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 O2 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 O2 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==