Men and Women by Simply Red

Men and Women, Simply Red's second album, arrived in 1987, and the Manchester band sound like they're settling into the good suits. Alex Sadkin produced, and Mick Hucknall, the singer and songwriter running the show, croons and wails over a band that knows how to keep things supple: Tony Bowers on bass, Chris Joyce on drums, Fritz McIntyre on keyboards, with Tim Kellett's trumpet and Ian Kirkham's sax adding the late-night gleam.

Five singles came off it, with "The Right Thing" leading the charge, then "Infidelity" and "Maybe Someday...", which became the first Simply Red single to stall outside the British top 75. They bounced back with a cover of Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye". The last single, "I Won't Feel Bad", was an oddity: the 1985 B-side of "Holding Back the Years", produced by Stewart Levine and never recut, yet it carries Sadkin's name in the credits.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.