IT'S NOT LIKE IT WAS IN MY DAY

We're sure that when Mick Hucknall laments the state of the modern music industry, it's genuine:

"The nurturing spirit that was inherent in the music industry when I first joined has gone

"Look at the biggest band in the world, U2. They had time to develop their sound, but these days Bono and the boys wouldn't get past their second album.

"The idea of letting a band develop is no longer economically viable in the eyes of the industry. They sell it like soap powder on the TV - and you're going to pay the price for that culturally in the long run.

"I find what's called culture now is derivative of the 1960s and 1980s and, as a music lover, I want more than that. It's not all doom and gloom but I think everything is a bit of a cliché."

Of course, there was never anything in any way derivative in Simply Red's music, with its Motown covers and all. And we're sure that really irks Mick about modern music isn't that, well, there's not much place for him in it. Indeed, he might be expected to embrace the love of the 80s in the current music scene - after all, he sold a few records back then.

music mick hucknall simply red