The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Something to get fans started: Simply Red to play Slessor Gardens
PIt’s so good to be able to plan live outdoor music shows again
op superstars Simply Red are to perform in Dundee next summer as part of their 2022 tour, it has been announced.
With more than a billion hits on Youtube, and more than 60 million albums sold worldwide, five reaching No 1 in the UK, singer Mick Hucknall and fellow band members head to Slessor Gardens on Saturday July 23.
The group boast five No 1 albums while their 1991 classic Stars was the bestselling album for two years running in Britain and Europe.
Furthermore, they have had two US Billboard chart toppers with singles Holding Back The Years and If You Don’t Know Me By Now and every Simply Red studio album has been a UK top 10.
As the tour dates were announced, Hucknall said: “I always want to push my voice a little harder, challenge it a little bit, give myself something to really sing to.
“It’s deepened a little bit but I’ve kept the high end, so I can still hit those notes.
“Singing is pure pleasure to me.”
Liz Doogan-hobbs, CEO of tour promoters Grandslam Live Ltd, said fans are in for a treat.
“We are delighted to be returning to work with the team at Slessor Gardens again next year,” she said. “We love the venue. “It’s so good to be able to plan live outdoor music shows again.
“Fans of Simply Red are in for an absolute treat, it’s great Dundee is part of the tour and we hope to see as many of you as possible for an epic weekend of music with the added bonus that Paloma Faith is performing too, the day after, on Sunday July 24.”
News of the Dundee show was warmly welcomed by Mark Flynn, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee.
He said: “With an artist who have the massive global success and longevity that Simply Red do announcing a date in Dundee next summer, it truly shows that Slessor Gardens is well and truly on the map as an outdoor venue in the heart of a lively city.
“I am sure that people from Dundee and beyond will be keen to see and hear them play some of the best recognised and most loved songs in popular music spanning more than 30 years.”
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday from the usual online outlets.