Simply Red

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Image:1001.gif Simply Red are an English pop band, formed in the mid 1980s.

1 History
2 Albums
3 Hit singles
4 See also
5 External links

History

Simply Red's roots originate from the notorious 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Manchester art student Mick Hucknall was one of the many young music fans present, along with original members of Joy Division, The Smiths and Buzzcocks, who was inspired to form a band after witnessing that gig. The first incarnation of the band was a punk group called The Frantic Elevators. This band existed for 7 years, with limited releases on local labels, but 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 Simply Red (after Hucknall's nickname, which denoted hair color, football allegiance to Manchester United and left-wing political affiliation). They signed to Elektra in 1985, with the somewhat changeable line-up of Hucknall, Tony Bowers (bass), Fritz McIntyre (keyboards), Tim Kellett (brass), Sylvan Richardson (guitar) and Chris Joyce (drums). Their first single, released in 1985, was "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)", a cover of a soul standard originally recorded by The Valentine Brothers. This single had moderate success, reaching the UK Top 20.

In 1986 the band re-recorded "Holding Back The Years", The Frantic Elevators' biggest hit, in a more accessible pop style, which was a major hit, peaking at #2 in Great Britain and later #1 in the United States, establishing Simply Red as a household name. Their debut album, Picture Book, which had been released previously in 1985, began to sell more copies, and became an international hit album.

Their second album, 1987's Men and Women saw the band adopting a more sober and professional image, with bowler hats and colorful suits replacing their earlier ragamuffin look, and the introspection and social commentary of their debut replaced by a blue-eyed soul sound with funk influences. Around this time Hucknall became a tabloid personality, drawing attention and criticism for his alleged womanising, and gaining a reputation as "a lecherous loudmouth" and bien pensant. Despite Hucknall's bad reputation and the album's bad reviews, or perhaps as a result of them, Men and Women was a commercial success.

With their third album A New Flame, 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 My By Now", which became their second U.S. #1 hit and one of the biggest singles of the year internationally. 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 band's popular career peaked later that year with the release of Stars, which became the best-selling album for two years running in Europe and the UK (thought notably had far less success in the US than their previous albums). Stars mixed Hucknall's anti-Thatcherite political lyrics with an easy-listening lounge-jazz sound, apparently to avoid alienation of their existing fanbase.

After touring and promoting Stars for two years, Simply Red returned in 1995 with "Fairground", a dance-influenced track featuring prominently a sample from Zki & Dobri's Goodmen project. A massive radio hit, "Fairground" went on to become the band’s first British #1, amid critical panning. Its parent album Life sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, making it the fourth-biggest seller of the year. The band followed this up with cover heavy Blue in 1998.

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Albums

Picture Book (1985) #2 UK; #15 U.S.
Men and Women (1987) #2 UK; #14 U.S.
A New Flame (1989) #1 UK; #8 U.S.
Stars (1991) #1 UK; #22 U.S.
Life (1995) #1 UK; #18 U.S.
Greatest Hits (1996) #1 UK
Blue (1998) #1 UK
Love and the Russian Winter (1999) #5 UK
It's Only Love (2000) #13 UK
Home (2003) #2 UK
Simplified (2005) (A collection of Simply Red classics stripped back to mainly acoustic arrangements. Also features the new song Perfect Love) #3 UK