Simon Alexander Neil
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Simon Alexander Neil (born 31 August 1979) is a Scottish vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for his work in the bands Biffy Clyro and Marmaduke Dukeand also new band with Mike Vennart, Empire state bastard.


Career


Biffy Clyro

Born in
Irvine, North Ayrshire Irvine ( ; sco, Irvin,
gd, Irbhinn, IPA: Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, Simon Neil formed Biffy Clyro in 1995 at 15 years old recruiting
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
-born Ben Johnston and someone known only as Barry on drums and bass respectively, calling themselves Skrewfish.Biffy Clyro Biography
on Beggar's Banquet USA
Barry was soon replaced by James Johnston, Ben's twin brother, and Biffy Clyro was effectively formed. In 1997, the trio moved to
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, where Neil studied Electronics with Music at the
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
. He also Studied Film and TV for a year before leaving to pursue music full-time. By then, Simon's musical tastes had expanded; In 2000, the band were spotted at the Unsigned Bands stage at T in the Park by a
Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Ro ...
representative. Soon after, the band was signed to the
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
Beggar's Banquet. Biffy Clyro have since released nine albums, signed to a major record label, and toured relentlessly. Neil has stated that Biffy Clyro lyrics often come from phrases he writes down in a notebook he keeps by his bed.


Marmaduke Duke

Neil plays with JP Reid of fellow Ayrshire group Sucioperro in Marmaduke Duke, under the pseudonym "The Atmosphere", which released their first album, ''
The Magnificent Duke ''The Magnificent Duke'' is the debut studio album by Scottish conceptual rock duo Marmaduke Duke Marmaduke Duke are a Scottish conceptual rock duo from Ayrshire, Scotland, comprising Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro and JP Reid of Sucioperro. Wit ...
'', in 2005. It was announced in late 2008 that the Duke was to make a return in 2009 with the follow-up album and second in the trilogy, ''
Duke Pandemonium ''Duke Pandemonium'' is the second studio album by Scottish conceptual rock duo Marmaduke Duke, released on 11 May 2009 on 14th Floor Records. Band member JP Reid describes the album as "superfunky, supertight, superunique." According to Simon N ...
''. The first single from the second album, "Kid Gloves" was released on 9 February 2009.


Solo career

Neil performs under the name ZZC. His debut single, "To the Bone", was used in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's ‘
Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...
Rescores:
Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...
(curated by
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
)’ project. In 2017, Neil released a 7-minute instrumental track entitled "The Myth" under the ZZC moniker. Two tracks from an unreleased ZZC solo album, "Plead" and "Fever Dream" were released on the 2019 Biffy Clyro soundtrack album
Balance, Not Symmetry ''Balance, Not Symmetry'' is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Jamie Adams. The film stars Laura Harrier with Bria Vinaite, Kate Dickie, Tamsin Egerton, Freya Mavor, and Shauna Macdonald in major supporting roles. The film is about Cait ...
.


Personal life

Neil lives in
Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
with his wife Francesca, whom he married at St. Columba Church in Ayr on 5 January 2008. The song " God Only Knows" by
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
was used for their first dance, and Neil has the song's chorus, "God only knows what I'd be without you", tattooed on his chest.''Ayshire Post'', 9 January 2008
Sweet music
/ref> In 2021, he presented a series of shows on BBC Radio Scotland.


Musical equipment used

The following is a list of musical equipment used by Simon Neil:


Guitars

''Electric'' * Fender Standard StratocastersBiffyTabs Equipment – Simon
– Various different Mexican models, including White, Red, Sunburst (with neck pickup & controls removed), Black, and Metallic Blue. * Fender 1960 Custom Shop Stratocasters – Fiesta Red, Frost Metallic, Lake Placid Blue, and White. * Fender 50s Stratocaster Relic * Fender Telecaster Standard – USA model, owned by James Johnston, three tone sunburst, can be seen in the music video for " Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies". * Fender Telecaster '62 Custom – Japanese model, three tone sunburst, can be seen in the music video for "Only One Word Comes to Mind". * Fender Telecaster Custom 1972 reissue, black. Can be seen in the music video for "Mountains". * Squier Simon Neil Signature Stratocaster *
Patrick Eggle Patrick James Eggle is a British guitar designer and luthier. The company he founded in the 1990s, Patrick Eggle Guitars, first based in Coventry and then in Birmingham, is known for designing and releasing such guitar ranges as the Berlin (1991) ...
New York – Red. *
Gretsch White Falcon The Gretsch White Falcon is an electric hollow-body guitar introduced in 1954 by Gretsch. This guitar was created as a "showpiece" to exhibit the craft of Gretsch's luthiers, sales, and demonstration representative, Jimmie Webster, who created i ...
Used live for the song "Diary of Always" and is seen in the music video for " Folding Stars" * Gibson ES-335 – used live for "God & Satan" * Gretsch G2420T – used for music video of "Howl".


