Rumer Announced As Special Guest For Simply Red 40th Anniversary 2025 UK Arena Tour

15 years since she first stormed the UK charts with her debut release, Rumer is confirmed as special guest across Simply Red’s 2025 UK & Ireland Arena Tour (across all dates other than London – where very special guests are Soul II Soul).

Hailed as one of the most successful live bands to ever come out of the UK, legendary soul and pop band Simply Red* today announce that Rumer** has been confirmed as their special guest across their forthcoming 40^th Anniversary 2025 UK & Ireland Arena Tour next Autumn; Rumer will perform across all dates other than the final x3 London performances where  Soul II Soul*** will be Simply Red’s very special guests on 9 & 10 October at London’s O2 Arena, and 11 October OVO Wembley Arena.

It’s been 15 years since Rumer’s debut album ‘Seasons Of My Soul’ went Top3 in the UK charts, with her effortless, velvety-smooth vocals.  Rumer is globally renowned for her orchestral pop that harks back to the early-’70s easy listening sounds of Karen Carpenter and Carole King.  Rumer will be Simply Red’s very special guest for the lion’s-share of the UK and Ireland tour, passing the baton over to the Funki-Dreds, Soul II Soul, for the final x3 London dates.

“We’re very excited that Rumer will be joining us as our special guest for the majority of the UK and Ireland tour.  We’ll be celebrating our music over the past 40 years, and Rumer is the perfect addition to those celebrations,” comments Mick Hucknall. “Fans can expect to hear all their favourite Simply Red tracks from 1985 to the present, and enjoy a memorable night celebrating the incredible journey that we’ve been on together over the past four decades.”

Few bands have enjoyed the success and longevity of Simply Red. With over 60 million albums sold worldwide, five UK #1 albums, 2 billion streams across streaming platforms worldwide, and over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, Simply Red remain one of the UK’s most successful and well-loved bands. Their 1991 classic ‘Stars’ was the best-selling album for two years running in Britain and Europe, and all 13 of Simply Red’s studio albums, including their latest release ‘Time’, have been UK Top 10’s.

 Mick Hucknall formed Simply Red in 1985 working-class Manchester, and enjoyed early success with first single ‘Money’s Too Tight To Mention’ and the Brit Award-nominated album ‘Picture Book’ (the first of 13 nominations, and 3 Brit Award wins). This was followed by a decade of superstardom and global hits. Today Simply Red continue to sell out tours across the globe. Their live show is renowned for its exceptional quality, with Mick Hucknall long-established as one of the great vocalists of contemporary music.

 To celebrate this impressive 40-year milestone, Simply Red head back out on the road in 2025, telling the musical story of Simply Red so far – from ‘Picture Book’ to ‘Time’, and everything in between. 

Simply Red will play the following headline shows in September & October 2025:

Rumer* /Soul II Sol ^

September 2025
Tue 23rd                      Belfast SSE Arena*

Wed 24th                     Dublin 3 Arena*

Fri 26th                         Leeds First Direct Arena*

Sat 27th                       Manchester Co-op Live*

Sun 28th                      Glasgow OVO Hydro Arena*

Tue 30^th                        Sheffield Utilita Arena*

October
Wed 1st                       Nottingham Motorpoint Arena*

Fri 3rd                           Liverpool M&S Bank Arena*

Sat 4th                         Birmingham Utilita Arena*

Sun 5th                        Cardiff, Utilita Arena*

Tue 7th                        Brighton Centre*

With Soul II Soul as Very Special Guests:

Thu 9th                         London The O2 (with Soul II Soul)^

Fri 10th                         London The O2 (with Soul II Soul)^

Sat 11^th                        London OVO Wembley Arena (with Soul II Soul)^

*Simply Red: Simply Red are an English soul and pop band formed by lead singer and songwriter, Mick Hucknall,  in Manchester in 1985. They have released thirteen studio albums, from ‘Picture Book’ (1985) through to ‘Time’ (2023), all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Album Chart  with the albums ‘A New Flame’ (1989), ‘Stars’ (1991), ‘Life’ (1995) and ‘Blue’ (1998), along with their Greatest Hits album (1996) all reaching No1.  Their 1991 album ‘Stars’ is one of the best-selling albums in the UK.

**Rumer:  Rumer is known for her orchestral pop that harks back to the early-’70s easy listening sounds of Karen Carpenter and Carole King. It’s a style that helped take her first two albums, Seasons Of My Soul and Boys Don’t Cry,  to Top 3 in the UK charts. Moving between original compositions and covers by her favourite songwriters, she has continued to develop her vintage-inspired sound, often collaborating with her husband, arranger/producer Rob Shirakbari. In 2020, she celebrated the songs of legendary country songwriter Hugh Prestwood and Nashville Tears  and followed with the concert album Live From Lafayette  in 2021. A collaboration with London’s Redtenbacher’s Funkestra In Session arrived in 2025. www.rumer.co.uk

***Soul II Soul: Founded by Jazzie B, Soul II Soul’s popularity soared as they stormed into the UK Top 5 charts with hits like ‘Keep On Movin’ and ‘Back To Life’ catapulting them into the global spotlight and solidifying their status as household names; selling over 10 million copies in more than 35 territories, In recognition of their immense talent, they were awarded two Grammy Awards and three Soul Train Awards, while Jazzie B received honours from the NAACP and was granted keys to several cities across the United States.

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By Kilimanjaro Live 

Simply Red 40^th Anniversary UK Arena Tour takes place in September and October 2025. 

Tickets on Sale Now at https://myticket.co.uk/artists/simply-red

For more information visit Simply Red’s official website here: www.simplyred.com