"Never Never Love" is a song by British soul and pop band

Simply Red Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...

. Written by frontman

Mick Hucknall Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year caree ...

, it was featured on their fifth album, ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (1996), and reached number 18 on the UK chart when released in February 1996 by

EastWest East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

. The song additionally peaked at number seven in Hungary and number 26 in Iceland. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, it reached number 93 in March 1996.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote, "

continues to be one of the more reliable sources for old-school

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

that is more than a retread of familiar ideas." He explained that "as evident on this breezy number"

Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...

"aims to deconstruct the ideas triggered by his favorite old records with fresh new ones. Topped by winding organ lines and fuzzy

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

guitar licks, the song mines a groove that snugly fits between jeep youth and classic

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

—with just a touch of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

to keep you alert." Kevin Courtney from ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' complimented it as a "sweet soul ballad". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' declared it as a "mid-tempo soulful tune", while '' Newcastle Journal'' described it as a "beautiful slow

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

". In a retrospective review, Pop Rescue remarked, "This is a nice warm, chilled out track, complete with 'la la la-la la' vocal intro. Mick's vocals suit the bass and beats on this track." David Gaskey from ''

The Rice Thresher ''The Rice Thresher'' is the weekly student newspaper of Rice University in Houston, Texas. It was first published in 1916. It has an estimated circulation of 3,000 and is distributed throughout the university and its surrounding areas. The ' ...

'' called it "

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

", which "poses the powerful question, ''So now we've got our independence, what are we gonna do with it?''".

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Never Never Love" features British actresses

Billie Whitelaw Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was als ...

Rula Lenska Rula Lenska (born Roza Maria Leopoldyna Lubienski 30 September 1947) is an English actress. She mainly appears in British stage and television productions and is known in the United States for a series of television advertisements in the 1970s ...

and

Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English actress. In a career spanning six decades, she has a wide number of credits to her name on film, television, stage and radio in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Beacham beg ...

Track listings

* EW029CD1 # "Never Never Love" (7-inch Radio Mix) (4:05) # "

Fairground Fairground most typically refers to a permanent space that hosts fairs. Fairground, Fairgrounds, Fair Ground or Fair Grounds may also refer to: Places Canada * Fairground, Ontario, a community United States * Fairground, St. Louis, a neighbo ...

" (Live) (5:45) # "You Make Me Believe" (Merv's Amazon Mix) (4:47) # "Groovy Situation" (Live) (4:57) * EW029CD2 # "Never Never Love" (Too Precious 7-inch Mix) (4:17) # "Never Never Love" (

DJ Muggs Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968) professionally known as DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He has been a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope to Die and the leader of h ...

Master Mix) (3:51) # "Never Never Love" (DJ Muggs Instrumental Mix) (3:50) # "Never Never Love" (Grooving With the Angels Mix) (4:38) # "Never Never Love" (US R & B Mix) (4:18) * EW029C cassette # "Never Never Love" (Too Precious 7-inch Mix) (4:05) # "Never Never Love" (7-inch Radio Edit) (4:07)

Charts

References

1995 songs 1996 singles East West Records singles Simply Red songs Songs written by Mick Hucknall {{1990s-pop-song-stub