Simply Red -

Simply Red are an English blue-eyed soul ensemble that emerged on the mid-eighties Manchester sophisti-pop scene. The name references ginger-haired frontman Mick Hucknall, whose impassioned vocals propelled them to transatlantic stardom with their debut album Picture Book.

Simply Red’s biggest hits include “Holding Back the Years,” “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention),” and their cover of the Blue Notes classic “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” Their music combines fifties vocal jazz and soul from the sixties (Stax) and seventies (Philly) with songwriting indebted to the Tin Pan Alley tradition.

Members: Mick Hucknall [aka Red] (vocals, guitar), Fritz McIntyre (keyboards, 1984-96), Tony Bowers (bass, 1984-89), Chris Joyce (drums, 1984-89), Sylvan Richardson (guitar, 1984-87), Heitor Pereira [aka T.P.] (guitar, 1989-96), Aziz Ibrahim (guitar, 1987), Ian Kirkham (saxophone, 1986-2010), Tim Kellett (brass, keyboards, 1984-92)

Background

Mick Hucknall formed Simply Red after a seven-year stint in the Frantic Elevators, a Manchester punk band that cut five singles between 1979 and 1982 on assorted indie labels, including the original version of “Holding Back the Years.”

Mick was born Michael James Hucknall on June 8, 1960, in Manchester to parents Reginald (1935–2009) and Maureen, who abandoned the family when Mick was three. He had a happy childhood despite his mom’s absence and got along with his father, a Stockport barber, until he reached adolescence.

Hucknall studied fine art at the Manchester Polytechnic’s School of Art. On June 4, 1976, he attended the first northern Sex Pistols show at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, where the London punks opened for local symphonic rockers Mandalaband. Fellow attendees included (future Smiths frontman) Steven Morrissey and (eventual Joy Division members) Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner.

The Frantic Elevators

In late 1976, Mick Hucknall joined Osiris, a band formed by fellow pupils at Audenshaw Grammar School, including guitarist Neil Moss.^> After spells in other bands (Red Star Radio, Purple Haze) he re-teamed with Moss in Elevation, which became The Frantic Elevators with bassist Brian Turner and drummer Kevin Williams.

In June 1979, The Frantic Elevators released their first single, “Voice In the Dark,” on the Manchester punk label TJM .

A1. “Voice In the Dark”
B1. “Every Day I Die”
B2. “Passion”

TJM slated a second Frantic Elevators maxi-single for a January 1980 release.

A1. “Hunchback of Notre Dame”
B1. “See Nothing and Everything”
B2. “Don’t Judge Me”

On October 20, 1980, the third-recorded Frantic Elevators single appeared on Eric’s, a label spun tied to Eric’s Club, the new wave hotspot of Liverpool. The single features two Hucknall/Moss originals.

A. “You Know What You Told Me”
B. “Production Prevention”

In 1981, the Frantic Elevators released their four-recorded single on Crackin’ Up, an indie three-press.

A. “Searching for the Only One”
B. “Hunchback of Notre Dame”

On December 10, 1982, the Frantic Elevators released their fifth and final single on No Waiting.

A. “Holding Back The Years” is a Hucknall ballad, written in 1977 (age 17) when he lived with his father and contemplated his future with reflections on his motherless childhood. He wrote the song as a stream-of-conscious work and co-credited Neil Moss out of solidarity.
B. “Pistols In My Brain” is a Hucknall/Moss original referenced in the sleeve art.

In early 1983, Hucknall left the band, which briefly carried on as The Elevators. Mick set out to form a soul band.

Simply Red Forms

In 1984, Hucknall scouted talent with friend Elliot Rashman, who managed Mick’s new undertaking. By early 1985, they found guitarist David Fryman, bassist Tony Bowers, drummer Chris Joyce, keyboardist Fritz McIntyre, and brass player Tim Kellett.

Bowers cut two late-seventies albums as a member of comedy rockers Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. He interacted with Joyce in Liverpool post-punks Pink Military and The Mothmen. Joyce also played in the Suns of Arqa and a recent iteration of Wah! Kellett was active in the current Durutti Column.

