By late-1995, a decade into their chart careers, were Mick Hucknall and Simply Red overdue a massive, chart-topping hit, or would it be better for all if this had never happened…?
Fairground, by Simply Red (their 1st and only #1)
4 weeks, from 24th September – 22nd October 1995
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of, or much of an expert in, Simply Red’s music. It’s always seemed a little too glossy, a little too smooth… Blue-eyed soul in its slickest form. But the verses here are not what you might expect, from Simply Red or indeed from any number one single. There’s a hypnotic samba beat, trippy flutes, and Hucknall trilling about pleasure at the fairground, almost freestyling. It’s odd, slightly haunting; but captivatingly so.
And then comes the chorus, the most famous chorus of the band’s long career, and it’s such a sledgehammer that it obliterates the rest of the song. The subtle verses are overwhelmed by Mick Hucknall belting out the And I love the thought of coming home to you…! line. An ear-catching piece of music for sure, and in the moment you can hear why this record went on to become their biggest hit. Certain songs have moments where you can pinpoint exactly why they become huge smashes, and this is one.
It was the lead-single from Simply Red’s fifth album, and was so highly anticipated that it crashed straight in at #1, with weekly sales beaten only by 1995 juggernauts Blur, Take That, and, of course, Robson & Jerome. What’s interesting is that the distinctive samba drumbeat that forms the backbone to ‘Fairground’ had featured in the UK Top 5 less than two years before, it being a sample of the largely instrumental ‘Give It Up’, by The Good Men.
Another reason I’ve long been suspicious of Simply Red’s music, aside from the glossiness, and the reliance on overwrought covers of soul classics, is Mick Hucknall himself. Pop music’s most famous ginge (until you-know-who came along) was someone that I, as a fellow ginger, felt a little embarrassed by. Growing up, it was either him, or Chris Evans, and neither did much for our reputation. Take the ‘Fairground’ video as an example: the shades, the awkward dancing… And yet it did him no harm. He claims to have slept with a thousand women, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Helena Christensen. Maybe I should be embracing him, then, as there are shockingly few ginger sex symbols…? My conflict is encapsulated in the fact that his band name may be a reference to his hair colour (cool! represent!), or to the fact that he’s a Manchester Utd fan (aw, man…)
I mentioned the video to ‘Fairground’ a moment ago, and watching it back just now I was hit by a huge wave of nostalgia. Hucknall larking around Blackpool Pleasure Beach… For a moment I was in my family living room, post-dinner, curtains drawn, on our old brown sofa watching Top of the Pops. A memory I didn’t even know I had before writing this post. I expect even more Proustian reactions to coming number ones, as we march on through my childhood.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
Hearing Holding Back The Years immediately takes me back to the summer of 1986. I had been accepted to begin nurse training in September and so hadn’t renewed my temporary contract with my previous job when it expired at Easter. I was 20, still living at home, and being unemployed and with no responsibilities the summer knowing it was just a temporary situation made it the best summer I d ever had. Looking back, through the rose coloured glasses of nostalgia, it probably still is and for some reason that song , and I can’t wait by Nu Shooz were it’s soundtrack. Consequently, I’ve always liked Mick and co and seen them in concert several times. Add them to Dusty, Quo and Eurythmics as artists who really should be represented on this list more than once
You can’t compete with nostalgia! I’m almost at the point when I’ll be getting nostalgic about the most awful number ones (not that ‘Fairground’ is at all awful). I’m not their biggest fan, but Mick Hucknall’s longevity has to be admired.
I really liked Simply Red’s 1985 debut album “Picture Book”. That said, I haven’t listened to it for more than 30 years. I also think their cover of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” is great. The latest song I remember is “Stars” from the early ’90s, which was okay but not great. By comparison, I find “Fairground” rather underwhelming.
Not being a huge expert on their work, I think Fairground might be one of my favourites… Sometimes I find them a little too slick and soulless…
Not my kind of song really but do you know when I really started to really respect him? I never paid attention much to him until he filled in for a sick Rod Stewart with The Faces…I thought…hey that is the guy from Simply Red…he can sing really well.
Great voice and I like some of their stuff…but not this one as much.
Yeah he can definitely sing. He’s a sort of figure of ridicule in a way, which is harsh. We gingers have it hard! : )
I’m glad you brought this up. I wanted to ask. I’ve noticed in Docter Who that I used to watch…he is always sad he is not ginger….and in shows over there…they make a big deal of being “ginger.” We just call people red headed or you’re a red head…thats it. I had a friend who had red hair…it was no biggie. It seems like over there…it’s a thing that is talked about.
Yeah I dunno why Britain has such a vendetta against red heads! It’s better nowadays, I think… At school I got, not bullied really, but picked on sometimes for my red hair. ‘Copper top’, ‘ginger nuts’… lol. I used to complain that it was just a form of racism… It’s obviously nothing like as bad, really, but it was still annoying. Interesting that it’s less of a thing in the US.
Guys have nicknames…”red” or something like that but it is an enduring term here…not bad. Kids are the cruelist…no doubt about that. No filter.
I just noticed there…it’s not enduring like “do gingers have a soul?” I was like WTF?
Looking into it now… and I wish I hadn’t… apparently gingers have been persecuted since Egyptian times! Anyway, I moved to Asia, and my hair is sexy and exotic here : )
LOL…good for you! I never knew that.
well as a blonde/ginger/mousey/grey combo not just on my head (from birth to these days) I think blonde and ginger should stick together if not least from getting sunburn after 20 minutes outside on a sunny day! 🙂 Mick has had a rough time mostly due to the insane success of the Stars album, which everyone got fed up of hearing, but prior to that he’d been an 80’s lefty socialist (more likely why the name is Simply Red) not least (ironically) Money’s Too Tight To Mention – and to be fair he still is a lefty. I tend to find his soul covers a bit dull, but he does more interesting more unusual covers too and comes up with the odd gem along the way (still pretty good). Fairground is one of 2 brilliant uses of samples, Fairground is an exciting rousing life-affirming track and his greatest moment on record. Some people dont like it, but they’re wrong! Love it. Also rate his Hall & Oates sampling Sunrise, for similar reasons.
As for his shagging about, those of us single folk who didnt get to become pop stars can only look on and say “ehhh, I can’t talk either” even if one of us punches above our weight (and it’s not me) 🙂 I really would have loved to see The Faces, with or without Rod, but kudos to Mick for stepping in…
Enjoyed this blog, and quite liked Simply Red’s early soul covers, you may be aware that a redhead in Australia is known either as a ranga or bluey- both terms can be traced back the inference that redheads are short-tempered, hence looking for a “blue” or are easily enraged.
Thanks for commenting, and the compliments! I’d never heard any of those terms… ‘Bluey’ meaning ‘red haired’ seems deliberately obtuse! : )