Interview: Mick Hucknall

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of their hit album Stars, Simply Red will be hitting the road in November with a series of UK tour dates. Mick Hucknall talks family, fame and life on tour

What are your thoughts on Stars being 25 years old? For an album to have that kind of longevity you obviously did something right in the studio back then?
After the success of A New Flame‚ I set myself the challenge of composing a whole album of original songs. I could never have imagined that Stars would have the impact it did.

It’s always about the music. I have this abiding faith in the music and that will shine through when I’m dead and gone. I don’t really care about the contemporary side of it because I’m always trying to make music that will last a long time.

How has it felt to be back on the road, not just here in the UK, but also around the world?
We finished the last leg of the tour at the Olympic Stadium in Munich the other night and the band were all saying how fresh the whole thing felt, especially after over 100 shows in the past year around the world. It’s been great seeing so many smiling faces in the crowd. We have also noticed on this tour a lot more younger people coming to the shows. I guess some people are discovering our music for the first time on Spotify and YouTube.

If the audience isn’t enjoying the show then we’re not doing our job properly!

Do you adapt your live experience for the different cities, towns or countries you visit?
I’m really lucky to have an amazing band, we’re all on the same wavelength when it comes to putting on the best show possible. We constantly push each other to perform at our best, to go above and beyond for the audience because at the end of the day, if the audience isn’t enjoying the show then we’re not doing our job properly!

Any rituals before stage time?
It used to be one of our tour rituals to play cricket in the downtime before a show and for a while, I had some cricket nets in my back garden. Nowadays I mostly play it on the PS4 at home but I still love going to see the matches at Lord’s Cricket Ground when I have a chance!

This tour is specifically to celebrate 25 years since the release of Stars and that tracklisting will be the second half of the show, what about the first half?
Rather than just play the same songs we’ve been playing for the last year, we are going to introduce a few songs that we haven’t played for a while, a few fan favourites. There will be plenty of big Simply Red hits in the first half but maybe not the most obvious ones!

You’re a settled family man now, will you be bringing them on the road?
Touring is effectively me going back to work, so while I’m sure they’ll be coming out to see a few shows, I think it may get a little boring for them at this point! Plus, we have to work around school term for my daughter so that limits the amount she can visit while I’m away. Luckily, we won’t be too far from home this time so I’ll be able to pop back and see her more often than say, if I were back in Australia.

Simply Red 25 Years of Stars in London 25th November
for dates and tickets go to www.simplyred.com