Michael James Hucknall 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".

Simply Red is a English soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The band are led by singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. They have released thirteen studio albums, spanning from Picture Book (1985) through Time (2023), all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Albums Chart; with the albums A New Flame (1989), Stars (1991), Life (1995) and Blue (1998), along with their Greatest Hits (1996) album, reaching number one. Their 1991 album Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.