Mick Hucknall

Template:Pp-vandalism Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Michael James Hucknall<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he had a 25-year career and sold over 50 million albums. Hucknall was described by the Australian Rhythms Magazine as "one of the truly great blue-eyed soul singers",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Q credited him with "the most prodigious voice this side of Motown".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Early life

Hucknall, born at Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester, on 8 June 1960,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was an only child. His mother abandoned the family when he was three; the upheaval caused by this event inspired him to write "Holding Back the Years", which would become one of Simply Red's biggest and best-known hits. He was brought up in Denton<ref name=telegraph>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> by his father, Reginald (1935–2009),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a barber in Stockport.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> According to Hucknall he had a happy childhood until the age of 10, when he began to clash with his father "because there was no woman to act as referee".<ref name=telegraph />

Hucknall attended Audenshaw School,<ref name="Independent">Template:Cite news</ref> before continuing his education at Tameside College and Manchester Polytechnic's School of Art, where he was a fine art student: whilst at art school he lived in Hulme.<ref name=telegraph /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It would not be until the mid-1990s that he would reconnect with his mother, Maureen, who was by then living in the US city of Dallas.<ref name= "Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref> As of a 2008 interview, he had only seen her twice since she left.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is of Irish ancestry from his mother, whose father was from County Offaly, along with his paternal grandmother.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His maternal grandmother was Jewish.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Music career

Hucknall in 2010

Hucknall was among the people present at the Sex Pistols' Lesser Free Trade Hall performance on 4 June 1976.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His interest in the music scene led to the launch of his career in the late 1970s, when he was part of the band Frantic Elevators. The Frantic Elevators released four singles, including a version of "Holding Back the Years", which he later recorded with Simply Red.

As lead singer and core member of Simply Red, he became the identifiable face of the band. His face and long curly red hair were featured prominently on album artwork and in videos.

In 1997, Hucknall won an Outstanding Achievement award from the Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO Awards) despite being white.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hucknall is one of the founders of the reggae label Blood and Fire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2007, on David Jensen's show on the Gold network, he announced Simply Red would split in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2008, he released his first solo album Tribute to Bobby, a tribute to the blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2009, Hucknall appeared at a charity performance as vocalist for a re-formed version of Faces, replacing Rod Stewart. In October 2011, he was awarded with a BASCA Gold Badge award in recognition of his contribution to music.<ref>Template:Cite web/</ref>

In October 2012, he released American Soul, a collection of his favourite music re-recorded with his vocals.

Political activism and views

Hucknall was active in politics as a prominent celebrity supporter of the Labour Party during the New Labour era. In 1997, he declared his support for the party at that year's general election – which it won by a landslide under the leadership of Tony Blair to return to government after 18 years in opposition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1998, Hucknall was named in a list of those who donated more than £5,000 to the party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2003, Hucknall backed Blair's stance on the Iraq War, stating he had "more respect for Blair than ever" and pointed out that British critics of the war were lucky to be living in a country where they could express their opinions.<ref name= "Guardian"/> Hucknall said in 2008 that his conscience prevented him from donating to the party again because of the war, although he would still vote for them.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Hucknall has been strongly critical of more recent Labour leaders: after the 2015 general election, he said that Ed Miliband "veer(ed) close to Marxism" and that the electorate had acted "with collective wisdom" by defeating Labour in favour of electing a Conservative government, which he described as "the inheritor of the Blairite mantle".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The following year he described Jeremy Corbyn as a "shabby, spineless coward" for what he regarded as an insufficiently strong commitment to the Remain campaign for the 2016 Brexit referendum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hucknall publicly declared he would not vote for Labour ahead of the 2017 general election and 2019 general election, and that he had ended his longstanding support for the party, citing Corbyn's stance on antisemitism. In 2019, he described himself as "politically homeless."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hucknall has said that derogatory references to his red hair are a form of bigotry.<ref>Richard Jinman, 5 July 2003, "Taking the Mick" , Sydney Morning Herald, Template:Webarchive</ref>

Hucknall was a guest on the panel for the BBC's political discussion series Question Time, broadcast on 27 March 2014, and declared his support for same-sex marriage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Hucknall and his wife Gabriella Wesberry married in 2010 at the 16th-century Forter Castle in Glenisla, Perthshire, Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their daughter Romy True Hucknall was born in June 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hucknall spends a considerable amount of time in Ireland, where he purchased the Glenmore Estate near the village of Cloghan, County Donegal, with bandmate Chris De Margary. Hucknall and De Margary are keen fishermen. They operate a fishing and hunting tourism business from the estate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2014, Hucknall settled a hunting and fishing rights lawsuit, ongoing for five years, with a neighbour in Ireland. As the case opened in 2009, Judge O'Hagan had instructed both sides to go away and talk about reaching an agreement or else it would drag on for years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hucknall co-owns Ask Property Development, a company that constructs city squares and public buildings.<ref name="fortune">Template:Cite news</ref>

Hucknall spends time in Catania, Sicily, where he produces wines under the label "Il Cantante" (The Singer).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Football

Hucknall is a football fan and a supporter of Manchester United.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> His song "We're in This Together" was the competition anthem of the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship and he performed it at its opening and closing ceremonies.

Solo discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart positions						Certifications
		UK <ref name="achartsmickhucknall">Mick Hucknall at acharts.us Template:Webarchive acharts.us</ref>	AUT <ref name="achartsmickhucknall"/>	GER <ref name="achartsmickhucknall"/>	IT <ref name="achartsmickhucknall"/>	NL <ref name="achartsmickhucknall"/>	SWI <ref name="achartsmickhucknall"/>
2008	Tribute to Bobby Released: 19 May 2008	18	39	37	25	23	29
2012	American Soul Released: 29 October 2012	6	11	12	22	15	18	Gold (BPI)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions	Album
		UK <ref name="UK-singles">Peak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom: "That's How Strong My Love Is": Template:Cite web</ref>
2008	"Poverty"	—	Tribute to Bobby
	"Farther Up the Road"	—
2011	"Happy This Christmas"	—	Non-album single
2012	"That's How Strong My Love Is"	118	American Soul

Other appearances

In 1986, he provided backup vocals for the musical film Little Shop of Horrors.

Year	Song	Album
1999	"Ain't That a Lot of Love"	Reload (with Simply Red and Tom Jones)
2002	"T-Bone Shuffle"	Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref>
2012	"I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)"	Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra – The Golden Age Of Song

Year	Song	Album
1997	"Someday in my Life"	Leggera (Mina)
2012	"One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)"	Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International
2015	"Streets of Arklow"	Duets: Re-Working The Catalogue (Van Morrison)

See also

• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

External links

• Simply Red official site
• Template:IMDb name