The six-piece band started as World Service and functioned under multiple names that referenced Mick’s hair color: “Red And The Dancing Dead,” “Just Red.” Hucknall took the latter name and replaced the first word with “Simply,” an affirmative.

Simply Red signed to Elektra and recorded a thematic song (“Red Box”) before Fryman cleared for guitarist Sylvan Richardson. In June 1985, Simply Red released its first single.

Picture Book

Simply Red released their debut album, Picture Book, on October 11, 1985, on Elektra.

Picture Book features four Mick Hucknell solo compositions: “Jericho,” “Look at You Now,” and the referential “Sad Old Red” and “(Open Up the) Red Box.” He co-wrote songs with Fritz McIntyre (“Come to My Aid,” “Picture Book”) and Dave Fryman (“No Direction”).

The album also contains covers of Talking Heads (“Heaven”) and the Valentine Brothers (“Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)”). Side Two includes a remake of “Holding Back the Years,” their international breakthrough hit.

Hucknall plays piano on Picture Book, which features backing vocals by keyboardist McIntyre and additional keyboards by trumpeter Tim Kellett. African conga player Francis Foster guests on “Come to My Aid” and “Look at You Now.” Three songs (“Sad Old Red,” “Heaven,” “Jericho”) features saxophonists Ian Dickson (tenor) and jazz vet Ronnie Ross (baritone).

A1. “Come to My Aid” (4:03)
A2. “Sad Old Red” (4:33)
A3. “Look at You Now” (3:02)
A4. “Heaven” (4:32) originated on the 1979 Talking Heads album Fear of Music; written by singer/guitarist David Byrne and keyboardist Jerry Harrison.
A5. “Jericho” (6:03)

B1. “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)” (4:13) originated as a 1982 single by Ohio singing brothers John and William Valentine; included on their second album First Take.
B2. “Holding Back the Years” (4:30) is a remake of the 1982 Frantic Elevators song; co-written by Hucknall and former bandmate Neil Moss.
B3. “(Open Up the) Red Box” (3:56)
B4. “No Direction” (3:41)
B5. “Picture Book” (5:49)

Simply Red recorded Picture Book in mid-1985 at studios in London (RAK) and Blaricum, Netherlands (Soundpush) with Stewart Levine, a longtime Hugh Masekela soundman who produced recent titles by Joe Cocker and Private Lives. Femi Jiya engineered the album in sequence with titles by Blancmange, Bryan Ferry, and Stephen Tin Tin Duffy.

Picture Book shows a treated profile shot of Hucknall by Simon Fowler, whose photography also appears on recent sleeves for Iron Maiden, Paul Young, Swans Way, and Tracey Ullman. The back cover displays doctored pics of his bandmates by Malcolm Heywood (Freeez, Clannad). The designer, Malcolm Heywood, created prior sleeves for Bananarama, The Bluebells, and Dexys Midnight Runners.

“Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)” appeared first on June 3 as an advance single, backed with “Open Up the Red Box.” The video opens outside a pub where Simply Red congregate then enter and set up as patrons quarrel and play pool. The band performs on a narrow stage where Hucknall dons his trademark Thirties ragamuffin look: gray tweed flatcap and trench coat.

Simply Red mimed the song for the July 4 broadcast of Top of the Pops, which also featured numbers by the Style Council (“Come to Milton Keynes”), The Cult (“She Sells Sanctuary”), The Damned (“The Shadow of Love”), and Sister Sledge (“Frankie”). “Money’s Too Tight” reached No. 4 in Italy, No. 8 in New Zealand, No. 9 in Ireland, and No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart and received medium rotation on MTV.

In August, Simply Red lifted “Come to My Aid” as the second advance single; backed with “Valentine,” a non-album Hucknall original.

