopted the name Red (after Hucknall's nickname, which denoted hair colour[2]). The name Simply Red came when the manager of a local venue was confused about the band's name and Hucknall replied that the band's name was "Red, simply [just] Red." The resulting misnomer was printed on publicity 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), Tim Kellett (brass), and Chris Joyce (drums). 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 ("Red Box") Fryman left the group and was replaced by guitarist Sylvan Richardson, who was billed only as 'Sylvan'.


"Red Box" would eventually see release on the group's first single, but as a B-side. The A-side of the band's first single, released in 1985, was "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)", a cover of a soul song originally recorded by The Valentine Brothers. This single had big international success, reaching the UK and Irish Top 20, later the American, French and Dutch Top 30, and the Italian Top 5. Their debut album, Picture Book, was also released 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 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 #1 in Ireland, #2 in Great Britain, #3 in the Netherlands, #20 in Italy and later #1 in the United States. The song established 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 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, as an 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.
Guitarist Richardson left after the release of Men and Women, and was replaced by Heitor Pereira (billed as Heitor TP). At the same time, saxophonist Ian Kirkham was added to the line-up.


With their third album A New Flame in 1989, Simply Red adopted a yet more mainstream populist sound aimed for commercial rather than critical success, typified by their cover of Harold Melvin's 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 the 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 (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 in Europe and the UK (though notably had far less success in the US than their previous albums). 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 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 British #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, Kirkham, Pereira, and new backing vocalist Dee Johnson. Guest musicians (including Sly & Robbie) filled in on drums and bass. During live shows and TV-show appearances Simply Red were also backed up by Steve Lewinson on bass, Velroy Bailey on drums, and second backing vocalist Sarah Brown.