Iconic singer halts performance to tell fan in crowd to ‘shut it’

A singer best known for fronting an 80s pop band has been filmed stopping a show to berate an audience member.

Mick Hucknall rose to fame as the frontman of Simply Red, which formed in 1985 and has released 13 studio albums over the years.

The group has sold over 50 million albums, have won two Brit Awards, and have been nominated for three Grammys.

Although they broke up in 2010, they came back together five years later.

They are currently on a world tour to mark their 40^th anniversary and played two shows at The O2 in London in recent days.

However, the singer was left enraged after a disruptive fan started drowning out his performance – with Mick pausing the show to speak his mind.

In a video captured by someone else in the crowd, he could be heard saying ‘shut it’ while pointing at someone in front of him.

The 65-year-old then shouted: ‘Sock in it! I’m sick of hearing it!’

Addressing the rest of the audience, he went on to apologise for his outburst.

‘I’m sorry about that but you know, I can’t concentrate – he’s yelling so loud.

‘You’ve come to hear me sing, not him, with the greatest respect.’

The fan who recorded the moment also explained more about what unfolded.

‘Mick was talking about the next song that he was going to sing, the guy in the crowd was shouting along the lines of that song,’ they shared.

‘This distracted Mick and he was struggling to concentrate on what he wanted to share about the story and therefore became upset very quickly.

‘I think it was just a very excited member of the public who was happy to see him live. They were in the front row so had clearly paid a lot of money to see him. I’m sure this really ruined that person’s night.’

They continued, as per The Sun: ‘Imagine paying all that money to see him, to get embarrassed by him in the crowd for being excited.

‘I think Mick was great on his show but should have some patience with the people who pay to support him.

‘[He] could have handled that situation better and made more of a respectful joke out of the situation.’

Despite the run-in, the band didn’t let it get to them and posted a message to fans after the show.

‘London, you were fantastic 💫 Thank you to everyone who came out to see Simply Red at @theo2london and @ovoarena! #SimplyRed40,’ they posted on Instagram.

At the height of his fame, it was estimated that Mick slept with over 1,000 women – allegedly including Martine McCutcheon, Helena Christensen, Melanie Sykes, Steffi Graf and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

‘When I had the fame, it went crazy. Between 1985-1987, I would sleep with about three women a day, every day. I never said no,’ he once told The Guardian.

‘This was what I wanted from being a pop star. I was living the dream, and my only regret is that I hurt some really good girls.’

However, the self-confessed womaniser said that since settling down he ‘doesn’t miss’ his days of wild partying.

He’s been married to Gabriella Wesberry since 2010. They shared daughter, Romy True, 18.

‘I am a father and a ­husband [now]. And I’m still having a good time. Very, very different, yeah, but I love it,’ he told The Sun on Sunday.

‘Those days are long gone. I don’t miss them. I’m in a much happier place now than I’ve ever been in my life.’

Simply Red are next set to play shows in countries including Norway, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Italy.

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