Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The band is led by singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. They have released thirteen studio albums, spanning 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. Their 1991 album Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.
Stars is the fourth album by British-based pop/soul/jazz band Simply Red, released in September 1991. Five singles were released from the album, including the UK top ten hits "Stars" and "For Your Babies". The album was a worldwide success, particularly in the band's home country where it has been certified twelve times platinum and was the best-selling album of the year in the UK for both 1991 and 1992, the first album to be the best-seller in two consecutive years since Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water in 1970–71. As of July 2016 it is the 14th best-selling album of all time in the UK.
Life is the fifth studio album by British pop and soul band Simply Red, released in 1995. The lead single "Fairground" became their first number 1 hit in the UK. Due to this success, the album also made #1 on the UK album chart. It also included "We're in This Together", the official theme song for Euro '96. This was also the last album to feature band members Fritz McIntyre and Heitor TP.
Picture Book is the debut album by British pop and soul group Simply Red, released in October 1985. It contains the US number-one single "Holding Back the Years", and a cover of The Valentine Brothers' "Money's Too Tight ". Three more singles were released from the album: "Come to My Aid", "Jericho", and "Open Up the Red Box".
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album released by British pop and soul group Simply Red, which contained material from their first five studio albums and included a newer track, a cover of Aretha Franklin's 1973 classic, "Angel".
"Your Mirror" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red. Written by Mick Hucknall, it was released in July 1992 as the fifth single from their fourth album, Stars (1991), and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was later included on the band's compilation albums, Greatest Hits in 1996, Simply Red 25: The Greatest Hits in 2008 and Song Book 1985–2010 in 2013.
"Everytime You Touch Me" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released on February 13, 1995 by Mute and Elektra, as the third single from his third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995). Guest vocals on the song are performed by Rozz Morehead and Kochie Banton. It became a number-one hit in Finland and reached the top 20 in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland, as well as on the Canadian RPM Dance chart. Its music video was directed by Julie Hermelin.
"Stars" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released in November 1991 as the second single from their fourth album of the same name (1991). Written by lead singer Mick Hucknall and produced by Stewart Levine, it became the first single from the album to enter the UK top 10, reaching number eight in December 1991. Outside the UK, "Stars" reached the top 10 in Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, and Zimbabwe. In the United States, it climbed to number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the band's last appearance on the listing.
"Fairground" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released on 18 September 1995 by EastWest as the first single from the band's fifth album, Life (1995). Co-written and co-produced by frontman Mick Hucknall, the song makes extensive use of a sample of Dutch duo the Goodmen's 1993 hit "Give It Up". It became Simply Red's first and only No. 1 single on the UK Singles Chart, staying at the top for four weeks in September and October 1995, and was also a chart hit in mainland Europe and Australia but failed to generate long-term success in North America. The accompanying music video for "Fairground" was directed by Michael Geoghegan and filmed in Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire.
"Wake Up Boo!" is a song recorded by British indie band the Boo Radleys for their fourth album, Wake Up! (1995). Released in February 1995 by Creation Records, it was by far their biggest hit both in the UK and internationally. The track is an upbeat guitar-pop song about the change from summer to autumn, contrasting the narrator's optimism with his companion's pessimism. Part of the song was used as a jingle by Chris Evans for his BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in the mid nineties.
"Angel" is a soul ballad recorded by American singer Aretha Franklin. The song was co-written by Aretha's sister, Carolyn, and Sonny Sanders. Aretha co-produced the song with Quincy Jones and it originally appeared on Aretha's nineteenth album, Hey Now Hey (1973). It was released as a single by Atlantic in June 1973 and went on to top the US R&B Singles chart for two weeks while reaching number twenty on the Pop chart. The single sold over 900,000 copies.
"Your Loving Arms" is a song by German singer Billie Ray Martin, the former lead singer of Electribe 101. It was released by Magnet and Sire in October 1994 as the first single from the singer's debut solo album, Deadline for My Memories (1995). Written by Martin and David Harrow, it received critical acclaim and is known to be one of her most notable singles. It was produced by English electronic dance group the Grid and was originally released on October 31. The track found greater chart success in 1995, when it peaked at number one in Italy and on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and number six on the UK Singles Chart. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 21. There were made two different music videos for the song. The success of "Your Loving Arms" earned Martin the prize for Best New Dance Solo Artist of 1995 at the International Dance Music Awards in Miami, and Mixmag featured it in the magazine's "100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time" list.
"Remembering the First Time" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red. Written by frontman Mick Hucknall, it was featured on their fifth album, Life (1995), and released by EastWest in December 1995 in a new remix for the single. It reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the UK Club Chart. The song also peaked at number seven in Iceland, number 19 in Spain, and number 23 in the Netherlands. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 80. The music video for the song was directed by Irish filmmaker Michael Geoghegan..
"For Your Babies" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red. Written by Mick Hucknall, it was released in January 1992 as the third single from the band's forth album, Stars (1991). The song reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart in February same year. It also reached the top 20 in Ireland and the top 30 in Austria and Belgium. The track was included on the band's compilation albums, Greatest Hits in 1996, Simply Red 25: The Greatest Hits in 2008 and Songs of Love in 2010. It was also featured on the band's acoustic album Simplified in a new version.
"United" is a song recorded by Dominican-American reggae/ragga recording artist Prince Ital Joe and American rapper Marky Mark. It was released in March 1994 as the third single from their debut album, Life in the Streets (1994). The song was co-written and produced by Alex Christensen and Frank Peterson. It reached number one in Germany and the top 10 in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.
"Never Never Love" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red. Written by frontman Mick Hucknall, it was featured on their fifth album, Life (1996), and reached number 18 on the UK chart when released in February 1996 by EastWest. The song additionally peaked at number seven in Hungary and number 26 in Iceland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 93 in March 1996.
"Thank You for Hearing Me" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor, released in 1994 by Chrysalis and Ensign as the first single from her fourth album, Universal Mother (1994). Co-written by her with John Reynolds and based on her recent breakup with English art pop singer Peter Gabriel, they also co-produced the song with English musician, composer and record producer Tim Simenon. It received positive reviews from music critics and was a sizeable hit in Europe. In Iceland, the song peaked at number five, and was a top 10 hit also in Poland, while it peaked at number 13 in the UK and number 14 in Scotland. The song's music video was directed by Richard Heslop.
"Say You Love Me" is a 1998 song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released as the second single from their sixth album, Blue (1998). Written by frontman Mick Hucknall, it was quite successful in Europe, peaking at number four in Hungary and number seven in the UK. Additionally, it was a top 20 hit in Austria, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number 24 in May 1998.
"Out of the Sinking" is a song by British singer-songwriter Paul Weller, released in 1994 by Go! Discs as the first single from his third solo album, Stanley Road (1995). Weller wrote the song and produced it with Brendan Lynch. The B-side to the single is a cover of the Beatles' "Sexy Sadie".
"A New Flame" is a song by the British soul and pop band Simply Red, released in June 1989 by Elektra and WEA as the third single from the band's third studio album by the same name (1989). The song was written by Mick Hucknall and produced by Stewart Levine. It was a top-20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, and reached the top 30 in Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton directed its music video.
