Simply Red: Remember Them?

We’re throwing it back to 1986, when a band from Manchester, England, hit No. 1 in the U.S. with a song that flopped everywhere else!

Simply Red’s hit song “Holding Back the Years” was first released in 1985, but didn’t do much. The band re-released the song the following year and it zoomed up the charts in the U.S., the UK, and across Europe.

The band was led by singer and songwriter Mike Hucknall, who is celebrating his 66th birthday today and is the only remaining original member of the band.

In 1987, Simply Red had another song on the U.S. charts with “The Right Thing.”

But it was in 1989 that the band would have their biggest hit song, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” which was their second No. 1 in the U.S.

Simply Red kind of fizzled after that – with band members stepping away and Hucknall hiring others to step in. The band officially retired in 2010 after a farewell tour, but got together again in 2015.

Simply Red has been making music ever since. They did a 40th Anniversary World Tour last year and a film capturing their performance in Chile is available on DVD later this month!

Happy 66th birthday to Mike Hucknall and here’s some Simply Red Throwback favorites!