Simply Red Tour 2025: UK Dates, Tickets & Schedule

Simply Red’s 40th Anniversary Tour gives UK and Ireland arenas three weeks of career-spanning shows in September and October 2025 before crossing to Europe. The run opens at SSE Arena Belfast on 23 September 2025, with London O2 hosting the UK finale on 9 and 10 October 2025.

Tour Name: 40th Anniversary Tour · Start Date: 23 September 2025 · First Venue: SSE Arena, Belfast · Next Venue: 3Arena, Dublin · Ticket Platform: Ticketmaster

The table below consolidates key tour parameters — band details, official resources, and confirmed milestone dates.

Where are Simply Red playing in 2025?

Simply Red’s 40th Anniversary Tour covers UK and Ireland arenas over roughly three weeks in September and October, then continues into Europe. The run begins at SSE Arena in Belfast on 23 September 2025, moves to 3Arena Dublin the following night, and hits major cities including Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Brighton before the London O2 shows on 9 and 10 October 2025 (Simply Red Official YouTube).

UK Tour Dates

• 23 September 2025 — SSE Arena, Belfast
• 24 September 2025 — 3Arena, Dublin
• 26 September 2025 — First Direct Arena, Leeds
• 27 September 2025 — Co-op Live, Manchester
• 28 September 2025 — OVO Hydro Arena, Glasgow
• 30 September 2025 — Utilita Arena, Sheffield (reports; not fully confirmed)
• 1 October 2025 — Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
• 3 October 2025 — M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
• 4 October 2025 — Utilita Arena, Birmingham
• 5 October 2025 — Utilita Arena, Cardiff
• 7 October 2025 — Brighton Centre
• 9 October 2025 — O2 Arena, London (Thursday)
• 10 October 2025 — O2 Arena, London (Friday)

The UK leg spans 13 venues across 18 days, with most arenas hosting a single night. London gets two consecutive shows at the O2 to close out the run — Thursday 9 October and Friday 10 October (The O2 Official).

Europe Stops

After the UK/Ireland run, the tour moves to mainland Europe starting 14 October 2025 at Oslo Unity Arena in Norway (Simply Red Official YouTube). Full European dates beyond Oslo have not been listed in the official sources checked for this article, though additional stops have been reported in music press.

Ticket Information

UK and Ireland tickets are available through simplyred.com, with the O2 London shows also listed on Aloud.com and AXS.com (Hello Rayo music news). The O2 requires mobile ticketing via AXS Mobile ID through The O2 app — physical tickets are not issued (The O2 Official). Tickets went on sale in autumn 2023 when the tour was first announced.

Simply Red Tickets UK Tour Dates 2025

With tickets having gone on sale in autumn 2023, most UK arena dates are likely sold out or in secondary market territory by now. Here’s what you need to know about buying tickets for the 2025 run.

How to Buy Tickets

Primary sales for the UK tour run through simplyred.com, where links redirect to Ticketmaster for most venues. For O2 London specifically, you can also purchase through Aloud.com or AXS.com. Note that O2 London tickets require an AXS Mobile ID — you must have the AXS app installed and linked to your Ticketmaster account before completing purchase (The O2 Official).

Pricing and Availability

Specific pricing tiers are not listed in the official sources checked. Given that tickets went on general sale in 2023, availability as of 2025 depends heavily on individual venue resale policies. Fans should check Ticketmaster’s Fan Verification process, which may be required for some shows to combat scalping.

Event Travel Tips

For the London O2 leg, the venue strongly encourages arriving via the Jubilee line, Emirates Air Line cable car, or TfL rail — parking is extremely limited. Dublin’s 3Arena is served by Dublin Bus and Luas tram services. For Belfast’s SSE Arena, Translink rail services run regularly from Belfast Central and Great Victoria Street stations.

Are Simply Red touring in 2026?

