Simply Red are<!-- Per WP:ENGVAR, bands that originate from Great Britain are treated plural, so do not change "are" to "is" THEN BE CONSISTENT! --> 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 (1985) through Time (2023), all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Albums Chart; with the albums A New Flame (1989), Stars (1991), Life (1995) and Blue (1998), along with their Greatest Hits (1996) 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, while "Something Got Me Started", the mentioned "Fairground" and "Say You Love Me" topped the European Hit Radio Chart.
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 (after Hucknall's nickname, denoting his hair colour) 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 (vocals), David Fryman (guitar), Tony Bowers (bass), Fritz McIntyre (keyboards and vocals), Tim Kellett (brass and live backing vocals) and Chris Joyce (drums). 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 (lead vocals), Ian Kirkham (saxophone/EWI/keyboards), Dave Clayton (keyboards), Kenji Suzuki (guitar), Kevin Robinson (trumpet/flugelhorn/percussion), Steve Lewinson (bass guitar) and Pete Lewinson (drums). 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 (backing vocals), Sarah Brown (backing vocals), John Johnson (trombone/percussion) and Chris De Margary (saxophone/flute) 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" (number 7 UK) and "Fake" (number 21 UK).
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 (and, at that time, proclaimed final) 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" (released on 28 May 2007) peaked at number 36 UK, and was the band's final placing in the UK top 100 (although they would release several non-charting singles in the following years).
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 O<sub>2</sub> 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.
2014–2015: Reunion, Big Love and 30th anniversary reunion tour
On 3 November 2014, Simply Red announced that they would be reforming in Autumn 2015 for a 30th anniversary European tour, the Big Love Tour. The tour started on 20 October 2015 in Odense, Denmark, and ended on 26 August 2016 at the Summerdays Festival in Arbon, Switzerland, performing the following month an ultimate show on 10 September 2016 at the BMW Festival Night in Munich, Germany. The line-up for the reunion tour was the same as Simply Red's last formation with the exception of Roman Roth replacing Pete Lewinson as the drummer.
On 19 April 2015, the band announced that they would be releasing a new studio album, named Big Love, containing 12 new tracks. The new album was released on 29 May 2015.
2016–2018: 25 Years of Stars Tour and Symphonica In Rosso
On 11 November 2016, Simply Red embarked in Dublin, Ireland on the 25 Years of Stars Live Tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release in September 1991 of Stars by playing live on stage the entire album in its original running order, while the second half of the show featured hits and classic Simply Red songs. The debut date in Ireland was followed by a 10-date UK leg starting on 13 November in Liverpool, England, and ending on 27 November at the O<sub>2</sub> Arena in London.
In 2017, the band headlined the Symphonica In Rosso event on 25, 26 and 28 October. A live album of the concert, Symphonica in Rosso – Live at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, was released on 23 November 2018. It peaked at number 58 on the UK Albums Chart.
2019–2023: Blue Eyed Soul
The band's twelfth studio album, Blue Eyed Soul, was released on 8 November 2019. It debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling nearly 10,000 copies in its first week.
Simply Red's concert dates for 2021 were postponed to 2022 and 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 22 October 2022, Simply Red released their first remix album, Simply Red Remixed Vol. 1 (1985–2000).
2023: Time
On 2 March 2023, Simply Red announced the release of their thirteenth studio album, Time, for 26 May 2023. The first unveiled track from the album is "Earth in a Lonely Space", which was already released as a single on 18 May 2021. The lead single, "Better with You", was released on 2 March 2023, accompanying the album's official announcement. Although the band's long-time keyboardist Dave Clayton has recorded some parts for Time and has even played "Better with You" with Simply Red during the final shows of 2022, Clayton's decision to leave the group after almost 20 years (with hopes of being able to spend more time with his family) was announced by the time that the year of 2022 was over. In the months leading up to the release of the Time album, Simply Red have released two further singles – "Shades 22" and "Just Like You" – on 31 March 2023 and 27 April 2023 respectively. The band announced an intimate album launch show for 5 June 2023 at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London; this was their only UK performance in 2023. Also at the Shepherd's Bush show, Hucknall officially introduced new keyboard player Gary Sanctuary to the fans.
2025: 40th Anniversary Tour and concert film
In 2025, the band embarked on a 40th Anniversary World Tour, including many performances in the UK. Hucknall made a surprise appearance at Glastonbury Festival 2025.
Holding Back the Years: 40 Years of Simply Red, a film capturing their five dates at the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile, premiered in cinemas worldwide on 15 May 2025.
