Although Simply Red has a new album, Stay, to support, they're putting off touring for a while. Instead, they'll play some showcase dates in the U.S. while their current single "So Not Over You" earns some airplay. The reason behind the outfit's delayed touring lies in frontman Mick Hucknall's impending fatherhood.

He says that because he's an independent artist, he can put off touring so he could be present for his baby's birth, and get to bond with him for a year or so: "Because I've got the baby coming, I've kind of got to lay low. You know, I sort of want to bond with this kid, and be around when they walk for the first time. So one of the joys of independence is that I can sort of walk away for a while and come back later. So I would think we would do kind of an extensive tour in 2009."

Hucknall does say that the group will hit North America this year for a little while, hitting some major cities: "We're due to come over at the end of April, and we're going to be doing several showcase gigs. I think we're doing some up in Canada and some in New York. And we're doing one in San Francisco and possibly one in L.A. As well as we're going to do a little bit of TV so we're really trying to give as much time as we can to promote the record."

Simply Red will be appearing on the Craig Ferguson show on April 25th, although the performance will be taped. Also on the 25th will be a showcase in New York for which 50 lucky winners can win a pair of tickets each by entering a competition on WLTW's website.




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