A New Flame, Simply Reds third studio album, was released in February 1989 and immediately took the band to new levels of fame and success. With A New Flame, Simply Red achieved their first UK Number 1 album, which went seven times Platinum with 2,100,000 copies sold in the UK alone. Four singles were released from the album, including a cover of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huffs If You Dont Know Me By Now, which became Simply Reds second US Number 1.

The band played another 140 live shows during the New Flame period, firmly establishing themselves as a must-see live act across the globe. This was reflected in the charts as another top 5 album in Australia, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Iceland (#1), Ireland (#1), Italy (#1), New Zealand (#1), Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (#1).