B. “Valentine”

The video takes place on a stairway stage set laden with ivory rubble, where the band plays as Hucknall (cap free) enacts the lyrics as he slumps down the steps amid fellow suffers, who rise and walk upward as the song ends. Simply Red filmed an alternate “Come to My Aid” video in a studio space with vertical columns and horizontal red florescent lights.

In November 1985, Simply Red released “Holding Back the Years” as their third single. The song initially stalled outside the UK Top 50 but reached No. 3 in the Netherlands and No. 8 in Belgium. The b-side, “I Won’t Feel Bad,” resurfaced as a deep-cut on their second album.

The video to “Holding Back the Years” takes place around the ruins of Whitby Abbey, a 7th-century monastery on the East Cliff of North Yorkshire. Mick grabs his suitcase and leaves home, haunted by memories of his childhood, such as the time he fell off his bike to the chagrin of his father. As he passes his bandmates along the Whitby gravestones, he recollects the mischief of his boyhood friends on the same grounds. He recalls an unruly classroom scenario where, as the only behaved student, he locked eyes with his distressed teacher; the same woman he spotted enraptured on Whitby grounds (an apparent source of prepubescent shock). Mick proceeds to Goathland railway station, where he boards a train and exits the past as the song fades.

In March 1986, Simply Red lifted “Jericho” as their fourth single (b/w “Jericho the Musical”). The video takes place on a black soundstage where the members don white button-ups and pleated grey slacks. Band footage intercuts with scenes of a red-skinned devilish Mick and two dancers in royal baroque garb. “Jericho” went Top 20 in the Netherlands and Belgium.

WEA reissued “Holding Back the Years” in May 1986, backed with a cover of the 1956 Ray Charles chestnut “Drowning In My Own Tears,” a song first recorded in 1951 by Detroit gospel/blues singer Lula Reed; written by King Records arranger Henry Glover. The re-released single reached No. 1 in Ireland and No. 2 in the UK, where Simply Red mimed “Holding Back the Years” for the 5/22 TotP broadcast, which also aired in-studio numbers by Billy Ocean (“There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)”), Robert Palmer (“Addicted to Love”), and Pete Wylie (“Sinful”). Abroad, “Holding Back the Years” reached No. 16 in Australia, No. 6 in Canada, and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, where the video received maximum MTV rotation and became an evergreen on VH-1.

In August 1986, WEA issued a remixed “Open Up the Red Box” as the fifth Picture Book single (b/w “Look At You Now”).

The video takes place in a tenement unit customized with green walls, blue doors, pink lights, and street signs repurposed as wall fixtures. Simply Red throw a party attended by stylish, dancing revelers. Mick plays host in a green shirt and fedora. Midway, he taunts his grumpy father and bookish brother.

Picture Book reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. In Europe, the album topped the Dutch chart and reached No. 8 in Italy and West Germany. In Oceania, Picture Book reached No. 9 in New Zealand and No. 10 in Australia. In North America, the album reached No. 7 in Canada and No. 16 on the US Billboard 200.

Men and Women

Simply Red released their second album, Men and Women, on March 9, 1987, on Elektra.

Men and Women contains six Mick Hucknall originals, including “Shine,” “Move on Out,” and the singles “Maybe Someday…” and “The Right Thing.” He co-wrote “Infidelity” and “Suffer” with Lamont Dozier of the Sixties Motown songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland.

The album also includes covers of Bunny Wailer (“Love Fire”), Sly & The Family Stone (“Let Me Have It All”), and the Cole Porter standard “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.” Side A features “I Won’t Feel Bad,” a group-written 1985 b-side that later became an a-side.

Hucknall harmonizes on Men and Women with Janette Sewell, a recent sidewoman of Sugar Minnott and ex-Procol Harum frontman Gary Brooker. Drummer Chris Joyce plays shares percussion duties with bassist Tony Bowers and multi-instrumentalist Tim Kellett, whose trumpet and flugelhorn interlock with auxiliary saxophonist Ian Kirkham (tenor, baritone), who joined Simply Red immediately after this release.

