Simply Red are an English pop band from Manchester. Their style draws influences from pop, rock, jazz, lovers rock or soft rock and blue-eyed soul. Over time, the name "Simply Red" has come to refer less to a specific group of musicians, and is widely regarded as a name for Mick Hucknall's recordings.

In 1986 the band re-recorded a song that the Frantic Elevators had recorded earlier, "Holding Back the Years", in a more accessible pop style, which was this time a major hit, peaking at #1 in Ireland, #2 in Great Britain, #3 in the Netherlands, #20 in Italy and later #1 in the United States, establishing Simply Red as a household name. The song remains one of the band's most recognized work. The album began to sell more copies, and became an international hit album.