MH: Well, I was given a demo of the song and it wasn’t quite right for me, so we did a little work with my co-producer Andy Wright. We changed the lyrics around a little bit and the structure of the song to try and make it more relevant to where I’m sort of at with my own life, because then I think if you do that, again, you get a kind of a sincerity that you can’t really get from an academic way of handling the song. I, in my own personal life, I split up with a girl several years ago that I’d never really got over and then I spent sort of a wild time being a bachelor for about five or six years, going off the rails and living the high life, and I could never get over this person, and I’m happy to say that now I’m back together with this person now. We’ve been living together for about two and a half years and we’re about to have our first child in the end of June. And the song really represents that, I think, you know? It just says that I could never get over this person and I’ve been very lucky enough to be able to get back with the person that was so special to me.
Smitty: That’s a special story for you, man and congratulations on getting back together and the baby as well.
MH: Thank you very much.
Smitty: Absolutely. And I’m very curious about “Money TV.”
MH: Yeah, well I look at the kind of culture that we’re living in, this kind of consumer age, and how in some ways it could be seen that it somehow cheapened our lives in a way, a kind of a 24-hour culture where everything’s available, anything you could want is available, but I just feel that somehow we’re living the life of excess without living the life of taste, and we did this song that’s really about this kind of…just like another song called “The Death of the Cool” and “Little Englander” that are on the tail end of the album. I’m just trying to sort of take a…it’s a take on life, you know? It’s a take on contemporary life that isn’t as rosy as people make out to be, really.
Smitty: Yeah. Once again, I think that’s such a cool thing to express yourself in your music in such a way that we all totally identify. Many of the things that you’re talking about in your music are things that you’ve experienced but we as the audience have experienced as well, so there is that very cool attraction to your music and then your voice just really lays it on so cool.
MH: Well, I’m trying to share that with people. In some ways, I think almost the music in a way has a duty to sort of represent and relate to where we are.
Smitty: Yes.
MH: And good or bad, and of course you want to always keep the message positive and give people a sense of hope. But at the same time you also have to sometimes try and give people a reality check on the way they’re living and just ask a few questions about whether or not you think that’s the right way or the wrong way.
Smitty: Yes, man, I love that, that’s very cool. That’s one of the reasons why I love what you do and what you’ve done over the years with your music because it’s just so all-encompassing. What’s the release date for this great record? April 24, 2007
MH: They’ve got different release dates all over the place. It’s April 24th in North America. It’s already out over here in London.
Smitty: How’s the record doing in London?
MH: Well, we charted at No. 4 and we charted Top 5 in most all of the European countries and on the European chart, where it calculates the average sales throughout Europe, we came in at No. 2.
Smitty: Wow!
MH: So we have the second biggest album in Europe this week, which is pretty good. I’m pretty thrilled by that actually.
Smitty: Yes indeed. And I’m not surprised because we expect that from you. It’s just always good when you release a record.
MH: Well, I never take that for granted because as every year goes by you’ve got people coming in and coming into the music, making music, and in some ways it actually becomes harder to maintain your position than it is actually being something fresh and new. So you have to try and create something fresh and new within your own kind of scene.
Smitty: Very cool, my friend. Well, Mick, I must tell you that I am just totally excited about this new record. Congratulations on the great charting in Europe and London, and we look forward to seeing you in the U.S. and hearing some of this fantastic music live, my friend.
MH: Well, I look forward to coming over. Thank you very much. You’ve been kind.
Smitty: Very cool. We’ve been talking with Mick Hucknall from Simply Red. The great new record is called Stay and you must pick up this record. It’s some fantastic music that you must put in your CD changer. Mick, thanks again, my friend, and much success to you the rest of the year.
MH: You’re very kind. Thank you very much.
Baldwin “Smitty” Smith
For More Information Visit www.simplyred.com and www.myspace.com/simplyred
