Simon Heyworth is an English record engineer and producer. He rose to prominence as engineer at Richard Branson's

The Manor Studio The Manor Studio (a.k.a. The Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. Overview The Manor and its outbuildings are listed Grade II on the Na ...

in the 1970s, where he and Tom Newman worked on ''

Tubular Bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

'' (1973) by

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

, which achieved significant commercial success in the UK. He has worked with various artists, including

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

, Simple Minds, Rick Wakeman, Marillion, and Nick Drake. In 2002, Heyworth set up his own audio mastering studio, Super Audio Mastering, in Devon.

Career

While at prep school, Heyworth was in a band with future

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

bassist/guitarist

Mike Rutherford Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, co-founder of the rock band Genesis. Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members. Initially servin ...

. He also went to school in Pasadena, California. After returning to the UK, Heyworth attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, but quit his studies when he felt a career in theatre was not right for him. He then paired with recording engineer Tom Newman, and the two worked with businessman Richard Branson who bought

in Oxfordshire. The three did various projects, such as designing Virgin Records shops in Birmingham and Oxford Street. They convinced Branson to convert some of it into a recording studio, and Heyworth worked a tape operator while learning about sound mixing and producing. While at The Manor, Heyworth and Newman engineered ''

'' (1973) by

, which achieved significant commercial success in the UK.

Personal life

Heyworth is married to Nicky.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyworth, Simon Living people Virgin Records artists English record producers Year of birth missing (living people)