Kellett also shares keyboard chores with Fritz McIntyre and Marillion sessionist Steve Rainford, a member of the ‘U2 Crew.’ Additional guests include cellist Eleanor Morris (“Ev’ry Time”) and veteran jazz/rock trombonist Derek Wadsworth (“Love Fire”).

A1. “The Right Thing” (4:19)
A2. “Infidelity” (4:09)
A3. “Suffer” (4:55)
A4. “I Won’t Feel Bad” (4:14) originated as the non-album b-side on the original November 1985 release of “Holding Back the Years,” Simply Red’s third single.
A5. “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” (3:23) is a 1944 Porter composition, first popularized by Benny Goodman and since covered by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, John Coltrane, and Ray Charles.

B1. “Let Me Have It All” (3:45) originated on Fresh, the 1973 sixth album by Sly & The Family Stone; written by bandleader Sylvester Stewart (aka Sly Stone).
B2. “Love Fire” (3:58) originated as a 1977 Solomonic Records a-side by Wailers percussionist Bunny Wailer.
B3. “Move on Out” (4:55)
B4. “Shine” (3:22)
B5. “Maybe Someday…” (4:18)

Simply Red preceded Men and Women with “The Right Thing,” released as a February 1987 single with “There’s a Light,” a non-album McIntyre number. In the “Right Thing” video, the formally attired band (plus Janette) performs in a crowded theatre; where Hucknall dons pleated baggies, a news-print vest, and a black fedora. The single reached No. 4 in Benelux, No. 9 in New Zealand, No. 10 in Switzerland, and No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

B. “There’s a Light”

Sessions for the album (barring the pre-released “I Won’t Feel Bad”) occurred in late 1986 at Yellow 2 Studio, a new complex in Stockport, Greater Manchester, that recently overtook 10cc‘s Strawberry North and hosted recent projects by A Certain Ratio, Danza Invisible, Kalima, The Icicle Works, The Housemartins, and The Railway Children.

In May 1987, “Infidelity” became the second single, backed with “Lady Godiva’s Room,” a non-album Hucknall original.

B. “Lady Godiva’s Room”

The “Infidelity” video opens with three members at a diner, where blue-suited Mick kisses a waitress then hits the street, where he follows two Forties-style girls down to the London Underground. After making advances on both, his eyes roam to a vendor at a Tube stop, where he encounters a troupe of fishnet-clad burlesque dancers who regale him in steps as Kellett and Kirkham play nearby. He follows a scooter chick to street level, then pulls another girl at a newsstand. The video concludes in the Tube where all prior girls cavort with his bandmates while Mick himself slumps back then exits.

Simply Red recorded Men and Women with American soundman Alex Sadkin, a producer of Seventies classics by Crucis, Hi-Tension, Robin Trower, T-Connection, and recent titles by Classix Nouveaux, Duran Duran, Thompson Twins, and Robbie Nevil. Men and Women was engineered and mixed by Barry Mraz, a onetime musician (in psychsters Food) with credits on Seventies albums by the Midwest American artists Bill Quateman, Ohio Players, Styx, Trillion, and Zazu.

In June, WEA lifted “Love Fire” as a third single in the German market, backed with a dub version of the Wailer cover. The picture sleeve shows an outtake from Simply Red’s photoshoot with fashion photographer Robert Erdmann, whose stylized shots also appear on contemporary sleeves for a-ha, The Colourfield, The Cult, and Iggy Pop. Erdmann photographed the front and back cover pics for Men and Women. The group pics serve as modelling stills for English luxury fashion designer Paul Smith, who opened his first NYC boutique that year on Fifth Avenue.

In July 1987, Simply Red lifted “Maybe Someday…” as the third UK single (b/w “Let Me Have It All”). Peter Care directed the video, in which Hucknall quarrels and makes out with his lookalike girlfriend (Yvonne Ellis). Care also directed mid-Eighties videos for ABC (“Be Near Me”), Bananarama (“Venus”), Depeche Mode (“Stripped”), It’s Immaterial (“Driving Away from Home”), Paul Carrack (“Don’t Shed a Tear”), and Public Image Ltd. (“Rise”).

