Simon King (born 12 August 1950) is an English drummer most noted for his work with

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

. He was described in 1985 by British rock magazine ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' as the 'definitive rock drummer.' Born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, King commenced his career as a teenager in the late 1960s in the

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

-based psychedelic group

Opal Butterfly Opal Butterfly was an English psychedelic rock band from Oxfordshire, that was active between 1968 and 1970. Although the band itself did not gain widespread success, the musicians did go on to conduct successful musical careers. The band fe ...

who produced three singles as well as contributing to the soundtrack to the film ''

Groupie Girl ''Groupie Girl'' is a 1970 British drama film about the rock music scene, directed by Derek Ford and starring Esme Johns, Donald Sumpter and the band Opal Butterfly. The film was written by Ford and former groupie Suzanne Mercer. Ford later c ...

'', in which King had a cameo role. At their demise, Opal Butterfly's frontman had been

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

who went on to join

. Hawkwind were having problems with their drummer Terry Ollis so King was invited by Lemmy to play alongside Ollis, but after a couple of gigs Ollis left and his place was permanently taken up by King. His first gig as sole drummer was the

Greasy Truckers Party ''Greasy Truckers Party'' is a 1972 live album by various artists recorded at a February 1972 Greasy Truckers concert at the Roundhouse in London. The concert featured three bands, Man, Brinsley Schwarz, and Hawkwind, and musician Magic Michae ...

at the Roundhouse on 13 February 1972 which was recorded and released on two various artists compilation albums and as the hit single "

Silver Machine "Silver Machine" is a 1972 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single on 9 June 1972, reaching number three on the UK singles chart. The single was re-issued in 1976, again in 1978 reaching number 34 on the UK s ...

", earning King an appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. King remained with Hawkwind until the 1978 ''

Hawklords Hawklords were an English music group active between 1978 and 1979. Members were from Hawkwind, who were inactive during that period, (Robert Calvert – vocals, Dave Brock – guitar and Simon King (musician), Simon King – drums) and a loca ...

'' album, passing his drum duties onto Martin Griffin for personal reasons. During this time he teamed up with

Huw Lloyd-Langton Richard Hugh "Huw" Lloyd-Langton (6 February 1951 – 6 December 2012) was an English musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band HawkwindStrong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 466 at various times. ...

and

Nic Potter NIC may refer to: Banking and insurance companies * National Insurance Corporation, Uganda * NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya Politics, government and economics * National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice a ...

to form a three piece named Jawa, and it is this band that recorded the

Steve Swindells Steve Swindells (born 21 November 1952) is an English singer-songwriter, keyboardist, party organizer, club promoter and journalist. Life and career Early life Swindells grew up in the Bath and Bristol area, dropping out of art college to play ...

album ''

Fresh Blood ''Fresh Blood'' is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Steve Swindells. The album was originally released in late 1980 on the label Atco. The album was Swindells' first solo album following his departure from Hawkwind, due t ...

''. He briefly returned to Hawkwind for their Winter 1979 tour, but quit again during the recording sessions for the ''

Levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

'' album. He auditioned one final time for the 1982 ''

Choose Your Masques ''Choose Your Masques'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1982. It spent five weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 29. The group's line-up for this album remained unchanged from the pre ...

'' tour, but being rejected he chose to leave the music business. According to Hawkwind guitarist

Dave Brock David Anthony Brock (born 20 August 1941) is an English musician. He plays electric guitar, keyboards, bass and oscillators. He is a founder, sole constant member and musical focus of the space rock group Hawkwind.Allmusic– Dave Brock biogr ...

, in a 1984 taped interview for Tim Gadd's radio show 'Zooks', King left the band after 1979. King has two children.

Discography

*1968 -

- "Beautiful Beige" / "Speak Up" (single) *1968 - Opal Butterfly - "

Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" is a song by the English rock band The Who. It was written by Pete Townshend and released on their 1967 album ''The Who Sell Out''. The best known version of the song has an arrangement using acoustic guitar and La ...

" / "My Gration Or?" (single) *1969 - Opal Butterfly - "Groupie Girl" / "The Gigging Song" (single) *1972 - Various Artists - '' Glastonbury Fayre'' (live) *1972 - Various Artists - ''

'' (live) *1972 -

- "

" / "Seven By Seven" (single) *1972 - Hawkwind - ''

Doremi Fasol Latido ''Doremi Fasol Latido'' is the third studio album by English space rock band Hawkwind. It was recorded at Rockfield Studios and released in 1972. It reached No. 14 on the UK album charts. New members The rhythm section of Dave Anderson and Te ...

'' *1973 - Hawkwind - ''

Space Ritual ''The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London'' (commonly known as ''Space Ritual'') is a 1973 live double album recorded in 1972 by UK rock band Hawkwind. It is their fourth album, reached #9 in the UK album charts and briefly dented the ...

