Did you know that Holding Back The Years wasn't initially performed by Simply Red? Rather, while written by lead singer, Mick Hucknall, it was added to the catalog of his first band, The Frantic Elevators. However, it would be the success of that song which would lead to them breaking up in 1984, and Hucknall forming Simply Red, though first as World Service, Red and then Dancing Dead before settling on the band's name.
The initial lineup consisted of Hucknall on vocals, David Fryman on guitar, Tony Bowers on bass, Fritz McIntyre on keyboards and additional vocals, drummer Chris Joyce, and multi-instrumentalist Tim Kellett on brass and live backing vocals. They quickly garnered the attention of Elektra Records, but after recording just one track for them, Fryman quit, replaced by Sylvan Richardson. With their core in place, their debut, Picture Book was released in 1985.
It would be a massive success, charting in multiple countries, receiving multiple sales certifications, ranging from gold to 5X platinum, becoming their first of non-stop consecutive top ten album in the UK. It would also spawn two Billboard Hot 100 hits, the number one chart topper, Holding Back The Years, and Moneys Too Tight (To Mention), which would peak at twenty-eight. Simply Red is probably the only band I've come across to date that has had every single album they released chart in the top ten in that country. That's thirteen albums between 1985 and 2023.
The follow-up, 1987's Men And Women, their second number two album in the UK, and with it came the Billboard single, The Right Thing, which peaked at number twenty-seven. A fun fact of the album would be that a handful of tracks were co-written by Hucknall, and legendary Motown veteran, Lamont Dozier. When putting the credits in the album jacket, it was noted as Hucknall/Dozier/Hucknall, a nod to the Motown writing team of Holland–Dozier–Holland.
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Admittedly, it took me a bit longer to get into their sophomore album. It starts off with the aforementioned hit, which didn't really resonate with me. I got a little worried, as this continued through the first 1/3 of the album.
However, once I Won't Feel Bad came around, I started to get some material I was digging. While this didn't stay consistent for the remainder of the album, there were other standouts, which included Love Fire, Move On Out, and Shine.
Men And Women definitely wasn't better than its predecessor, but it did (eventually) offer some good stuff up. It also continues that mixture of pop and soul, with a hint of jazz. This makes it a very unique offering from the 80's, and I am happy to see that there was indeed something I was missing out on back in the day, not that I would have appreciated it back then. Not with all the hair and metal bands I was into at the time.
Upon its release new guitarist Richardson would leave, citing disillusionment with the industry. He'd be replaced by Heitor TP. Additionally, Ian Kirkham, who provided saxophone to Men And Women, would be officially added to the fold.
The band would venture into the studio between 1988 and 1989 to release their final album of the decade, A New Flame. However, following its release, the foundation of Simply Red would be shaken, eventually leading to a non-stop rotation of members, and Hucknall being the only remaining original member. That unfolds and wraps up tomorrow.
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