Live4MusiC

(week starting 23rd May)

Rock & Pop

• Lady Gaga - Born This Way
• Simply Red - Farewell: Live at Sydney Opera House 

OST

• OST - Sharpays Fabulous Adventures
• OST - Hangover II
• OST - Glee The Music: Vol6 Season Two

Classical & Jazz

• Various - Great British Wedding Album
• Brad Paisley - This Is Country Music

Dance & Soul

• Stephen Marley - Revelation Pt1: Root of Live

Asian

• Thelma Aoyama - Love Story
• Mister Mr - People Sing For People (CD+DVD)
• Wynners - 38 Da Yue Jun Concert (DVD)
• Misia - Hoshizora Live VI Encore 2010 (DVD +CD)
• Ivana Wong - Cinema of Love (CD+DVD)

Joe Cole is not the only new arrival at Liverpool with former Simply Red guitarist Sylvan Richardson joining the club as their new masseur.

Richardson was part of the legendary soul group's original line-up in 1985 but quit two years later having become disillusioned with the music industry.

He is currently with Liverpool for pre-season training in Switzerland.

"They have been giving me a lot of stick," said Richardson. "Especially [assistant manager] Sammy Lee."

Richardson's arrival at Anfield is surely not going to go unnoticed by his former Simply Red band-mate Mick Hucknall, who is a supporter of Liverpool's Premier League rivals Manchester United.

You're on the final leg of Simply Red's farewell tour. Have there been tears in the audience?

I've seen a few people crying, but you've got to move on. I couldn't think of a better way to do it than celebrate the music instead of just stopping and leaving this huge vacuum. I wanted to tell people I'm finishing Simply Red and give them a chance to say goodbye. I don't like the idea of being stuck playing the same songs for the rest of my life. I don't need to do it and I'd rather not do it. Plus I'm still ambitious. The songs I'm writing now are very strong. I'm not wasting my time. I just need to make a change.

It's not a Kiss comeback where you'll be back in five years, is it?

I can see how people may be cynical and say, "Oh, yeah, comeback tour in two years' time". Let's just wait and see. I doubt that very much. I'm very excited about the future, I'm not worrying so much about the past. Every creative artist needs freedom. I need to be free and not feel restricted. After so long in Simply Red everyone has expectations of a given sound. I feel restricted by that, I can't carry on like that, I have to do something new and original.

There's talk you're going solo, but wasn't Simply Red effectively your solo project anyway?

The Simply Red set-up was, because I was the principal songwriter I was the band leader. So yes, I can't really say I'm going solo, that seems very odd. We're talking about a change in musical styles. I feel Simply Red has been pigeonholed into a certain style and because of the name I'm unable to make any musical change. In a way you get trapped by your own success.

So what is the new sound going to be?

The idea is really based on more of who I am than who I admire. I'm trying to use a style that's coming more from music of the '60s and early '70s than the music I did with Simply Red, which was influenced by music from the mid-'70s and '80s. I needed to inject more British influence into my music, make it less influenced by African-American music.

You're fronting a reformed version of the Faces - what's it like to now be in one of your favourite bands?

It's like some kind of dream. I had posters of them on my wall when I was 13. But Rod (Stewart) can't do it. They asked me so I'm going to do it. When we had rehearsals it sounded fantastic. So I thought why the hell not?

Surely there's less pressure too, singing other people's songs?

In essence what I've been doing for the past 10 or 15 years is studying the art of living. I'm not immensely ambitious regarding my fame and celebrity. I want to focus on my life more. Now I make life choices as opposed to things that are necessarily career-driven. The second half of my life, I want to really enjoy what I do. It's part of the art of living. I make choices for my pleasure, for the joy of being a creative musician.

Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols is playing bass in the Faces. Were you a Pistols fan too?

Very much so. I saw them perform in 1976. They really inspired me to be in a band. My first band, the Frantic Elevators, were heavily influenced by the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks and the Fall.

Have you milked Matlock for any good punk stories yet?

I'm waiting 'til when we get on the road. All these stories will be discussed over bottles of wine. A bit of wine loosens the tongue.

You've just turned 50. How did you celebrate?

I celebrated it by, firstly, getting married, then my wife threw a party with all my close family and friends. It was a magical night.

Is it true you said having a daughter two years ago stopped you having a mid-life crisis?

Ha! I think people in my profession don't even know what a mid-life crisis is. We have the best job in the world. I'm glad I became a father later in life than earlier on. With my career established it enables me to devote more time and energy to her. Which is beneficial to both of us.

So do you get a chance to dust off album tracks on the Farewell tour for the last time?

On this tour we're playing almost all of the hits but the best of the albums as well. For example we play Heaven from Picture Book quite regularly. In this pop age we're in they forget we're an albums band. We've sold 60 million albums. There are a huge amount of fans out there with the CDs. We want to represent the albums, not just the singles.