Simply Red. Mick Hucknall. A red-headed white kid from Manchester with a voice that sounded like it was forged in a Memphis church, not a Denton council estate. Holding Back the Years -- written about his mother abandoning him when he was three -- hit #1 in America and stayed in the UK charts for two years. His politics were red (hence the name), his hair was red, and his soul credentials were earned, not borrowed. Stars, Money's Too Tight to Mention, If You Don't Know Me By Now -- the man could sing anything and make you believe it.