![Simon Hanson 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Simon_Hanson_2012.jpg)
Simon Hanson is an English drummer, songwriter and producer. He was the former drummer of
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record ...
and is the current drummer of British band
Squeeze.
Early life
Hanson's father and sister both died in a plane crash in 1983.
Career
In 1985, Hanson formed the band Shot, which was signed by IRS records. However nothing was ever released. He was then spotted by a member of the band
The Blessing and joined them on tours. Together they signed with MCA Records and recorded Locusts and Wild Honey.
Jimmy Miller
James Miller (March 23, 1942 – October 22, 1994) was an American record producer and musician. While he produced albums for dozens of different bands and artists, he is most closely associated for his work with several key musical acts of t ...
was called in to produce three tracks on the album. Miller was hugely influential on Hanson's work as Miller had been himself a drummer. Miller taught him that being creative, is not always being in control. Unfortunately Miller died before the album's release, in 1994.
In the early 1990s, Hanson worked with Tina Hamilton at Session Connection, playing drums with Ace of Base, Natalia Imbruglia, Hall and Oates and the P.F. Project amongst others. By the mid-nineties he started touring with
Energy Orchard and worked on the Pain Killer album released in 1995. Hanson recorded with artist
Bap Kennedy
Martin Christopher Kennedy (17 June 1962 – 1 November 2016), known as Bap Kennedy, was a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was noted for his collaborations with Steve Earle, Van Morrison, Shane MacGowan and Mark Knopfler, a ...
on MCA label. In 1995 he toured with Energy Orchard replacing drummer Dave Toner, as they were the support band of The Animals' tour in Germany.
From 1996 to 1998 he toured with
Tony Hadley
Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...
and recorded with
Bruce Woolley
Bruce Martin Woolley (born 11 November 1953) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He wrote songs with artists such as The Buggles and Grace Jones, including "Video Killed the Radio Star" and " Slave to the Rhythm", an ...
and the Radio Science Orchestra. Hanson joined
The Aloof
The Aloof were a British electronic music group. They formed in London, England, in 1990. The group consisted of Ricky Barrow, Gary Burns, Jagz Kooner, Richard Thair, and Dean Thatcher. They were active during the 1990s, and released four studio ...
in 1997 and discovered the emerging world of dance music. As drummer for the band, he recorded the album, ''
Seeking Pleasure'' released in 1998, signed by East West Records. At that time the Radio Science Orchestra wrote, co-produced and performed the title track "Storm", performed by
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
for the 1998 film ''
The Avengers''.
By 1998 Hanson joined
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record ...
and recorded the album Contino Sessions, released in 1999, before touring with the band in the UK and in the US. Hanson also played the drums on the album ''
Scorpio Rising''. Hanson that had been so far influenced by rock and roll in previous years, discovered dance and house music while touring with Death in Vegas. This experience with dance music was to influence his playing style which evolved to become a combination of rock and roll and dance music. In the late 90s, Hanson performed live on tours with hard rock and rock and roll bands
The Quireboys
The Quireboys are an English rock band formed in 1984 in London, with strong ties to Newcastle. When the band formed they were originally known as The Queerboys and later as the London Quireboys in the United States and Canada, settling at ...
and
The Dogs D'Amour
The Dogs D'Amour are an English bluesey hard rock band formed in London in 1983. Over the years the band has had various line-ups, the only constant being vocalist Tyla. Their music has been described as a mixture of the Rolling Stones, the ...
. In 1996 he worked with The Dogs D'Amour frontman
Tyla and
Spike Gray from the Quireboys with whom he recorded the album ''Flagrantly Yours'', under the name Spike and Tyla's Hot Knives.
In 1999, Hanson was called in to play the drums on Rick Wakeman's concept album ''
Return to the Centre of the Earth
''Return to the Centre of the Earth'' is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman. It was released on 15 March 1999 on EMI Classics and is the sequel to his 1974 concept album ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'', itself based on the ...
'', a sequel to the previous ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' (1974). From 1999, Hanson recorded with Death in Vegas. He participated on the ''Contino Rooms'' and ''
Scorpio Rising'' albums including collaborations with
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
and
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...
. He also toured with the band in France, the UK and the US.
In May 2000, Hanson appeared as the drummer in a fictional version of
Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
for the movie ''Married 2 Malcom'' starring
Mark Addy
Mark Ian Addy (born 14 January 1964) is an English actor. His roles in British television include Detective Constable Gary Boyle in the sitcom '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–1996) and Hercules in the fantasy drama series ''Atlantis'' (2013–2 ...
