Simon Fisher Turner (born 21 November 1954) is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor. After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of ''

Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

'' and roles in films such as ''

The Big Sleep ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, The Big Sleep (1946 film), in 1946 and again The Big Sleep ...

'' (1978), Turner rose to fame as a teenage star in Britain when his mentor,

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

, released Turner's eponymous first album on

UK Records UK Records was a music label launched in 1972 by Jonathan King to distribute his own releases and those by some other artists.

in 1973. For a period of two years Turner was a member of The Gadget and also joined

The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

. He has used several names as a recording artist, including Simon Fisher Turner, The King of Luxembourg, Deux Filles and Simon Turner. He continues to record albums for

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

as Simon Fisher Turner. Turner was also a member of The Portsmouth Sinfonia Orchestra, and plays clarinet on the orchestra's only live album recorded at The Albert Hall, London.

Career

In the 1980s, Turner released several singles on the él record label as the King of Luxembourg, many of them having been given airplay by BBC Radio DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. In 1990 he released a solo album on

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

. Turner also recorded several

film soundtracks A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

for

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

, including ''

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

'' (1986), '' The Last of England'' (1988), '' The Garden'' (1990), and Jarman's final film ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

'' (1993). He also composed the complete score for '' William Eggleston in the Real World'' (2005) and the

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

-produced film, '' Nadja'' (1994), as well as Mike Hodges' last two films, ''

Croupier A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos. Origin of the word Originally a "croupier" meant ...

'' (1998) and '' I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'' (2003). Many of his soundtracks are released on CD, mainly on

, on which he issued three solo albums. In 2002, Turner was a visiting professor at

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

School of Art in Germany. In 2009, he joined

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

on a new film essay shot in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

for '' The Invisible Frame'' (2009) directed by Cynthia Beatt. In the same year he produced

Polly Scattergood Polly Scattergood (born 18 October 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. She has been described as ethereal, dark, intense and quirky, while her musical style has been described as "early 21st century electro-dance-pop of London proper". ...

's self-titled debut album, ''

''. Turner completed music for sculptor, Alyson Shotz, at the Nasher Sculpture Centre,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. In 2010 he composed the music for ''The Great White Silence'', a film by Herbert Ponting. It was restored by the British Film Institute, and released on Blu-ray/DVD. The soundtrack is available from Soleilmoon Recordings. In 2011, Turner released a triple CD, ''Soundtracks for Derek'', on Optical Sound. It is music composed for an exhibition, "Super 8", by Jarman at the Julia Stoschek Foundation. Mute Records released an album made with the sounds supplied by Espen J. Jorgensen. Also in that year, "Music for Films you should have seen" was released by Optical Sound. This includes music for the only film

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

made, ''Un Chant D'amour''. Turner continued to make music for commercials for water, supermarkets and cancer research. In 2012, Turner worked with

Shiro Takatani is a Japanese artist. He currently lives and works in Kyoto. Co-founder and visual creator of the group Dumb Type since 1984, he also became artistic director of the group from 1995 and also started an active solo career in 1998. Biography ...

, artistic director of

dumb type Dumb Type is an artist collective based in Kyoto, Japan founded in 1984. Dumb Type is a group of creative art forms that express the new and daily life of the twentieth century modern and technological world of Japan. During the 1980s Dumb Type ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, the BFI in the UK and prepared new sounds. He played concerts in Europe performing both ''Blue'' and ''The Great White Silence'', live with the Elysian Quartet. During 2013, