Simply Red, Coop Live. 27th September 2025

It’s part two of my soul weekend tonight, with a gig that might raise some eyebrows. We’re a mile away from noisy guitars, dirty bass or electro madness in Coop Live, with Simply Red. I don’t believe in guilty pleasures, own what you like and I loved early Simply Red. Emphasis on early. This is a 40th anniversary tour though so I’m prepared for a mixed bag. It’s right back to the start as they open with ‘Sad Old Red’ and ‘Jerico’ from Picture Book. It’s easy listening smokey lounge jazz, although ‘Jerico’ has more bounce. The question really though, is the voice still there? You bet it is! This was always the strength of Simply Red, Hucknall sounds fantastic and the lad with the sax is no slouch either. ‘Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)’ is one of many covers tonight, but this one was the breakout hit and it still packs a punch, as thousands of people rise to their feet and were off! ‘The Right Thing’ follows, there’s real power in that voice the band are tight, controlled and already having fun. So is Hucknall, clearly loving the adulation, that ego hasn’t diminished. There’s some lyrical dexterity in this and he makes it sound effortless. The bar now pretty high, it’s ‘A New Flame’s turn to keep it up, which it does well. This is a much different song to anything else in the set, more layered and complex, it’s still buttery smooth though. We get little stories between songs, although the stories do run dry later in the set. Make of that what you will, but Barry White quite rightly gets a shout before ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’. We’re in full on singalong territory now and the band are hitting their stride. ‘You’ve Got It’ is a lovely song, but it’s a slow ballad and everyone sits back down, which does feel a bit like a snub. It’s here I’ll acknowledge this is a nostalgia trip. A New Flame was in my tape deck a lot as a 10 year old. It reminds me of car trips with my parents. You’d play one side of the tape, flip over to side B and depending how long the journey was, back to A. These songs are drilled into me. Keeping with this album, ‘Enough’ is next and packs a little more venom, still in the nicest soulful way of course. The verses tease as they hold back the chorus, before it’s finally unleashed as Hucknall works the stage. After the band gets introduced, it’s another cover with ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’. Cue mass singing, swaying arms, phones out, lights on. Cheesy as it is, it’s rather beautiful. We’re still largely going chronologically as we move into the Stars album. This is where I start to struggle. ‘For Your Babies’ and ‘Stars’ do sound good, it’s schmaltz pop but I quite enjoy it. A cold fear is rising though. ‘Thrill Me’ keeps my hopes up, maybe my favourite from the album, although I’ve not listened to the whole thing in years. It’s sultry and sexy and Hucknall takes his jacket off. This does nothing for me, but there’s a large percentage of ladies in here that appear to love it. I knew there was a danger when I bought the ticket, but what follows for the next seven or eight songs is a slog. Granted I’ve not heard a few of them before, but they’re all pretty dull. Safe chill out acoustic pop, mediocre disco, pedestrian stuff and sometimes bordering on pub karaoke. It’s not that the band are bad, or that Hucknall doesn’t  sound good, the songs are just drab. I’m obviously not the only one feeling this, I see pockets of people stood still or sat down (I’m thankful for my seat), but the majority it’s fair to say seem to enjoy it. By the time they wrap up with ‘Fairground’ I’m yawning. I always hated this song. I’d just forgotten how much until tonight. After enduring this, I’m looking forward to the encore. They’re not daft. They know they need a big finish and there’s nothing in the later catalogue to do it. ‘Something Got Me Started’ is what we need. Funk and soul smashed together, the guitars jangle the horns blare. It’s got bounce, swagger and power. The difference between this and what we’ve just endured is remarkable. ’Holding Back The Years’ closes. Not a natural closer perhaps, in that it’s not a banger but again this has real power. They sound magnificent, a reminder that at their best they are fantastic. So it was the mixed bag I was prepared for, but the first hour and the finale were more than enough to make this worth while.