Mick Hucknall feels free without group

Mick Hucknall feels he has been "set free" now Simply Red are splitting up.

The 'Something Got Me Started' hitmaker is about to embark on new projects after 25 years with the group and feels less pressured to create songs that make popular radio hits.

He said: "I don't want to be a slave to commercial success anymore. I've been set free. I can do whatever I want now.

"We had hits and I liked it. All big bands encounter these problems - it's the seduction of mass relation. But I've walked away, I don't want to fight any more.

"None of it matters. I just want to write songs in my little corner. And I still love music, I've not been worn down by cynicism."

Mick also admitted he felt uncomfortable with the way he was pushed forward as the figurehead of the group while his bandmates - who have been replaced multiple times throughout the singer's career - were left out of the spotlight.

He insisted: "I fought that every single time. I began to feel alienated from the band and they felt left out. Then I feel like I'm letting them down."