2010 is set to be a hugely significant year for Mick Hucknall and the band he founded in 1984. Having played more than 1,100 live shows to more than 11 million people in the past years, Simply Red have announced their last go-round, called Farewell: The Final Tour.

Simply Red will play their farewell shows this year, allowing Hucknall to pursue a solo career and begin a brand new chapter. They will say their farewells in South America in April, then Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Ireland and the UK from September to December, ending in the UK. There are no plans for shows in the U.S.

Hucknall’s first solo release, 2008’s Tribute to Bobby, a CD of music by American soul singer Bobby “Blue” Bland, featured the smooth jazz hit “Farther Up the Road.”

Tied into the farewell tour is the release Songs of Love, which is now available in the U.K.  It features Simply Red love songs and two brand new recordings. The first is “I Have The Love,” and the second is a new recording of “Beside You,” a song that appeared originally on the soundtrack to the movie What Dreams May Come.

Songs of Love will be available worldwide on March 8 through the Simply Red website.

Songs of Love Track list

1. Say You Love Me
2. You Make Me Feel Brand New
3. Stars
4. You’ve Got It
5. For Your Babies
6. If You Don’t Know Me By Now
7. It’s You.
8. Beside You
9. Holding Back the Years
10. Smile
11. I Have the Love
12. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye