Holding Back the Years

"Holding Back the Years"
Single by Simply Red
from the album Picture Book
B-side	"Drowning in My Own Tears" / "I Won't Feel Bad"
Released	1985
Genre	Pop rock, blue-eyed soul
Length	4:07
Label	WEA Elektra
Writer(s)	Mick Hucknall, Neil Moss
Producer(s)	Stewart Levine
Simply Red singles chronology
"Come to My Aid" (1985) "Holding Back the Years" (1985) "Jericho" (1986)
"Jericho" (1986) "Holding Back the Years" (re-release) (1986) "Open Up the Red Box" (1986) Picture Book track listing "Money's Too Tight to Mention" (6) "Holding Back the Years" (7) "(Open Up) The Red Box" (8)

"Holding Back the Years" is the 7th track of Simply Red's debut studio album Picture Book (1985). It remains their most successful single, having reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the UK Singles Chart. It is one of two Simply Red songs (the other being their cover of "If You Don't Know Me by Now") to reach #1 in the US. "Holding Back the Years" had initially been released in the UK the year before, reaching #51. The song was nominated in the category of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background

Frontman of the group, Mick Hucknall, wrote the song when he was 17, while living at his father's house. The chorus did not come to him until many years later.^[1] His mother left the family when he was three; the upheaval caused by this event inspired him to write the song.^[2] The music was co-written with Neil Moss, a member of Hucknall's first group, the Frantic Elevators.^[3]

He recorded a chorus-less version of the song with the Frantic Elevators in 1982, but the real success came when the Simply Red version was released in 1985. In 2005, a brand-new stripped down acoustic version of the song was released on the album Simplified.

References

1. Holden, Stephen (11 March 1987). "Simply Red's 2D Album Blends Funk with Ballads". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
2. Davies, Hugh (19 June 2001). "Simply Red star cleared after arrest for rape". The Daily Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 11 October 2008.
3. "Holding Back The Years". simplyred.com. Retrieved 7 September 2014.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics