Interview With Simply Red And Review Of Leeds Concert As The Band Roll Back The Years.

Formed in Manchester in 1985 Simply Red is one of the most successful acts this country has produced. The bands 1991 album, Stars is one of the best selling albums in UK chart history.

Simply Red released its twelfth album, Blue Eyed Soul in autumn 2019. As the group prepare to go out on tour I asked Mick Hucknall about the forthcoming live shows and what the fans can expect.

This year looks to be a busy year for you with a lot of touring, have you missed playing the live concerts?

Yes, I’m most looking forward to being back with the fans because I think all of us have been through so much over the past couple of years. I want to be a reassuring figure to the audience – that we’re still here and still entertaining them with music they love. I’ve also missed the camaraderie between the band, and I know they will all be thrilled to be performing to an audience again too.

Has it been hard working out which songs to sing on the tour – and which ones to miss out?

My priority is giving the fans exactly what they want, so we’re going to perform the biggest songs of our career and some familiar album tracks. It’s going to be a real review of the story of Simply Red from 1985 to now, and the audience will get all the big hits.

The last Simply Red album, Blue Eyed Soul appears to be quite raw and gritty in parts, did you try to go back to basics on the album?

I was doing what came naturally, I’ve been listening to soul music since I was a kid and it’s in my head and my heart. We recorded the album at British Grove studios in London, and we recorded in the old style – where you count off the track and go for it. It was pretty much all live takes with a few overdubs.

What was it like for you In the Nineties trying to follow up the huge success of the Stars album?

It was a great chapter in my career and one that changed my life, but I’m proud of the music I’ve made since then. It’s important to keep moving forward and not get stuck in the past.

Ian Kirkham has been in the band since the early days, did you know that there is a pub in Preston that has photographs of him all over the pub?

I didn’t know that – we should go there!

Did becoming a dad change your world?

Yes. I didn’t wanted to be one of those celebrity dads who is never around, so I’ve made sure I’m there for her to watch her grow up and be a big part of her life. During the pandemic my family and I were able to be there for each other and I felt very fortunate for that.

Over your career you have achieved so much, is there anything else that you would like to achieve?

At this stage in my career I want to focus on making music I love and that is true to me, and keep doing work that I’m proud of.

The north will soon have two new music venues - the renovated Bradford Odeon opening which holds 4,000 people along with the Stockton Globe which holds 3,000, have you heard about then both?

Great, I’m always pleased when I hear about new venues opening for live music.

Finally, what would you say to anyone who is undecided about coming to see one of the shows?

We’ve had lots of time to prepare for the tour and we’re more ready than ever to get back on stage and give fans a show they won’t forget in a hurry! We can’t wait to be back playing all the hits, and celebrating being together again after everything we’ve all been through.
“We’ve made it” triumphed Mick Hucknall, the ginger haired singer of Simply Red as he walked onto the Leeds Arena stage after an absence of over three years.

“Tonight’s show is dedicated to all the ones that couldn’t make it” he continued. For the ones that could, they were treated to an evening that felt comforting and reassuring such is the familiarity of Simply Red hits.

The band released their last album Blue Eyed Soul just over two years ago though you would not know it as the emphasis was on the past and the big hits.

Hucknall always had an ear for selecting a good soulful song to cover. His version of The Stylistic’s You Make Me Feel Brand New still sent a shiver down many a spine with his emotive vocal of the soul classic though his take on Barry White’s It’s Only Love Doing This Thing, added a new dimension to the song with a more upbeat version than the original, veering more towards House music than Soul.

Holding Back The Years was blessed with sympathetic lighting which brought to mind the video for the song filmed in Whitby and also on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway line.

Enough, a track off the New Flame album benefited from the keyboard solo that lent more towards jazz than pop making the song flow superbly. It was surprises like these which sent Thrill Me to new heights with Ian Kirkham’s saxophone solo giving the song a new lease of life.

Come To My Aid, though written over thirty five years ago was re-born as a climate change anthem as images of our stricken planet were shown on the video screens as the song was performed.

The fun and excitement of the fair still rang through on Fairground as the audience were now out of their seats and dancing in the aisles.

Money’s Too Tight (To Mention) might be a more apt way these days to describe the recent cost of living rises though Hucknall’s interpretation of The Valentine Brothers song sounded like it was a Simply Red original with his voice sounding more deeper than when he first recorded the song.

As the audience sang and swayed along to the closing track of Harold Melvin’s If You Don’t Know Me By Now, Hucknall joked that they might be after his job. There might be many takers though it looked like Hucknall has no intention of retiring just yet given tonight’s consummate and engaging performance.