Today (June 8, 2009) is the 49^th birthday of singer Mick Hucknall who is best known as the lead singer of the band Simply Red. The band took that name because of the color of Hucknall's hair. The band's first hit song came from the 1985 album Picture Book. It is reported that Hucknall wrote this song when he was just 17 years old and it would hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 about nine years later (July 1986). This song is "Holding Back The Years" and after you listen to it, you will understand why it ranked on my popular list of Most Heartbreaking Songs of the 80s. So to celebrate their lead singer's birthday, this week's first Flashback Video is "Holding Back The Years" by Simply Red...

I am also a big fan of their 1989 remake of the song "If You Don't Know Me By Now" originally released in 1972 by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Simply Red's version hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of 1989. So, in further celebration of Mick Hucknall's birthday, this week's second Flashback Video is "If You Don't Know My By Now" by Simply Red...

The band has continued to make new music with a studio album released as recently as 2007 and a greatest hits album released in 2008. Mick Hucknall announced that the band were due to split in 2010, after a farewell tour starting this year (in early 2009 and ending in 2010). Hucknall released his first solo album, Tribute to Bobby, back in May of 2008. For me, I will always remember them for those hits from the 80s.

That wraps up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.