Mick Hucknall does Bobby Bland

Following Chris Rea's reinvention as a beat artist, another '80s star, Mick Hucknall, is paying tribute to the 1960s by recording an album of Bobby Bland songs.

The Simply Red man is to begin releasing music under his own name, and to kick it off he's made 'Tribute To Bobby',  a 12-track album of Bland covers set for release on May 19th. Hucknalls' tribute to the Lion of the Blues comes from Bland being one of his 'inspirations and music idols' apparently. The album is available to preview until May 1st on Hucknall's official site here. The CD release will feature a bonus DVD containing a 'making of' documentary shot in Memphis (a preview is also on his site).

And should you be moved enough to want to hear Mick perform these tracks live, here are his upcoming UK tour dates:

Bristol Colston Hall (June 29th)
Wolverhampton Civic Hall (30th)
Liverpool Summer Pops (July 1st)
Manchester Apollo (3rd)
Newcastle City Hall (4th)
Oxford New Theatre (5th)
Leicester De Montfort Hall (7th)
Ipswich Regent (8th)
London IndigO2 (9th and 10th)

Tickets for the tour are available to buy here. 'Tribute To Bobby' is available to order from Amazon here.