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Michael James Hucknall (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 enjoyed a 25-year career and sold over 50 million albums. Hucknall was described by Australian music magazine Rhythms as "one of the truly great blue-eyed soul singers", while Q credited him with "the most prodigious voice this side of Motown". Hucknall, born at Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester, on 8 June 1960, 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 by his father, Reginald (1935–2009), a barber in Stockport. 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". He attended Audenshaw School, 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. 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. As of a 2008 interview, he had only seen her twice since she left. He is of Irish ancestry from his mother, whose father was from County Offaly, along with his paternal grandmother. His maternal grandmother was Jewish. Hucknall was among the people present at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in June 1976 where the Sex Pistols were playing. 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. Hucknall is also one of the founders and financial backers of the reggae label Blood and Fire. He also manages the record label simplyred.com. In October 2007, on David Jensen's show on the Gold network, he announced Simply Red would split in 2009. In 2008, he released his first solo album Tribute to Bobby, a tribute to the blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland. 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. In October 2012, he released American Soul, a collection of his favourite music re-recorded with his vocals. ... Source: Article "Mick Hucknall" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.