SIMPLY RED

SSE HYDRO, GLASGOW

4 STARS

GRAEME THOMSON

After singing Home in the manner of a rather weather-beaten nightingale, Simply Red main man Mick Hucknall made a crack about stereotypical notions of Scottish tightfistedness. “I know you lot like value for money,” he winked, by way of explaining why we were getting not one Simply Red show but two.

The first featured a varied selection from their 30-year career, including covers of Neil Young’s Mellow My Mind, The Hollies’ Air That I Breathe and a terrific version of Talking Heads’ Heaven which started at CBGB and ended at Muscle Shoals. The second was a full performance of their multi-platinum 1991 album, Stars, expertly reproducing its polished pop-soul, polite reggae and Home Counties jazz. The hits – Something Got Me Started, Stars, a lovely For Your Babies – glistened, while the funky Freedom and She’s Got It Bad were surprisingly meaty. A montage of Thatcher-era images accompanied the bitter-sweet Wonderland. Not for the first time in these parts the Iron Lady provoked a chorus of derision, in contrast to the cascade of cheers which accompanied the rest of a solid, satisfying two-hour performance.

The songs held up well and the six-piece band were immaculate, but it was Hucknall’s flawless vocals which stole the show, moving from liquid gold to fervently throaty on demand. And while Simply Red’s slick champagne-soul has always been served with plenty of cheese, these days the singer shares the joke, his easy humour and mock-sexy clowning recalling the knowing showmanship of Rod Stewart. He ended with a joyous Fairground, followed by a tender rendition of Cole Porter’s Every Time We Say Goodbye. Value for money? And then some.