Posted on

Simply Red to play Scarborough Open Air Theatre on July 22 next summer

“It’s going to be wonderfully inspiring when people can go and see bands again. I can’t wait,” says Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall

SIMPLY Red will head back to Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer for the first time since 2016.

Mick Hucknall’s pop-soul band will play on the East Coast on July 22, with tickets going on sale on Friday at 9am at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Looking forward to his stage return, Hucknall, 61, says: “I’ve spent most of my life going out and singing for people, so it feels strange not to have that. I miss being able to express myself. It’s going to be wonderfully inspiring when people can go and see bands again. I can’t wait.”

Simply Red have notched up more than a billion hits on You Tube and sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, five of them going to number one in the UK: A New Flame in 1989, Stars in 1991, Life in 1995, Greatest Hits in 1996 and Blue in 1998 .

All 12 Simply Red studio albums since 1985 debut Picture Book have made the British top ten; the latest, 2019’s Blue Eyed Soul, peaking at number six.

1991’s Stars was the best-selling album for two years running in Britain and Europe; Holding Back The Years and If You Don’t Know Me By Now both topped the US Billboard singles chart.

Simply Red: Mick Hucknall has retained the same line-up since 2003

Manchester-born Hucknall has been the songwriter and bandleader since Simply Red formed in 1985, working with the present line-up since 2003.

Simply Red join the ever-expanding diary of headliners at Scarborough OAT in 2022:  Lionel Richie, Lewis Capaldi, Bryan Adams, Crowded House and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

Peter Taylor, of venue programmers Cuffe and Taylor, says: “We’re delighted to be welcoming Simply Red back to Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

“Mick Hucknall is a music legend and he and his band sound as relevant and as fresh today as they did when Simply Red first burst into the public consciousness almost 40 years ago.

“We’ve had so many requests for them to return, so we are delighted to oblige and reveal they will be back at this special venue next summer.”

Posted on

Simply does it as Mick Hucknall redirects tour plans, playing Hull and Leeds in 2022

“It’s going to be wonderfully inspiring when people can go and see bands again,” says Mick Hucknall

SIMPLY Red’s UK and Ireland tour, first planned for 2020, is moving to February 2022 with three Yorkshire gigs among the 17 dates.

Mick Hucknall’s Manchester soul band will play Hull Bonus Arena on February 4 and 5 and Leeds First Direct Arena on February 9.

Hucknall, 60, longs for a return to the stage after the pandemic-enforced hiatus. “I’ve spent most of my life going out and singing for people, so it feels strange not to have that,” he says. “I miss being able to express myself. It’s going to be wonderfully inspiring when people can go and see bands again. I can’t wait.”

Simply Red, whose last album release was Blue Eyed Soul in November 2019, are sure to revisit such hits as Money’s Too Tight To Mention, Holding Back The Years, Stars and Fairground.

Hucknall has been Simply Red’s songwriter and bandleader since their formation in 1985, aided by long-serving saxophonist Ian Kirkham since 1986. The present line-up has remained consistent since 2003, and the new tour will play to their core strengths.

“I want them to enjoy playing, for crowds to get up and move around, and everybody to put their heart into it. It’s all about capturing the groove,” says Hucknall. 

South London soul singer and actress Mica Paris will be the special guest on all dates. Tickets are on sale at myticket.co.uk/artists/simply-red