Men and Women reached No. 1 in Italy and Switzerland and No. 2 in the Netherlands and the UK. The album also went Top 5 in Austria, Germany, Spain (all No. 3), New Zealand, Sweden (both No. 4), Australia and Canada (both No. 5). Men and Women peaked at No. 6 in Norway and No. 14 in Finland. In the US, the album reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200.

In mid-November 1987, Simply Red lifted “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” as the fifth single, backed with a live version of Cole Porter’s 1930 song “Love for Sale.” Hucknall co-produced both Porter covers with Yvonne Ellis. The picture sleeve shows a Thirties-era photo of the composer (1891–1964), whose best-known works include the Broadway musicals Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate, and Silk Stockings.

The “Ev’ry Time” video opens with sepia stock footage of a 1940s GI woman at a gramaphone. Hucknall sings out to his distant love (Ellis) amid further WWII-era clips of servicemen bidding emotional farewells to their loved ones. In the closing scene, Mick and Yvonne embrace at opposite sides of a mesh fence. “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” peaked at No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

In late February 1988, Simply Red finally issued “I Won’t Feel Bad” as a single (b/w “Lady Godiva’s Room”), 28 months after its first appearance as a Picture Book outtake b-side and eleven months since its first appearance on album. The video combines live footage with beach scenes.

A New Flame

Simply Red released their third album, A New Flame, on February 13, 1989, on Elektra.

A New Flame contains eight Mick Hucknall originals, including the title track and “More.” He co-wrote two songs (“You’ve Got It,” “Turn It Up”) with Lamont Dozier and a third (“Enough”) with Crusaders keyboardist Joe Sample.

The album also includes covers of Barry White (“It’s Only Love”) and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (“If You Don’t Know Me by Now”).

A1. “It’s Only Love” (4:58) is a song by the brother/sister soul duo of Jimmie and Vella Cameron; first recorded by White for his 1978 album The Man.
A2. “A New Flame” (3:57)
A3. “You’ve Got It” (3:55)
A4. “To Be with You” (3:22)
A5. “More” (4:08)

B1. “Turn It Up” (4:35)
B2. “Love Lays Its Tune” (4:05)
B3. “She’ll Have to Go” (3:10)
B4. “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” (3:24) originated as a 1972 Philadelphia International Records a-side by the Blue Notes; written by producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and sung by Teddy Pendergrass.
B5. “Enough” (5:10)

In January 1989, “It’s Only Love” appeared as an advance single (b/w “Turn It Up”).

Recorded 1988–1989
Studio AIR Studios (Montserrat, West Indies)

Mick Hucknall – lead vocals (all vocals on “Enough”)
Fritz McIntyre – keyboards, backing vocals
Tim Kellett – keyboards, trumpet, live backing vocals
Heitor TP – guitars
Tony Bowers – bass
Chris Joyce – drums
Ian Kirkham – saxophones

Guest musicians
Erik Hanson – synthesizer programming
Larry Williams – synthesizer programming
Lenny Castro – percussion
Stephanie Spruell – backing vocals

Production
Producer – Stewart Levine
Engineered and mixed by Darren Klein
Assistant engineers – Clark Germain and Karl Lever
Recorded at AIR Studios (Montserrat, West Indies)

Design – Peter Barrett and Andrew Biscomb
Cover photograph – Juergen Teller
Inner sleeve photos – Shelia Rock and Juergen Teller

On March 27, 1989, Simply Red lifted “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” as the second single, backed with “Move On Out,” a non-album Hucknall original.

B. “Move On Out”

In late June, Simply Red picked “A New Flame” as the third single (b/w “More”).

A New Flame reached No. 1 in Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the UK. The album peaked at No. 2 in Australia, Austria, and Germany and No, 4 in Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. In North America, A New Flame peaked at No. 15 in Canada and No. 22 on the US Billboard 200.

Discography: