We're celebrating 30-years since Simply Red released Stars in September 1991. Stars wasn't just the biggest selling album of the band's career, in their UK homeland, it was the best-selling album of the year for both 1991 and 1992.
Not many albums can boast the honour of going platinum 12 times over! But, with no less than five top-40 singles released from the LP – Something Got Me Started, For Your Babies, Thrill Me, Your Mirror, Freedom and the title track – Stars has easily become one of the UK’s most iconic albums.
In January 1992, Simply Red set off on a massive world tour in support of the album. The tour lasted 14 months, taking in 131 shows, the band performed to over 1.5 million people in all. Watch some highlights below.
Simply Red | Stars [Live In Hamburg, 1992]
Simply Red | Something Got Me Started [Live In Hamburg, 1992]
Simply Red | Freedom [Live In Hamburg, 1992]
Surprisingly, the astronomical success of Stars success wasn’t mirrored over the pond in the United States, but singer Mick Hucknall wasn’t the only one left wondering why.
“I remember Elton John saying to me that he couldn't believe that Stars didn't go in America,” Hucknall told Rhino in a 2015 interview. “He just couldn't believe it, and he actually had sympathy for it. And when you get an artist of his stature noticing something like that, that really makes it worse! You just think, ‘Wow…’ So, yeah, that was effectively the suicide note, when that didn't go. You know, with America, you're always talking about it like it's in terms of an autopsy! But we still managed to carve out about 60 million album sales in the rest of the world, so we've managed to have a fantastic career.”
READ MORE: Simply Red’s Biggest Hits in Australia
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