[4] Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010.
[8] 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".
By early 1985, Hucknall and Rashman had assembled a band of local session musicians and begun to attract record-company attention.
[10] The band's name is also linked to Hucknall's allegiance to being a supporter of Manchester United, as the club's home shirt colour is red.
"Red Box" would eventually see release in 1985 as a B-side to the group's first single, "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", a cover of a soul song originally recorded by The Valentine Brothers.
However, upon being re-released in 1986, "Holding Back the Years" became a major hit, peaking at #1 in Ireland, #2 in the UK, #3 in the Netherlands, #20 in Italy and later #1 in the United States.
Simply Red's second album, 1987's Men and Women,[9] saw the band adopting bowler hats and colourful suits instead of their earlier ragamuffin look.
Saxophonist Ian Kirkham, who joined the group during the Picture Book tour in 1986 and played on Men and Women, became an official member.
With their third album A New Flame in 1989, Simply Red adopted a yet more mainstream popular sound aimed for commercial rather than critical success, typified by their cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' pop classic "If You Don't Know Me by Now", which became their second U.S. #1 hit, and one of the biggest singles of the year internationally; and their greatest success to that point.
For the subsequent live shows, Simply Red were joined by new recruits' Steve Lewinson on bass, Velroy Bailey on drums, and second backing vocalist Sarah Brown.
Fritz McIntyre, the only original remaining band member aside from Hucknall, left the group after the Life album, as did Heitor Pereira.
From that time in 1996, Simply Red was essentially a trade name for Hucknall and a bevy of musicians, which would vary from track to track (and gig to gig) as needed, although all post-1996 Simply Red albums and live shows did include contributions from sax player Ian Kirkham.
Returning drummer Gota Yashiki (co-producing several album tracks) and backing vocalists Dee Johnson and Sarah Brown were also frequently involved with the band's later recordings and shows, as was new keyboardist/co-producer Andy Wright.
[citation needed] The album featured one new track, a cover of the 1973 Aretha Franklin hit "Angel" which was co-produced with The Fugees (who also served as backing musicians).
The follow-up album, 1999's Love and the Russian Winter, was a relative disappointment, spawning two minor hits that failed to break the top 10.
On 24 March 2003, the band released Home, a mixture of original songs and covers, including a version of The Stylistics' "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which hit UK #7.
[17] The line-up for the reunion tour was the same as Simply Red's last formation with the exception of Roman Roth replacing Pete Lewinson as the drummer.
On 11 November 2016, Simply Red embarked in Dublin, Ireland on the "25 Years of Stars Live" tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release in September 1991 of Stars by playing live on stage the entire album in its original running order (while the second half of the show featured hits and classic Simply Red songs).
In addition, the band announced an intimate album launch show for 5 June 2023 at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London; this was their only UK performance in 2023.
[31] Also, at the Shepherd's Bush show, Mick Hucknall officially introduced Gary Sanctuary to the fans, as Simply Red's new keyboard player.
[32] A few days before, on December 8, Simply Red played a show in Schladming, Austria, with Orefo Orakwue taking over on the bass.