Simply Red will release their first album in eight years in June.
The band has announced a new album ‘Big Love’ to coincide with their world tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary, which they announced last autumn.
Frontman Mick Hucknall has revealed the album – which will be the first to feature only original songs since 1995’s ‘Life’ – came about after he started to wonder how the band were going to sound on tour.
After getting a concept for Simply Red’s live sound in his head he then got inspired to start writing and then he couldn’t stop penning tracks.
The ‘Holding Back the Years’ singer said: "Once I began wondering how Simply Red were going to sound, I started writing songs."
While he hasn’t worked with Steve Lewinson, Kenju Suuki, Kevin Robinson, Dave Clayton and Ronnie Roth for eight years, the break has meant that Mick now has a much clearer appreciation for Simply Red’s legacy.
He admitted that the reason it has been so long since a completely original album is because he’d been "fighting" the idea of Simply Red’s sound, but is now "comfortable with the band being a "blue-eyed soul group".
Mick, 54, said: "With (Simply Red’s 2007 album) ‘Stay’ I was running away from Simply Red. But now I’m comfortable with the notion of us as a blue-eyed soul group. I had to stop myself fighting that idea. Our sound is original too. I honestly don’t know of another band that has pulled so many musical strands together."
‘Big Love’ will be released on June 1.
Simply Red to release first album in eight years