The short answer: nothing officially announced yet. As of the latest check of simplyred.com’s tour dates page, no 2026 or 2027 shows are listed (Simply Red Official). This isn’t unusual for established acts — anniversary tours often serve as a potential finale, and announcement patterns for older bands tend to be reactive rather than planned far in advance.

Current 2026 Schedule

There are no confirmed Simply Red dates for 2026 in the official sources reviewed. The band’s official tour dates page shows the tour ending with the October 2025 O2 London shows and the European extension beginning 14 October 2025 in Oslo.

Past Shows Reference

Simply Red performed in Santiago, Chile — a show that was later turned into a concert film — though this appears to be a separate engagement from the anniversary tour run (Hello Rayo music news). The band formed in 1985 and has had several arena tours since their commercial peak in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Announcement Watch

For fans hoping for 2026 dates, the best approach is to monitor simplyred.com tour-dates page and the band’s official social media accounts. Music industry aggregators like Songkick also track tour announcements, though these should be treated as unverified until confirmed on the band’s official site.

Simply Red tour 2025 setlist

Mick Hucknall and Simply Red have a deep catalogue spanning from their 1985 debut album Picture Book through their most recent releases. For a 40th anniversary tour, the obvious expectation is a career-spanning set that gives each era its moment.

Official Playlist

The band has published a Spotify playlist titled “40th Anniversary Tour” which provides the clearest indication of what’s being prioritized — it draws from across the Simply Red discography rather than focusing on a single era (The O2 Official). Spotify’s algorithm has also surfaced a fan-curated “Simply Red — 40th Anniversary Setlist” based on tour dates, though this is community-generated and not officially confirmed.

Expected Songs

Based on the setlist tradition for Simply Red arena shows and the anniversary framing, expect heavy rotation of: “Holding Back the Years,” “Fairground,” “Sunrise,” “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” “Money’s Too Tight to Mention,” and “Something Got Me Started.” Deep cuts from Picture Book and later albums like Stars typically appear in truncated forms or acoustic moments.

40th Anniversary Highlights

Mick Hucknall has been quoted saying fans can expect “all their favourite Simply Red tracks from 1985 to the present” — a broad promise that aligns with the anniversary framing. The tour is being promoted as a celebration of “the incredible journey that we’ve been on together over the past four decades,” per statements on The O2 website (Hello Rayo music news).

The implication: a 40th anniversary show typically draws from the full catalog rather than zeroing in on any single hit era, which gives fans grounds for optimism across the board.

What is the lead singer of Simply Red doing now?

Mick Hucknall remains the sole constant in Simply Red across four decades — and he’s still the one fronting the 40th Anniversary Tour. His health has been a subject of public discussion over the years, though he continues to tour and record.

Mick Hucknall Updates

Mick Hucknall discussed the band’s 40-year journey in a video conversation with Ben Jones published on the Simply Red official website (Simply Red Official). The tour announcement video features him addressing fans directly, confirming his continued involvement in both performance and artistic direction.

Health Condition

Hucknall has been candid in interviews about the physical demands of touring. In past interviews, he’s described what he called a “health nightmare” — though public statements have framed the experience as part of the aging process rather than a specific diagnosis. The Simply Red frontman is 64 years old as of 2025.

Recent Activities

Beyond the anniversary tour, Hucknall has maintained a recording schedule and occasional media appearances. The band continues to operate under his creative leadership, with the lineup having stabilized around a core touring group after several personnel changes over the years.

The catch: for an act approaching its fifth decade, the health of its frontman remains a natural point of speculation for longtime fans.

The pattern is clear: this is a career-retrospective run, with UK arenas serving as the celebratory homecoming before the European extension. For UK fans, the Belfast-to-London arc spans nearly three weeks and covers most major cities — but with tickets having sold in 2023, primary market availability is the real question mark now. Anyone who missed the initial sale will need to navigate resale markets or wait for any future dates that might be announced post-tour. Simply Red formed in 1985, so the anniversary framing is genuine — whether this becomes a regular tour cycle or a one-time retrospective remains to be seen.