Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) 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".Hucknall, born at
Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester, on 8 June 1960, was an only child.
His mother abandoned the family when he was three; the upheaval caused
by this event inspired him to write "Holding Back the Years", which
would become one of Simply Red's biggest and best-known hits. He was
brought up in Denton by his father, Reginald (1935â€"2009), a barber
in Stockport. According to Hucknall he had a happy childhood until the
age of 10, when he began to clash with his father "because there was
no woman to act as referee". He attended Audenshaw School, before
continuing his education at Tameside College and Manchester
Polytechnic's School of Art, where he was a fine art student: whilst
at art school he lived in Hulme. It would not be until the mid-1990s
that he would reconnect with his mother, Maureen, who was by then
living in the US city of Dallas. As of a 2008 interview, he had only
seen her twice since she left. He is of Irish ancestry from his
mother, whose father was from County Offaly, along with his paternal
grandmother. His maternal grandmother was Jewish.Hucknall was among
the people present at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in June
1976 where the Sex Pistols were playing. His interest in the music
scene led to the launch of his career in the late 1970s, when he was
part of the band Frantic Elevators. The Frantic Elevators released
four singles, including a version of "Holding Back the Years", which
he later recorded with Simply Red. Mick Hucknall Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter