If you’re wondering who Mick Hucknall is then you might not have been born until the 90s or later and didn’t know the band Simply Red. Decades ago Simply Red was, well, kind of mediocre for a while. Their fame came in fits and starts as they would take off and then come down for a crash landing not too long after as their reputation kind of took a nose dive. And yet despite that they stuck around and continued to do their thing for a while and people started to take note and really began to enjoy the band. In some regards Simply Red is the type of band that had to get really hot really quickly and then simmer for a while in order to let people get used to the idea of them before they finally figured that they were worth the effort. It might seem like a strange analogy but it fits.
Here are a few things you might not have known about Mick.
10. The first band he sang in apparently didn’t do so well.
The Frantic Elevators were a punk band that produced four singles, none of which were on the charts and did pretty miserably. Mick has always been in this profession for the music but it’s nice to get paid now and again as well.
9. It’s said that he’s worth around 30 million pounds.
That’s obviously nothing to sneeze and while it might be off by a bit it’s still something to consider when wondering just how he came about it. You might think that Simply Red went off like a rocket at one point but it’s still a little confusing to think that he made this much money on his talent. It’s easier to think that he’s a wise person when it comes to his money and knows how to invest and manage his funds.
8. Back in 1998 he expressed a desire to buy the Manchester United football club.
It takes a lot of ambition and gumption to decide to try and buy an entire organization like this, but he was apparently quite serious about it. Obviously the sale didn’t go through, otherwise I’d be telling HOW he bought the team, not how he ALMOST did it.
7. Mick admitted that Simply Red’s name came from his love of Manchester United.
You’ve got to respect this at least since the guy loves his team enough to name his band in honor of them. The one thing you can almost always count on in Mick’s part of the world is that the locals are always going to root for their teams with nothing less than everything they’ve got.
6. He’s not entirely comfortable with the part of being famous.
Mick has always been about the music as I mentioned above and the whole part of being famous hasn’t ever really appealed to him. For some people it’s the only thing that seems to matter while for others it’s quite as comfortable a sensation. Some folks love what they do but don’t need the constant gratification of people telling them how great they are.
5. One of his biggest influences was Aretha Franklin.
He spent a lot of his career trying to hit the same notes that she could and it would seem that he did alright since he made quite a show of it. But it’s not hard to see why just about anyone would look to Aretha for inspiration, the woman was outstanding on stage and had a voice that could stop anyone in their tracks.
4. He’s a very big fan of The Clash.
Even those that have had their own career and hit some particularly high points in their lives have their favorites and they’re usually not shy about stating who it is. After all, even movie stars tend to say that they enjoy watching other stars.
3. Mick isn’t a big fan of 80s music.
He kind of thinks that everything went to hell at that point since the outfits, the hairstyles, and the music itself was being built up to a level that couldn’t be sustained. He’s not entirely wrong but there are some moments in the 80s that seem remembering.
2. He paid for the cost of his own music and the marketing.
This seems to be how it goes in the music industry since no one wants to pay for their own production and then learn that someone else owns it. That might be how it goes in some parts of the world but Mick made sure that he was in control of his career.
1. His views on the fame that people cling to isn’t negative but it’s not blissful either.
In a way he’s not entirely supportive of the fact that people have embraced fame more than the talent that made them famous and it’s hard to argue with that.
He’s definitely got an interesting opinion on things.
