SIMPLY RED IN THE BLACK MICK HUCKNALL THROWS OFF SHACKLES OF LABEL 'SERVITUDE' FOR INDEPENDENT ROUTE.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Simply Red is simply mad.

It took a rigorous accounting of earnings over the past two decades for the pop-soul group's founder, frontman, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall to get politicized and realize he'd be a lot better off producing and marketing his music outside of corporate channels.

Starting in 1985 with their first hit, ``Holding Back the Years,'' Simply Red reportedly sold more than 45 million albums worldwide in affiliation with the Warner Music Group. Hucknall says while he raked in $32 million during that 14-year period, the record company took in $300 million.

``I paid for the cost of recording the records, and marketing and promotion, and the label recouped many, many times over,'' said Hucknall, who appears Tuesday at downtown's Mayan with the gutsy young r&b songbird Joss Stone opening. ``That's the basic unfairness of the record business. The corporations advance the money and then make it back many times if the record hits - and they keep the master tapes, too. Now, I'm self-employed, and there's a great sense of freedom.''

Freedom doesn't come hard for a name artist like Hucknall who enjoys global drawing power, a top-notch management and business team, wise investments and real estate holdings throughout the world.

``Yes, but I got into music originally because I love doing music,'' said the red-haired Manchester, England, native, sitting in a leafy alcove of a Bel-Air hotel. ``That's how they get you and keep you in what's been called servitude. I still love music, but I want to control how it's sold and who profits from it.''

In his initial venture outside the corporate structure, Hucknall apparently has avoided going into the red. His first new disc in four years, ``Home,'' released and marketed through Hucknall's label, SimplyRed.Com, charted in various European countries and the U.K. The album contains interpretations of Philly soul (``You Make Me Feel Brand New''), golden-age reggae (``Money in My Pocket'') and even a classic Bob Dylan number (``Positively Fourth Street''), in addition to seven Simply Red originals.

``Ownership of the master recordings - that's the main issue,'' Hucknall said. ``Artists must own their work and profit from it. And when the operation is small and hands-on, you control the marketing. The best interests of the artist are primary.''

Whatever you may think of Simply Red's output, which includes such critically praised Brit-soul gems as ``Picture Book'' and ``Stars,'' Hucknall puts his money where his heart is. He helps bankroll one of the best archival labels around - Blood & Fire, the U.K. imprint that issues superbly imagined collections of rare reggae and dub from the music's most creative years.

``Reggae was my first love,'' Hucknall said. ``We created the label to reissue some of the best '70s roots, dub and DJ stuff - the classics that weren't available on CD before. This is the stuff we think is worthy of wider attention. And a lot of people seem to agree with us.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

SIMPLY RED AND JOSS STONE

Where: Mayan, 1038 S. Hill St., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Tickets: $45. Call [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com.

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Photo:

no caption (Mick Hucknall)