,
Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and as Manda Best in '' ...
and
Hywel Bennett
Hywel Thomas Bennett (8 April 1944 – 24 July 2017) was a Welsh film and television actor. He had a lead role in ''The Family Way'' (1966) and played the titular "thinking man's layabout" James Shelley in the television sitcom '' Shelley'' (1 ...
.
Between 2000 and 2006, Hanson lent his talent as a drummer to various bands amongst which included
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodic ...
,
Baxter Dury
Baxter Dury (born 18 December 1971) is an English indie musician, originally signed to Rough Trade Records.
Early life
Baxter Dury is the son of Ian Dury and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Rathmell. As a young boy he appeared on the front cover o ...
,
Joy Zipper
Joy Zipper is an American indie pop duo from Long Island, New York, made up of Tabitha Tindale and Vincent Cafiso, who are also a married couple.The Boy Least Likely To
The Boy Least Likely To is an English indie pop duo, composed of composer/multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and lyricist/singer Jof Owen.
History
Owen and Hobbs both grew up in the village of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. After meeting at schoo ...
and
Secret Affair
Secret Affair are a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982 during which period their work is predominantly best-known. They reformed in 2002 and have since then produced an album in 2012.
Career
Formed after the demise of the ...
. He also recorded and toured around the UK and the US with Squeeze frontman and friend,
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957) is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the music for Squeeze's son ...
. He worked on Tilbrook's albums ''The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook'', ''Transatlantic Ping Pong'' and ''Pandemonium Ensues'' that was released in 2009.
In 2007, after half a decade of solo work
Chris Difford
Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze.
Musical career
Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written ly ...
and Tilbrook that they would re-form
Squeeze and Hanson was to become a full-time member and the drummer of the band. Together they recorded Squeeze's first album in 12 years, ''
Spot the Difference
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
that which given to him. His first solo album Songs from the Silver Box was released spring 2013. One of the track's titles is "A9 South Road" and was written between Aberdeen and Glasgow. In October 2015,
Strata Books published an article written by Hanson recalling the making of his debut slbum.
"A9(south)" received minor radio play on BBC radio 6
Since 2001, Hanson has been working with the
Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. It ...
in association with
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
. He teaches young people with cancer to play drums and write songs. In 2011 Squeeze played at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
In this instance Hanson's drums kit and two guitars were painted by
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (; né
Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
and auctioned by Christies, the money raised by the sales was given to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
2015
In October 2015,
Squeeze released their first full studio album of new material for 17 years
''Cradle to the Grave'', on which Hanson played drums on every track. The album accompanied the
BBC TV
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...
series ''
Cradle to Grave
''Cradle to Grave'' is a British sitcom set around the life of Danny Baker. It began airing on 3 September 2015. The sitcom stars Laurie Kynaston as Danny Baker, Peter Kay, and actress Lucy Speed as Danny Baker's parents.
Plot
It is 1973 and ...
'', which was an adaptation of
Danny Baker
Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television.
Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fam ...
's biography Going to Sea in a Sieve.
''Cradle to the Grave'' peaked at number 8 in the UK album charts in October 2015
2016
On 10 January 2016, Hanson performed with Squeeze live on BBC television's
''Andrew Marr Show'' in the presence on then Prime Minister David Cameron when Glenn Tilbrook sang a revised third verse to their song "Cradle to the Grave", changing the lyrics to; "There are some here who are hell bent on the destruction of the welfare state".
On 25 June 2016, Squeeze played a set on the Pyramid Stage at the
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
.
2018
In 2018, Hanson worked with
Hybrid (British band)
Hybrid is a British electronic music duo consisting of Mike and Charlotte Truman. The group was formed in 1995 by Mike Truman, Chris Healings, and Lee Mullin. At the time they were primarily known as a breakbeat collective, although they overla ...
as a member of 'Hybrid live'. Hybrid played three gigs in the UK that year in London, Sheffield, and Bristol.
2019
In 2019, Hybrid released a short film to accompany their single, "Hold Your Breath". Hanson can be seen in the video as a "staggering man" at a house party.
Discography
References
External links
*
*
Hybrid's websiteHybrid 'Hold Your Breath' short film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Simon
1964 births
Living people
English rock drummers
People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth
The Quireboys members
Squeeze (band) members
Death in Vegas members
Mod revival musicians