Simply Red will release their first album in eight years in June.
Mick Hucknall
The band has announced a new album 'Big Love' to coincide with their world tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary, which they announced last autumn.
Frontman Mick Hucknall has revealed the album - which will be the first to feature only original songs since 1995's 'Life' - came about after he started to wonder how the band were going to sound on tour.
After getting a concept for Simply Red's live sound in his head he then got inspired to start writing and then he couldn't stop penning tracks.
The 'Holding Back the Years' singer said: "Once I began wondering how Simply Red were going to sound, I started writing songs."
While he hasn't worked with Steve Lewinson, Kenju Suuki, Kevin Robinson, Dave Clayton and Ronnie Roth for eight years, the break has meant that Mick now has a much clearer appreciation for Simply Red's legacy.
He admitted that the reason it has been so long since a completely original album is because he'd been "fighting" the idea of Simply Red's sound, but is now "comfortable with the band being a "blue-eyed soul group".
Mick, 54, said: "With (Simply Red's 2007 album) 'Stay' I was running away from Simply Red. But now I'm comfortable with the notion of us as a blue-eyed soul group. I had to stop myself fighting that idea. Our sound is original too. I honestly don't know of another band that has pulled so many musical strands together."
'Big Love' will be released on June 1.
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