Effects pedals

* BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner * BOSS MD-2 Distortion * BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone * BOSS DD-6 Digital Delay x2 * BOSS LS-2 Line Selector * Origin Effects Cali76 Compressor


Previous effects pedals

*
BOSS DS-1 The Boss DS-1 is a distortion pedal for guitar, manufactured by the Roland Corporation under the brand name Boss since 1978. The first distortion effects unit made by Boss, it has become a classic effect, used by many notable guitar players. Boss ...
Distortion * BOSS HM-2 Heavy Metal *
Dunlop Cry Baby The Dunlop Cry Baby is a popular wah-wah pedal, manufactured by Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc. The name Cry Baby was from the original pedal from which it was copied, the Thomas Organ/ Vox Cry Baby wah-wah, first manufactured in 1966. Thomas Organ/ ...
Wah Wah *
Electro Harmonix Electro-Harmonix (also commonly referred to as EHX) is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of gu ...
Micro POG


Amplifiers

* Peavey Delta Blues Combo * Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10 Combo * Marshall 1959SLP Head * Peavey Classic Head and Peavey Classic 412 Cabinet * Hayden MoFo 30W tube head with Hayden 4x12 * Fender Super Sonic 100 BLK Head * Kemper Profiling Amplifier PowerHead


Discography


Biffy Clyro

* ''
Blackened Sky ''Blackened Sky'' is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. Largely produced with the band by Chris Sheldon, it was released by Beggars Banquet Records on 10 March 2002. The album reached number 78 on the UK Albums Chart, and ...
'' (2002) * ''
The Vertigo of Bliss ''The Vertigo of Bliss'' is the second studio album by British rock band Biffy Clyro. Produced with the band by Chris Sheldon, it was released by Beggars Banquet Records on 16 June 2003. The album reached number 48 on the UK Albums Chart, and spa ...
'' (2003) * ''
Infinity Land ''Infinity Land'' is the third studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, released on 4 October 2004 on Beggars Banquet. Overview The album saw the band move into darker territory, in terms of both sound and lyrical content. It also furt ...
'' (2004) * ''
Puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...
'' (2007) * ''
Only Revolutions ''Only Revolutions'' is an American road novel by writer Mark Z. Danielewski. It was released in the United States on September 12, 2006 by Pantheon Books. It was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction. Plot summary The story ...
'' (2009) * ''
Opposites Opposite or Opposites may refer to: * Opposite (semantics), a word that means the reverse of a word * Opposite (leaf), an arrangement of leaves on a stem * Opposite (mathematics), the negative of a number; numbers that, when added, yield zero *" ...
'' (2013) * ''
Ellipsis The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...
'' (2016) * '' MTV Unplugged: Live at Roundhouse, London'' (2018) * ''
Balance, Not Symmetry ''Balance, Not Symmetry'' is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Jamie Adams. The film stars Laura Harrier with Bria Vinaite, Kate Dickie, Tamsin Egerton, Freya Mavor, and Shauna Macdonald in major supporting roles. The film is about Cait ...
'' (2019) * '' A Celebration of Endings'' (2020) * '' The Myth of the Happily Ever After'' (2021)


Marmaduke Duke

* ''
The Magnificent Duke ''The Magnificent Duke'' is the debut studio album by Scottish conceptual rock duo Marmaduke Duke Marmaduke Duke are a Scottish conceptual rock duo from Ayrshire, Scotland, comprising Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro and JP Reid of Sucioperro. Wit ...
'' (2005) * ''
Duke Pandemonium ''Duke Pandemonium'' is the second studio album by Scottish conceptual rock duo Marmaduke Duke, released on 11 May 2009 on 14th Floor Records. Band member JP Reid describes the album as "superfunky, supertight, superunique." According to Simon N ...
'' (2009)


Other appearances


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neil, Simon 1979 births Biffy Clyro members Living people People educated at Prestwick Academy People from Ayr People from Irvine, North Ayrshire Scottish rock guitarists Scottish male guitarists 21st-century Scottish male singers Scottish rock singers Scottish songwriters