Singer Mick Hucknall on his recent comment that Rod Stewart can’t hit high notes:

Mick Hucknall doesn’t like to be misinterpreted – especially when he is talking about one of his “greatest singing idols”, Rod Stewart.

In May, the 50-year-old British singer-songwriter and frontman of pop-soul band Simply Red was picked to replace Stewart as the lead vocalist of legendary 70s rock band The Faces.

Things turned ugly last month, a month before The Faces embarks on its reunion tour , when Hucknall told the media Stewart couldn’t hit the high notes anymore.

He was quoted as saying: “Rod isn’t the Rod of 1973...The keys are so high and it’s pretty intense staying at that kind of pitch for the whole night.” In a recent phone interview with The New Paper from his home in London, he tried to play down the brouhaha.

“I have nothing but huge admiration for Rod. I was a fan of The Faces and some of the earliest records I bought were by these guys,” said the man with the fiery curls and smooth, distinctive voice.

He said he took up The Faces offer only because Stewart, 65, was not free to rejoin the band.

“It’s an incredible situation for me, but I’m doing it as a fan. If Rod ever changes his mind, I’m happy to give up my place.” As for his comments about Stewart’s vocals being not up to par, Hucknall sighed and said: “I seriously meant it as a compliment to Rod.

“Ageing takes a toll on one’s voice and it happens to every one of us. At his age, he is in fantastic form.

“There is no other artiste in the world who can hit the high notes like Rod, but he would be the first guy to admit he is not the same singer he was in 1973.

“It’s a fact that he sings in a lower key now.”

Meanwhile, Singapore fans of Simply Red can catch him next month when the band’s farewell tour makes a stop here.

“The last time I was here for a concert, it was 1996,” recalled Hucknall.

“I remember drinking the Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel and tucking into some street food.”

Since then, there have been several line-up changes in Simply Red, the only constant being Hucknall, who is also its sole songwriter.

On being the headline-grabber of the band, the father of one did not mince his words.

“When I first started out as a musician, my idols were the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. I wanted to be like them and form a band that was really tight,” he said.

“However, it soon dawned on me that as I was the only one writing songs, I naturally caught more attention than the others.

“It was extremely frustrating as band members started to become jealous of me.”

Over the years, some even kept away from him.

Hucknall finally decided to “gain effective control” of the outfit, changing members when he felt he needed to put his foot down.

Last year, he decided it was time to call it a day.

“It just felt necessary,” he said of Simply Red’s split. “You can be sure we’d do all our most famous songs on this farewell tour...We want to celebrate our career.”

Well-loved catchy hits by the band include Stars, For Your Babies and Something’s Got Me Started.

With Simply Red disbanding, Hucknall can start devoting more time to his hobby wine production.

He owns a vineyard in Sicily, Italy, where he produces the Il Cantante (The Singer) label of wines.

“My love for wines began in the late 1980s. Gradually, it evolved into a profession.

“It wasn’t really my intention to expand this business, but it just kept growing.

There is an obvious interest in wines worldwide.”