"Simply Red" - red color creativity
"Simply Red" - red color creativity

Video: "Simply Red" - red color creativity

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What is the name of the band? This question arises before the musicians of each novice band. Sometimes teams change their name several times before they come to the optimal, in their opinion, option. The solution to this problem turned out to be much easier for the musicians of the "Simply Red" group.

The band was named after the vocalist's hair color. The group "Simply Red" (in translation - "just red") was created in 1984.

Simple Red
Simple Red

Progenitor

This band had a predecessor - a punk rock band called The Frantic Elevators. She lasted 7 years, breaking up at the height of her fame after the release of the single Holding Back the Years.

Simply Red

After the dissolution of the punk band, ginger vocalist Mick Hucknall started talking to Elliot Rashman's manager. By the beginning of 1985, they managed to assemble a group of local session musicians. Its members began looking for a suitable record label.

The group took the name Red after Hucknall's nickname, which appeared because of the color of hishair.

But later the team leader decided that the name would sound much better if the word Simply was added to it.

Other meaning

Mick Hucknall has been a Manchester United football club fan since childhood. The red color of this team's kit was another argument in favor of choosing a name for the group.

Initially, "Simply Red" consisted of 6 people. Each of the musicians had previously participated in a punk rock band.

First contract

Simple Red signed an agreement with Elektra Studios in 1985. The group began to work actively.

After the recording of the song "Simply Red" under the name Red Box, guitarist Fryman left the band, in whose place Selivan Richardson was found.

Debut single

The recorded song was eventually released in 1985 on the B-side of the band's debut album. The title track from this record was Money's too Tight to Mention.

This soul song is a cover version of the Valentine Brothers hit. This single was an international success. In Ireland and the UK, it reached the top twenty songs. A little later, the disc took its rightful place in the charts of America, France and Denmark.

Little known works

Followed by a series of singles that did not become as popular as their predecessor. Among these records is a disc with a new version of the song Holding Back the Years, which was much more popular performed by the Frantic Elevators - the predecessor of "Simply Red". Thisthe composition acquired a new sound, perfectly suited to the team's repertoire. It was released on their third single in 1985.

Initially, the track did not hit the UK charts. However, when re-released the following year, the song became a big hit, reaching number one in Ireland, number two in the United Kingdom, and number three in the Netherlands. A little later, this track reached the top of the American hit parade. It was on the record of this song that the full name of the group "Simply Red" first appeared.

The team's first LP was released in October 1985.

Group style

The first album "Simply Red" featured lively, very energetic drums and keyboards that sounded very effective in ballads. This approach to arrangements did not last long. Each new album was also accompanied by the release of several "Simply Red" clips. In 2008, a collection of the team's best videos was released under the title Greatest Video Hits.

At the peak of fame

The second album, released in 1987, was accompanied by a change in the team's image. Hats and multi-colored jackets have replaced the "clothes of ragamuffins." Just as the debut album's self-criticism and socially charged themes were replaced by romantic, soul-influenced compositions that were also influenced by funk.

Famous composer Lamont Dozier, best known for his work at Motown Studios, has collaborated with Mick Hucknall on three songs for the new album.

Pop

With releaseWith their third album, "Simply Red" entered a new creative period, marked by a transition to a softer sound, focused more on commercial success than on the approval of music critics. The group's most popular album was a disc called Stars, which was released in 1991.

Stars album
Stars album

In 1996, almost all of the original members left the band. Now the musicians changed periodically. The team actually turned into a solo project by Mick Hucknall. After releasing several fairly successful albums, the band's leader stated: I decided that 25 years was enough. So I think that the 2009 tour will be the last for Simple Red. The band's farewell concert took place at the end of 2010.

Big love

In 2015, the band reunited for a 30th anniversary tour.

big love
big love

After him, a new album called Big Love was recorded.

25 years of the album
25 years of the album

In 2017, "Simply Red" went on tour in honor of the 25th anniversary of the album Stars.

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