Still Hungry: Simply Red’s Timeless Fire After 40 Years
When a legend celebrates four decades on stage, you expect nostalgia – but Simply Red’s anniversary concert at Copenhagen’s Royal Arena proves there’s so much more. With Mick Hucknall’s voice as powerful and distinctive as ever, the band delivers an evening where every note carries the weight of 40 years of passion, yet feels as urgent and alive as if performed for the first time. This is not a greatest hits parade on autopilot – this is an artist still hungry to connect, to move, and to prove that great songs never age.
Just seconds before the first note, a short video clip is shown on the back wall – with a very young Mick Hucknall from somewhere in the early 80s saying: ‘I want to be a singer. The greatest singer’. … And there he is, live on stage, 65 years old, celebrating 40 years with Simply Red – and still hungry for more. Much more. His artistic superpower is no secret – 40 years or not, an almost overwhelming lot of his old songs are sung with a captivating desperation, as if this will be his last chance to sing them.
First and foremost, he puts a very intense energy into the quite moving “You Make Me Feel Brand New”, originally a hit for The Stylistics. And that’s exactly what Mick Hucknall is capable of: coloring each and every song in his own, very personal style, thanks to great presence and nerve and a very distinct voice that seems to have changed very little – if at all – during these 40 years, filled with strong songs with permanent value all the way from the first single, “Money’s Too Tight To Mention”.
“Say You Love Me” has never sounded so smooth, and “Only Love” is a nice nod to Barry White, while other songs are used to celebrate great Motown songwriters. The order of the songs is strictly chronological, so sooner or later (after an hour) you end up with another tight and playful version of “Stars”, a very significant part of the soundtrack for 1991. Imagine the deeply touching sound of at least 17,000 people eagerly yelling, “Can’t you see that I-I-I-I-I wanna fall from the stars straight into your arms”.
This is nostalgia being taken seriously by a playful (and thankful) singer and a very tight band with a lot of space for solos for saxophone and piano. Every song is “spoiled” in the best possible way, thanks to a lot of details and no rush whatsoever. Among the many highlights is a very smooth and jazzy intro with “Sad Old Red” and “Jericho” from the first album – a very fine example that it is possible to create the intense feeling of intimate night club jazz in front of an audience of 17,000 people.
After a very short intermission, Hucknall and band sum up the evening with yet another three songs, among others, a tough and funky version of “Something Got Me Started”. Something got Mick Hucknall started – and he is nowhere near the end. Only one funny little detail: He seems so occupied by singing – and being a part of every song – that he sometimes forgets to activate people and lead them into more direct participation. We are ready to be activated at least twice as much!