Awards and nominations
ARPA Music Awards
|-
| 1996
| "Fairground"
| Most Performed Foreign Work
|
ASCAP Pop Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 1987
| rowspan=2|"Holding Back the Years"
| rowspan=2|Most Performed Song
|
|
|-
| 1988
|
|
Brit Awards
|-
| 1985
| Picture Book
| Best British Album
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| "Holding Back the Years"
| Best British Single
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | Simply Red
| rowspan="2" |Best British Group
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1990
|
|-
| "If You Don't Know Me by Now"
| Best British Single
|
|-
| A New Flame
| rowspan="2" | Best British Album
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1992
| Stars
|
|-
| "Stars"
| Best British Video
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | Simply Red
| rowspan="2" | Best British Group
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1993
|
|-
| Mick Hucknall
| Best British Male
|
|-
| "For Your Babies"
| Best British Video
|
|-
| 1997
| Mick Hucknall
| Best British Male
|
ECHO Awards
|-
| 1999
| rowspan="2" | Simply Red
| rowspan="2" | Best International Group
|
|-
| 2004
|
Goldene Europa
|-
| 2000
| Simply Red
| Group of the Year
|
Grammy Awards
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| Simply Red
| Best New Artist
|
|-
| "Holding Back the Years"
| rowspan="2" | Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
|
|-
| 1990
| "If You Don't Know Me by Now"
|
Hungarian Music Awards
|-
| 1996
| Life
| Best Foreign Album
|
Ivor Novello Awards
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1992
| Mick Hucknall
| Songwriter of the Year
|
|-
| "Stars"
| Best Song Musically & Lyrically
|
|-
| 1996
| "Fairground"
| Best Selling Song
|
|-
| 2002
| Simply Red
| Outstanding Song Collection
|
Lunas del Auditorio
|-
| 2004
| rowspan=3|Themselves
| rowspan=3|Best Foreign Pop Artist
|
|-
| 2009
|
|-
| 2010
|
MTV Video Music Awards
|-
| 1986
| "Holding Back the Years"
| Best New Artist
|
Mercury Prize
|-
| 1992
| Stars
| Album of the Year
|
Music & Media Year-End Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 1989
| Simply Red
| Group of the Year
|
|
Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| Tour
| Small Hall Tour of the Year
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | Simply Red
| rowspan="2" | Next Major Arena Headliner
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1988
|
|-
| Tour
| Small Hall Tour of the Year
|
Members
Current members
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" border="1"
! width="75" |Image
! width="150" |Name
! width="160" |Years active
! width="170" |Instruments
!Release contributions
|-
|
|Mick Hucknall
|
|
|all releases
|-
|
|Ian Kirkham
|
|
|all releases except Picture Book (1985)
|-
|
|Kenji Suzuki
|
|
| rowspan="2" |all releases from Love and the Russian Winter (1999) onwards
|-
|
|Kevin Robinson
|
|
|-
|
|Roman Roth
|2015–present
|
|all releases from Big Love (2015) onwards
|-
|
|Gary Sanctuary
|2023–present
|keyboards
|Time (2023)
|-
|
|Orefo Orakwue
|2024–present
|
|none to date
|}
Former members
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" border="1"
! width="75" |Image
! width="150" |Name
! width="160" |Years active
! width="170" |Instruments
!Release contributions
|-
|
|Fritz McIntyre
|1985–1996
|
|all releases from Picture Book (1985) to Life (1995)
|-
|
|Tim Kellett
|1985–1993
|
|all releases from Picture Book (1985) to The Montreux EP (1992)
|-
|
|Tony Bowers
| rowspan="2" |1985–1991
|bass
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|
|Chris Joyce
|
|-
|
|David Fryman
|1985
| rowspan="4" |guitars
|
|-
|
|Sylvan Richardson
|1985–1987
|
|-
|
|Aziz Ibrahim
|1987–1988
|
|-
|
|Heitor Pereira
|1988–1996
|all releases from A New Flame (1989) to Life (1995)
|-
|
|Gota Yashiki
|
|
|all releases from Stars (1991) to Simplified (2005)
|-
|
|Shaun Ward
|1991–1994
|
|
|-
|
|Dee Johnson
|1991–2008
|backing vocals
|all releases from Life (1995) to Stay (2007)
|-
|
|Steve Lewinson
|
|
|
|-
|
|Velroy Bailey
|1995–1998
|drums
|
|-
|
|Sarah Brown
|1995–2008
|backing vocals
|all releases from Life (1995) to Stay (2007)
|-
|
|Tim Vine
|1998–2002
|keyboards
|
|-
|
|John Johnson
|1998–2008
|
|all releases from Blue (1998) to Stay (2007)
|-
|
|Chris De Margary
|1998–2008
|
|all releases from Love and the Russian Winter (1999) to Blue Eyed Soul (2019)
|-
|
|Colin Graham
|1998
|trumpet
|
|-
|
|Mark Jaimes
|1998–2003
|guitars
|
|-
|
|Wayne Stobbart
|1998–2002
|bass
|
|-
|
|Andy Wright
|1998–2002
|
|
|-
|
|Dave Clayton
|
|
|all releases from Home (2003) to Time (2023)
|-
|
|Pete Lewinson
|2003–2015
|drums
|all releases from Home (2003) to Big Love (2015)
|}
Timeline
Discography
;Studio albums
- Picture Book (1985)
- Men and Women (1987)
- A New Flame (1989)
- Stars (1991)
- Life (1995)
- Blue (1998)
- Love and the Russian Winter (1999)
- Home (2003)
- Simplified (2005)
- Stay (2007)
- Big Love (2015)
- Blue Eyed Soul (2019)
- Time (2023)
See also
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart
- List of Billboard number-one singles
- List of Billboard number-one dance hits
References
External links
- Simply Red at WorldMusicDatabase
- Spanish website