'' (live) *1973 - Hawkwind - "

Urban Guerrilla An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment. Theory and history The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting both ...

" / "Brainbox Pollution" (single) *1973 -

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

- ''

Here Come the Warm Jets ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' is the debut solo album by British musician Brian Eno, released on Island Records in January 1974. It was recorded and produced by Eno following his departure from Roxy Music, and blends glam and pop stylings with ...

'' *1974 - Hawkwind - "

Psychedelic Warlords ''Hall of the Mountain Grill'' is the fourth studio album by space rock band Hawkwind, released in 1974. It is regarded by many critics as a career highlight. Overview The group's fourth studio album, it was the first by a new line-up that inc ...

" / "It's So Easy" (single) *1974 - Hawkwind - ''

Hall of the Mountain Grill ''Hall of the Mountain Grill'' is the fourth studio album by space rock band Hawkwind, released in 1974. It is regarded by many critics as a career highlight. Overview The group's fourth studio album, it was the first by a new line-up that inc ...

'' *1974 -

Robert Calvert Robert Newton Calvert (9 March 1945 – 14 August 1988) was a South African-British writer, poet, and musician. He is principally known for his role as lyricist, performance poet and lead vocalist of the space rock band Hawkwind. Early life ...

- ''

Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters ''Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters'' is a 1974 satire, satirical concept album by Robert Calvert, the former frontman of British space-rock band Hawkwind. It consists of a mixture of songs and comic spoken interludes. The concept was based ...

'' *1975 - Hawkwind - "

Kings of Speed "Kings of Speed" is a 1975 song by the British space rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single in the UK (UP35808) on 7 March 1975 and was subsequently included on the album '' Warrior on the Edge of Time'', although its B-sid ...

" / "Motorhead" (single) *1975 - Hawkwind - ''

Warrior on the Edge of Time ''Warrior on the Edge of Time'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind. Many of the lyrics are by Michael Moorcock, and the album is loosely based on the concept of Moorcock's novel '' The Eternal Champion''. It was the band ...

'' *1975 -

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...

- ''

New Worlds Fair ''New Worlds Fair'' is a 1975 concept album by UK rock group Michael Moorcock & The Deep Fix. Moorcock was an established science fiction author who has contributed lyrics and occasionally performed with Hawkwind. In 1974 he was offered a recor ...

'' *1976 - Hawkwind - '' Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music'' *1976 - Hawkwind - "

Kerb Crawler A kerb crawler (or curb crawler) is a person who drives around areas known for street prostitution soliciting prostitutes for sexual activity. The act is known as "kerb crawling" because the person will typically drive very slowly along the ker ...

" / "Honky Dorky" (single) *1977 - Hawkwind - " Back on the Streets" / "The Dream Of Isis" (single) *1977 - Hawkwind - ''

Quark, Strangeness and Charm ''Quark, Strangeness and Charm'' is the seventh studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1977. It spent six weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at number 30. This is Hawkwind's seventh studio album, hence "The Hawkwin ...

'' *1977 - Hawkwind - "

" / "The Forge Of Vulcan" (single) *1978 -

- ''

25 Years On ''25 Years On'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind, released in 1978. The band released it under the name "Hawklords" for legal reasons, as there was a dispute over ownership of the name "Hawkwind" at the time. It reac ...

'' *1978 - Hawklords - "

Psi Power Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviation ...

" / "Death Trap" (single) *1979 - Hawklords - " 25 Years" / "(Only) The Dead Dreams Of The Cold War Kid"; "PXR5" (single) *1979 - Hawkwind - ''

PXR5 ''PXR5'' is the ninth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1979. It reached No. 59 on the UK album charts. Overview Allmusic referred to ''PXR5'' as "the last in the sequence of brittle, pop-inflected records the ...

'' *1979 - Robert Calvert - ''Lord of the Hornets''/''The Greenfly and the Rose'' (single) *1980 -

- ''

'' *1980 - Hawkwind - ''

Live Seventy Nine ''Live Seventy Nine'' is a 1980 live album by Hawkwind recorded on their Winter 1979 UK tour. It reached #15 on the UK album chart. This is a reconstituted Hawkwind with Brock, Bainbridge and King emerging from the dissolved Hawklords, joined ...

'' (live) *1980 - Hawkwind - "

Shot Down in the Night ''Shot Down in the Night'' is a 1979 song written by Steve Swindells, who was at that time keyboardist with the UK rock group Hawkwind. Swindells and Hawkwind released different versions of the song as a single on 27 June 1980. Hawkwind's versi ...

" / "Urban Guerilla" (single)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Simon 1950 births Living people English rock drummers Hawkwind members musicians from Oxford