Red formed a punk band The Frantic Elevators in Manchester in early 1977. The founding members are Mick Hucknall (lead singer of Simply Red) and Neil Moss. In 1978, he decided to move to Berlin and became the agent liaison in Germany for the British Factory record company. He helped expand the reputation of the bands signed by the record company at the time (such as Joy Division and ACR, etc.) in Germany. He also serves as a music engineer for the German band Malaria! and the punk band Die Toten Hosen.

In 1981, Red and his friend Alister Gray formed the duo of new wave electronic music band Die Unbekannten (English translation: The Unknown). Drummer Thomas Wydler (later of Die Haut and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) joined, making Die Unbekannten a trio. After drummer Thomas Wydler left the band, he kept coming back to help with guest appearances.

Between 1981 and 1982, Die Unbekannten (English translation: The Unknown) released two 12-inch dark and astringent EPs. The first EP was the self-titled album "The Unknown" released in 1981, which contained three singles: Radio War, Casualties and Poseidon. In 1982, the second EP "Dangerous Moonlight" was released, which had four singles: Don't Tell me Stories, Perfect Love, Against the Wall and The Game. The EP "Dangerous Moonlight" was re-released in 1993 with different versions of the album cover.