Simply R… Read Full Bio ↴Simply Red is an English pop band, formed in the mid 1980s.
Simply Red's roots originate from the notorious 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Manchester art student Mick Hucknall was one of the many young music fans present (along with original members of The Fall, Joy Division, The Smiths and Buzzcocks) who was inspired to form a band after witnessing that gig. The first incarnation of the band was a punk group called The Frantic Elevators. This band existed for 7 years, with limited releases on local labels, but split in 1984 with only limited local attention and critical acclaim for their final single, "Holding Back the Years".
After the demise of the Frantic Elevators, Hucknall linked up with manager Elliot Rashman. By early 1985 Hucknall and Rashman had assembled a band of local session musicians and began to attract record company attention. Around this time the group adopted the name Simply Red (after Hucknall's nickname, which denoted hair color, football allegiance to Manchester United and left-wing political affiliation). They signed to Elektra in 1985, with the somewhat changeable line-up of Hucknall, Tony Bowers (bass), Fritz McIntyre (keyboards), Tim Kellett (brass), Sylvan Richardson (guitar) and Chris Joyce (drums). Their first single, released in 1985, was "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)", a cover of a soul standard originally recorded by The Valentine Brothers. This single had moderate success, reaching the UK Top 20.
In 1986 the band re-recorded "Holding Back The Years", the Frantic Elevators' biggest hit, in a more accessible pop style with adjustments in lyrics and instrumentation. The tune became a major hit, peaking at #2 in Great Britain and later #1 in the United States, and established Simply Red as a household name. Their debut album, 'Picture Book', which had been released previously in 1985, began to sell more copies, and it became an international hit album, with multi-platinum certification.
Their second album, 1987's "Men and Women", saw the band adopting a more sober and professional image, with bowler hats and colorful suits replacing their earlier ragamuffin look, and the introspection and social commentary of their debut replaced by a blue-eyed soul sound with funk influences. Around this time Hucknall became a tabloid personality, drawing attention and criticism for his alleged womanising, and gaining a reputation as "a lecherous loudmouth" and bien pensant. Despite Hucknall's bad reputation and the album's bad reviews, or perhaps as a result of them, Men and Women was a commercial success.
With their third album "A New Flame", Simply Red adopted a yet more mainstream populist sound aimed for commercial rather than critical success, typified by their cover of Harold Melvin's 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. Hucknall was by this time an international superstar, being photographed with models and Hollywood celebrities. This seemed to harm the band's coherence as a unit, with Hucknall declaring in 1991 that Simply Red was "essentially a solo project".
The band's popular career peaked later that year with the release of "Stars", which became the best-selling album for two years running in Europe and the UK (though notably had far less success in the US than their previous albums). "Stars" mixed Hucknall's anti-Thatcherite political lyrics with an easy-listening lounge-jazz sound, apparently to avoid alienation of their existing fanbase.
After touring and promoting "Stars" for two years, Simply Red returned in 1995 with "Fairground", a dance-influenced track featuring prominently a sample from Zki & Dobri's Goodmen project. A massive radio hit, "Fairground" went on to become the band’s first British #1, amid critical panning. Its parent album 'Life' sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, making it the fourth-biggest seller of the year. The band followed this up with cover heavy 'Blue' in 1998 and 'Love and the Russian Winter'. After 'Love and the Russian Winter' they left EastWest and Hucknall set up his own record label simplyred.com where he released "Home" in 2003, a mixture of mostly original songs and covers, including a version of The Stylistics song "You Make Me Feel Brand New". "Simplified" followed in 2005, mainly an album of stripped down versions of their Classic hits.
The single "Oh! What A Girl!" released in September 2006 from their album Stay, their 10th, released on 12 March 2007. This was preceded by the single “So Not Over You”, released on 5 March 2007. The third single from the album was the title song "Stay", released on 28 May 2007. The fourth and the last single of Simply Red single , "The World And You Tonight", was released in November 2007.
Mick Hucknall announced that the band were due to split in 2009, after a farewell tour.
"I've kind of decided that the 25 years is going to be enough, so I intend that the 2009 will be the last Simply Red tour."
"I've just recorded an album that is a tribute to Bobby Bland, a blues and R'n'B artist. It's a solo project and I've really enjoyed it so much that I feel the time has come now to just put a book-end to the story and the album Stay will be the last Simply Red studio album."
