Simon Cowe (1 April 1948 – 30 September 2015) was an English guitarist and multi-instrumentalist most noted as a member of the folk-rock group

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

from their original formation in 1970 until 1973, and then again from 1978 to his departure in 1993.

Early life and career

Cowe, who was of Scottish descent,. was educated at King's School in Tynemouth and then at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

, Edinburgh, where he studied piano and music theory under Michael Lester-Cribb. In 1968, as lead guitarist, he teamed up with Ray Jackson,

Rod Clements Roderick Parry Clements (born 17 November 1947 in North Shields, Northumberland) is a British guitarist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He formed the folk-rock band Lindisfarne with Alan Hull in 1970, and wrote "Meet Me on the Co ...

and Ray Laidlaw to form Downtown Faction, a blues band. After joining forces with folk singer-songwriter

Alan Hull James Alan Hull (20 February 1945 – 17 November 1995) was an English singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band Lindisfarne. Career Hull was born at 68 Sutton's Dwellings, Adelaide Terrace, Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyn ...

, the band became

Major hit years (1970–1973)

Signed to

Charisma Records Charisma Records (also known as The Famous Charisma Label) was a British record label founded in 1969 by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith. He had previously acted as manager for rock bands such as The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der ...

in 1970,

made three best-selling albums over the next three years: ''

Nicely Out of Tune ''Nicely Out of Tune'' is the debut album by Lindisfarne, released in late 1970. It charted more than a year after release, thanks to the huge success of their second album ''Fog on the Tyne'', which topped the charts early in 1972. "Lady Elean ...

'', ''

Fog on the Tyne ''Fog on the Tyne'' is a 1971 album by English rock band Lindisfarne. Bob Johnston produced the album, which was recorded at Trident Studios in Soho, London, in the mid-1971 and released in October that year on Charisma Records in the United ...

'' and '' Dingly Dell''. Two major British hit singles were also achieved:

' "Meet Me on the Corner", which reached No.5, and

's "Lady Eleanor", which peaked at No.3. Cowe's compositions on these albums included "Uncle Sam" on ''

'', and "Go Back" on '' Dingly Dell''.

Jack The Lad (1973–76)

Cowe, Clements and Laidlaw left Lindisfarne in 1973 to form

Jack The Lad Jack the Lad were a British folk rock group from North East England formed in 1973 by three former members of the most successful band of the period from the region, Lindisfarne. They moved from the progressive folk rock of Lindisfarne into m ...

, an outfit with more obvious acoustic and traditional leanings than Lindisfarne. Other members who passed through this band's ranks were Billy Mitchell, Ian Walter Fairbairn and Phil Murray. Cowe appeared on Jack The Lad's first three albums, ''It's...Jack The Lad'', ''The Old Straight Track'' and ''Rough Diamonds', all of which were issued on Charisma and included several compositions and arrangements by Cowe. The final Jack The Lad album, ''Jackpot'', was released on United Artists in 1976. Cowe did not appear on this album, but was credited as co-arranger on two tracks. A CD reissue included his composition "See How They Run".

Second stint in Lindisfarne (1978–1993)

The original line-up of Lindisfarne re-formed in 1978 and scored a British Top 10 hit with "Run For Home" and a minor Top 75 entry with "Juke Box Gypsy", both written and sung by Alan Hull. Both were included on the band's reunion album '' Back and Fourth'', which reached No.22. Despite Lindisfarne's continuing popularity as a live act, subsequent albums such as ''Magic in the Air'', ''The News'', ''Sleepless Nights'', ''Dance Your Life Away'', ''C'mon Everybody'', ''Amigos'' and ''Elvis Lives on the Moon'', all of which featured Cowe, were less successful. The band did score a No.2 hit in 1990, however, with "Fog on the Tyne (Revisited)" in collaboration with footballer

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talente ...

. Cowe played a variety of instruments on both

's and

's albums, including guitar, piano, keyboards, harmonium, accordion, mandolin, banjo and bouzouki.

Later years

Cowe left Lindisfarne in 1993 to run a microbrewery in Toronto, Canada. He rejoined some of his former colleagues on stage at Newcastle City Hall in 2005, as part of a tribute to

, who had died in 1995. Cowe died on 30 September 2015 in Toronto, after a long illness.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowe, Simon 1948 births 2015 deaths British folk rock musicians English folk guitarists English male guitarists English banjoists British mandolinists English keyboardists Bouzouki players English multi-instrumentalists English people of Scottish descent Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne People educated at Fettes College English expatriates in Canada Lindisfarne (band) members