Red Alert!
Soap Opera Digest: On the show, we learned that Marcie is a huge fan of Simply Red. Is someone behind the scenes at OLTL also a fan?
Paul S. Glass: Yes. [Executive Producer] Frank Valentini is a huge fan. We’ve been thinking about having them on for years. We thought they should be on for a special event, like a New Year’s show.Digest: How did you manage to finally get them on the show?
Glass: There’s a woman in L.A. who is a publicist who deals with them and we’ve been talking about it for a while. Once we realized that they were going to come back to New York in January, we started to plan a Valentine’s show.Digest: That’s great. The band’s songs definitely tied in well with the whole Al-becoming-Michael storyline.
Glass: Yes, they did. Once we learned that the band was available, [Head Writers] Michael Malone and Josh Griffith started writing some episodes to tie in to the performance. We thought that “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” which is their single, would be great for Al and Marcie, since they had a magical dance. They also had the hit in the ’80s, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” which was also appropriate for Al and Marcie.
Digest: Simply Red has gotten very popular again, it seems.
Glass: It’s amazing. They’re huge. Their CD and their single, “Sunrise,” which they also performed on the show, is enormous in dance clubs. In European venues they sell out. So, we thought it would be cool if we could get them here.Digest: Now, Mick, do you watch soaps?
Mick Hucknall: No, but my dad does. He likes [the British soap] EASTENDERS.Digest: Did someone familiarize you with the Al/Marcie storyline?
Hucknall: Yes, my manager did. It’s very flattering that they worked my music into the show before I even got there! It’s really great.Digest: Did you have any say in which songs you got to perform?
Hucknall: No, the show requested them. But it was great to do our new songs on such a popular show.Digest: How was it performing on a TV show, as opposed to singing at a concert or in the studio?
Hucknall: It reminded me a bit of making videos because we performed the same songs over and over.
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