You've Got It
Simply Red Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A strength that I can't see
There's no way
That I can let you go
Why did I mistake sex
For another sense
Then wanted someone else
To try to tell you no
I think you understand
Oh that you've got it
I try hard but I can't
Oh do without it
I think you understand
That you've got it
This impossible power
Has broken into me
And stolen all the sense
That I had before
Why did I just take
And never understand
The love you've given me
Could've learnt me more
I think you understand
Oh that you've got it
I try hard but I can't
Oh do without it
I think you understand
That you've got it
What made you think
That I'd be true to you
I needed to
Prove it to myself
That I could let you go
What made you think that
I'd be a fool for you
You knew that I was lying
There was something
I was hiding
I think you understand
Oh that you've got it
Well I try hard but I can't
Oh do without it
The song "You" by Simply Red talks about the impossible power of love that is hard to resist. The lyrics speak of the struggle to understand the strength of the feelings towards the other person and how it becomes almost impossible to let go of them. The singer wonders why he/she made the mistake of mistaking sex for another sense and wanting someone else, but now the love has broken into him/her, and he/she cannot let go. The love that the other person has given could have taught him/her more.
The lines, "What made you think/That I'd be true to you/I needed to/Prove it to myself" define the trust issues that the singer had with the other person. The singer felt the need to prove themselves by seeking someone else's love, but the love the other person provided was always there. They knew the singer was lying and hiding something, but they still loved them.
Overall, the song touches upon the power of love, the struggle to understand it, the search for self-realization and how what is sought may be right in front of us.
Line by Line Meaning
This impossible power
Refers to the intense emotional hold the singer's lover has over them
A strength that I can't see
The singer is unable to fully comprehend the emotional grip their lover has over them
There's no way
The singer feels unable to let go of their lover
That I can let you go
The singer is unwilling to end their relationship with their lover
Why did I mistake sex
The singer questions why they confused physical intimacy with emotional intimacy
For another sense
The singer regrets not understanding the true depth of their love for their partner
Then wanted someone else
The singer strayed from their partner and desired someone else
To try to tell you no
The singer attempted to resist their feelings for their partner
I think you understand
The singer believes their partner comprehends the depth of their love
Oh that you've got it
The singer acknowledges that their partner possesses great emotional power over them
I try hard but I can't
The singer makes efforts to resist their love for their partner but finds it impossible
That you've got it
Reiterates the emotional grip that the partner has over the singer
This impossible power
The intense emotional hold on the singer has increased and become overwhelming
Has broken into me
The singer feels like they have lost control of their emotions
And stolen all the sense
The singer feels like their emotions have robbed them of their sanity
That I had before
The singer feels like their relation with their partner has changed their personality and perspective
Why did I just take
The singer regrets taking their partner's love for granted
And never understand
The singer laments their failure to fully comprehend their partner's love
The love you've given me
The singer acknowledges their partner's love and how it changed them
Could've learnt me more
The singer acknowledges that their partner's love could have helped them become a better person
What made you think
The singer questions their partner's trust in them
That I'd be true to you
The singer admits to betraying their partner's trust and their own values
I needed to
The singer believed that they had to prove something to themselves
Prove it to myself
The singer confirms that their act of betrayal was more about them than their partner
That I could let you go
The singer acknowledges their inability to let go of their emotional attachment to their partner
What made you think that
The singer questions their partner's belief in their fidelity
I'd be a fool for you
The singer admits to being deceitful in their relationship
You knew that I was lying
The singer accuses their lover of being aware of their unfaithfulness
There was something
The singer acknowledges that there was a lack of honesty and openness in the relationship
I was hiding
The singer admits to concealing something from their partner
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LAMONT HERBERT DOZIER, MICHAEL JAMES HUCKNALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
kay
on Picture Book
Ive always heard it was a reference to the list of names of African Americans who were allowed to go to the cinema in around the desegregation era.
Lowell
on Wonderland
In my opinion this song is a commentary, and criticism, of British life under Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, when this tune was released. "The end of an era / our future no clearer / my people no stronger / the blame I lay on her" might suggest disappointment with Thatcher's promised reforms of British government. The refrain "wonderland, wonderland / it's beautiful" sounds like a political slogan, promising a new life for all "...until tomorrow comes to haunt us all".