With timeless classics like Stars and Fairground to their name, it's hard to believe that this year marks the 30th anniversary of Simply Red.

Now, with a new album and an upcoming tour - which includes three shows at Greenwich's O2 in December - News Shopper called frontman Mick Hucknall for a stroll down memory lane and to find out what's ahead for the soul and pop band, who have sold more than 50 million albums to-date.

"My manager called me up to say 2015 would be the 30th anniversary of Simply Red and asked what I was going to do about it,' explains Mick, 54.

Thus the seeds were sown for a tour and new album.

However, Simply Red hadn't released an album since 2007's Stay, so where to start?

"I got to thinking, "What would Simply Red sound like in 2015?" It inspired me to write a song. The record company suggested a Greatest Hits album with two new songs, but when I got to the third, I thought 'hang on, I've got a challenge here and could actually compose a whole album'. So I went for it and here we are.

"Lyrically I've always written in order to speak to people, make it personal to them. If I've written a song about my dad, then maybe they'll start thinking about their dad; that's the whole thing about how music communicates. Secondly, I thought 'Well, what do the Simply Red audience want us to sound like?' I just tried to give them what I thought they'd want compounded with my own compositions."

The result was Big Love, Simply Red's first album to feature entirely original material since 1995.


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30 years is good going in any industry let alone the notoriously fickle world of music, so what would he say is the secret to longevity?

Essentially, teamwork.

"I think mostly it's the quality of the melodies and the performances of the musicians on the recordings. Always keep a very high standard of musicians you put on record with a decent song and a good performance from them, it gives things a timeless quality."

And has there been a highlight?

"There are a lot of moments throughout the 30 years that stand out. For example, Home was our first independent release and was the biggest selling independent album in the world two years in a row."

News Shopper:

Is there a song that means more to Mick?

"The songs read like pages of a diary and it's quite hard to just single one out. A song that is very special to me though would be Holding Back The Years because I wrote it when I was so young and it was about breaking away for the first time from my dad."

Of course, a tour is on the horizon, including an impressive three nights at the London O2 Arena.

"It has been a marvellous thing. It looks like by the time we get there, the entire European tour will have sold out. That's really brilliant and a testament to the fans.

"I want to give people what they want which is essentially the hits, so we're going to just be playing the best of our music. Even though I've got a new album, I'm only going to be fixing to play a few songs from it because the tour's about representing the last 30 years."

It has been five years since Mick last took to the stage with Simply Red, during which time he describes himself as "getting on with my work, enjoying being a dad, my life and keeping my head down" - does he still enjoy performing as much?

"I used to enjoy it, I think I probably still will!" he chuckles.

"It's great sharing your songs. I've had so many correspondents from people over the years saying they played this song at their wedding, that one to their child, or at the funeral of somebody and you realise that the music's a big part of peoples lives. I understand that, especially with the anniversary."

And lastly, with such a back catalogue to dip into, any fears about forgetting song lyrics? "It hasn't happened yet, but I'm getting on in years! When you get out there you kind of go into autopilot and it all comes flooding back."

Simply Red's album Big Love is out now. Tickets for the tour are available to buy from Ticketmaster.co.uk and other reputable online outlets.