Simply Red to stage Princes Street Gardens show at Summer Sessions
Soul stars Simply Red will be staging an open-air concert in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens during the Fringe this summer.
The multi award-winning band, one of Britain’s most successful groups in the 1980s and 1990s, have been added to the line-up of the Summer Sessions festival.
The event, which was launched in 2018, will return to the Ross Bandstand for the first time in three years in August.
The run of 6000-capacity shows is expected to be worth more than £5.5 million to the economy.
Lionel Richie, Michael Kiwanuka, Tom Jones, Simple Minds and Travis - who were all due to appear in 2020 - will all be performing during the event, which will coincide with the first full week of the Fringe. The rescheduled dates for the festival have been confirmed weeks after organisers of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo revealed plans to return with a revamped show in August.
Basement Jaxx will be headlining Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival with a show at the Ross Bandstand.
More than 47,000 fans flocked to shows by the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Primal Scream, Chvrches and Madness when the Edinburgh Summer Sessions were last held in 2019, with 36 per cent of tickets snapped up by local music fans.
Formed in 1985, Simply Red have since notched up 10 top10 singles and five No 1 albums, including Picture Book, A New Flame and Stars.
An official announcement about the latest addition to the Summer Sessions line-up states: “With over 50 million albums sold worldwide, Simply Red are the true champions of blue-eyed soul.
"Singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was described by Q magazine as having ‘the most prodigious voice this side of Motown’ and there is no denying the emotion he conveys in his captivating performances.
The week-long Summer Sessions festival will get underway on 7 August. Tickets on general sale on
Friday.