Simply Red
Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Pula / Arena / Croatia
Simply Red, the British soul-pop giants, stopped by the ancient Roman amphitheatre — specifically Pula’s Arena — as part of their promotional tour behind the latest studio album “Time”. The stunning venue, renowned for its remarkable acoustics, was sold out.
The band — boasting a shelf full of prestigious awards, over 50 million records sold, and a string of UK Top 10 hits, with “Stars” ranking among the best-selling albums of all time on British soil — arrived in Pula following their reunion in early 2015, with the lineup unchanged save for new keyboardist Gary Sanctuary, whose career résumé includes stints with Michael McDonald, George Benson, Chaka Khan, Maxi Priest, Aztec Camera, Beverley Craven, and Terence Trent D’Arby.
The focus remains, of course, on the magnetic Mick Hucknall — Simply Red without him is simply unimaginable. From the musicians who’ve been with the band since the ’80s, loyal saxophonist Ian Kirkham is still by his side, clocking just a year less service, while refined bassist Steve Lewinson, battle-hardened guitarist Kenji Suzuki, and percussionist/trombonist/trumpeter Kevin Robinson are steadily closing in on three decades with the group. Rounding out the current lineup is drummer Roman Roth, who joined Simply Red when the band reactivated in 2015.
Bottom line — this garrison of fantastic musicians surrounding Hucknall in the band’s mature years delivers a flawless performance of the material onstage. True to past experience. Granite-solid perfection. In the sonic and performance sense, of course. Pula was no different.
But first, a quick word on the support act. As the crowd was still filing into Pula’s Arena, Marina Mårtensson took care of warming things up. The singer-songwriter of Slovenian-Swedish origin — and a member of the current incarnation of the iconic Laibach — presented her material alongside sonic wizard Mario Babojelić. Her consistently intriguing vocal showcase meshed beautifully with the painterly textures of Babojelić’s sound manipulation, delivered mostly through guitar run through synthesizers and various effects that built a one-of-a-kind sonic backdrop. All in all, a genuinely lovely and bold set — even if artistically not the most obvious match for the main stars of the evening.
Simply Red (as expected) opened with the first single from their latest — and frankly excellent — studio album “Time”: the vividly melodic and infectious Better With You. The crowd came alive instantly. Even more so when it was followed by Thrill Me, the first hit single from the “Stars” album.
The band locked in a brilliant sound from the very first note, and it held up without a crack throughout. Hucknall’s vocals: on point as ever. The band: exceptional. The guys helped themselves to some playful flourishes in the instrumental passages and outros, making their jazz chops unmistakably clear — but all eyes stayed on Hucknall and his soul vibe throughout. On the subject of vibes: the energy was fantastic, start to finish. The band moved slickly and professionally through a parade of career-defining hits — Stars, Something Got Me Started, Your Mirror, Come To My Aid — and, of course, the covers that have also lined Hucknall and company’s pockets very nicely over the years: Holding Back The Years, Night Nurse, Ain’t That a Lot of Love, and It’s Only Love Doing Its Thing. Extraordinary arrangement and incredible precision from the band. With the charismatic Hucknall at the helm, of course. Every single moment. And then, closing the main set: Fairground — one of the most celebrated hits in the band’s entire catalogue.
The venue was set up with seats this time around, but the audience didn’t stay seated for long. By the time Night Nurse rolled around, everyone in the floor section was gradually getting to their feet — and that’s how things stayed. In fact, the emotional charge just kept building with every passing minute. When the band launched into Stars, the chemistry between crowd and band hit its peak and didn’t let up until the very last note of Fairground.
Then came the (almost imperceptible) mandatory encore — Money’s Too Tight (To Mention) — and that’s where the band hit a real snag. Right at the very end of the song. In the outro. So quite a few people weren’t sure whether it was some kind of performer’s trick or an actual power cut. Sadly, the latter. The main PA had gone down. Hucknall didn’t hide his frustration — he was seen waving his hand in annoyance as he paced and stomped around the stage, while simultaneously trying to keep the audience patient. Technicians darted from one end of the stage to the other for a good while, trying to figure out what the hell had gone wrong. It took significantly longer than you’d expect. Right at the very last moments of the regular set.
Once the power came back, the band didn’t replay Money’s Too Tight (To Mention), since the whole mishap had happened in the song’s dying seconds. Hucknall had to say something before they carried on. He announced that nothing like this had happened to the band since their New York concert in 1986. Believe that if you will — Mick had to say something to make it right with the crowd. Simply Red quickly got everyone back in the zone during the encore, kicking off with a cover of Tina Turner’s Nutbush City Limits, with Hucknall taking a heartfelt moment at the end to pay tribute to the legendary singer, who had passed away in late May of this year. Then came the finale — in a completely romantic atmosphere. You might have already guessed it. A cover of If You Don’t Know Me By Now, a song originally belonging to Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and one that Simply Red had not yet played live on the summer leg of the 2023 Time tour before this Pula date. A proper heartstring-puller, in other words. A grand finale in which Simply Red once again confirmed their status as one of the most sonically and performatively refined acts of our time.
The whole concert flew by in a flash — though it’s worth noting that with the encore included, the entire thing lasted just an hour and twenty minutes. Simply Red rocked us into a kind of hypnosis with their parade of hits, only briefly disrupted by the PA incident, and in the grand scheme of things that glitch did nothing to diminish the intense feelings left behind by the unique experience of spending an evening with this band, fired up by Friday’s soul-pop heat. And all of it inside the magical Pula Arena.
Text: Edita Klemen & Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Better With You
2. Thrill Me
3. Fake
4. Night Nurse (orig. Gregory Isaacs)
5. Shades 22
6. Holding Back the Years (orig. The Frantic Elevators)
7. It’s Only Love Doing Its Thing (orig. Barry White)
8. Your Mirror
9. Stars
10. Sunrise
11. Just Like You
12. Come to My Aid
13. Ain’t That a Lot of Love (orig. Homer Banks)
14. Thinking of You
15. Something Got Me Started
16. Fairground
—encore—
17. Money’s Too Tight (To Mention) (orig. The Valentine Brothers)
18. Nutbush City Limits (orig. Ike & Tina Turner)
19. If You Don’t Know Me By Now (orig. Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)
