It's 20 years since Manchester's Simply Red released their debut single Money's Too Tight to Mention, during which time leftist politics has made way for love lyrics and their white soul sound has sold out

stadiums the world over.

Now they're touring the UK in support of a new Latino-influenced album, while November 14 will see the release of a DVD recorded live in Cuba.

Frontman Mick Hucknall, middle-aged but still in possesion of that curly red mop, tells us about two decades spent holding back the years.

On the new album, Simplified
"It's almost like the album is in two parts - you've got this acoustic, orchestral side and then all of a sudden it kicks off into this kind of Latino album.

"We're living in this wonderful world of such variations and apparent globalisation so of course the boy from Manchester can be influenced by Latino music. Why on earth not?

"I think the only way anybody would not really appreciate this album is if they have a problem with me personally.

If your ears are liberated then there's some music on this record that is just astounding. I'm naturally a commercial artist, it's in my nature to want to make communicative music - to make friendly music that attracts people."

On 20 years in the business
"I've had God knows how many hits - I don't even know how many I've had.

When you start to realise that some people are getting a little bit tired in their approach - then it's time to move people on and bring new, fresh blood in.

"That's been one of the keys to the longevity of Simply Red and what's made it work.

"I'm also reaching a time in my career where my voice is at its absolute peak - it's much deeper and enriched. On the original of Holding Back The Years I sound like I'm about seven years old.

I think your voice just physically tends to peak around the age of 45."

On the state of the charts
"I think there's been a sort of homogenisation of music since Take That. People hit on this formula of having four or five cute boys - and if they're not cute then they have to be enormously fat or really extreme in some other way.

"With everything being televisionbased, it's too much about them dancing or being cute. Go and ask John Lennon or Bob Dylan to dance - we'd laugh, wouldn't we?"

"A lot of the established acts which I'm listening to now, the apparent worldbeaters, I find very lazy melodically.

Rufus Wainwright is kind of interesting but it sounds a bit like the West End."

On being misunderstood
"It's such a shame that in media terms the musical process always has to be seen in a certain way. So in terms of, for example, giving us a Brit Award, they'll go, 'Well, is it a solo artist or is it a band? Come on, which one is it?' And you go, 'Well, it's not actually either of those categories, you're going to have to invent a category for Simply Red'.

"The music which has influenced me has come from another era, from the times of say Miles Davies or Duke Ellington, where you were a band leader, and I still don't think people have got quite a grip on what that is.

It's almost like I'm in the wrong era - I should be in the Fifites, then they'd understand."

Starts at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £35, call 0870 9009100.