Born on 8 June: Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), the soul voice from Manchester

Born in 1960 in Manchester, England. Mick Hucknall is the founder, singer, and main songwriter of Simply Red.

An only child abandoned by his mother at the age of three and raised solely by his father, this painful childhood experience led him, many years later, to write "Holding Back The Years", one of his most heart-wrenching songs featuring on "Picture Book", Simply Red’s debut album in 1985. Mick Hucknall had already started drafting it with his very first band, The Francis Elevators. Often asked about the origins of this track, he explained that it took him a long time to understand its true meaning himself. While the lyrics highlight the absence of a mother figure, they also shed light on a sometimes strained relationship with a father often overwhelmed by the task before him. "I sang this song thinking about that void, that absence. It was a kind of therapy," he confided in a BBC radio interview.

With a unique blend of soul, pop, and jazz,  Simply Red did not have to wait long to reach the top of the charts. Alongside "Holding Back The Years", the worldwide hit mentioned earlier, "Picture Book" (1985) boasts a host of other successes such as "Money’s Too Tight To Mention", "Come To My Aid", "Look At You Now", and "Jericho"— all of which would gradually become staples of the band’s live repertoire. Featuring a distinctive bass line, the title track already hinted at the singer’s interest in reggae. This would be realised in 1993 with the launch of the specialist label Blood & Fire, for which Hucknall provided financial backing. When you love something, you don’t count the cost! The initial ambition was to bring forgotten classics of reggae, dub, and toasting back into the spotlight. 

Over the decades, Mick Hucknall has remained very much the man in charge. With the exception of saxophonist Ian Kirkham, all his other bandmates have, at one point or another, thrown in the towel. With thirteen albums under his belt, Hucknall and Simply Red have notched up an impressive string of hits including "If You Don’t Know Me By Now", "Stars", "Sunrise" (which sounds like Hall & Oates), "Something Got Me Started", "It’s Only Love", and "Fairground". Conceived in part during lockdown, the album "Time" (2023) sees a more introspective approach. "In a way, I’ve realised that as well as being a singer, I’m also a songwriter. I write songs and wanted to talk about that sometimes complex and painful process," explained the singer.

In February 2025, Mick Hucknall kicked off a world tour in Mexico, celebrating 40 years of Simply Red. By late summer, the band will be visiting not only the UK, of course, but also most countries across mainland Europe.

Outside music, the singer is also known for his outspokenness, his passion for Manchester United, his political engagement (having long supported the UK Labour Party), his taste for wine (to the point of investing in a vineyard in Sicily), and, on a more personal note, his fondness for the fairer sex. From Kim Wilde to Alicia Duvall, and Adriana Karembeu, many have succumbed at one time or another to his fiery charm. Since marrying in 2010, a few years after the birth of his daughter Romy True, he however seems to have become a model husband and father.   

Let’s leave him with the last word, closing a 2022 interview with The Guardian: "As long as I have enough voice, I’ll sing. It’s who I am and who I’ve always been."

A few dates wrapping up the 40th anniversary tour:

12 November: Sportpaleis - Antwerp (Belgium)

15/16 November: Ziggo Dome - Amsterdam (Netherlands)

(MH with Stéphane Massart - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Mick Hucknall being interviewed at the American Hotel, Amsterdam (Netherlands), February 1987