Simply Red (Song Compilation + Bonus Mixes)

A nice compilation of Simple Red's songs and as a bonus I have included some extended mixes and remixes of some of their songs. As always, I hope that you enjoy it!

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.

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".

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", "Just Red" (after Hucknall's nickname "Red", denoting his hair color) but Hucknall decided it 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 color 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). Bowers and Joyce had both previously been members of post-punk bands The Durutti Column and The Mothmen; Kellett had also been a member of The Durutti Column, though not at the same time as Bowers and Joyce.

Simply Red signed a contract with Elektra in 1985, but after recording one track ("Red Box"), Fryman left the group and was replaced by guitarist Sylvan Richardson, billed as 'Sylvan'.