Simply Red: Life (East West)

MICK HUCKNALL has barely put a foot wrong over the past six years, since A New Flame set new, impeccable standards for Brit-soul back in 1989. If anything, the follow-up Stars surpassed even that, Hucknall managing the tricky task of earning multi-platinum sales without significantly blemishing his socialist credentials – a feat hitherto seemingly impossible for a British pop star.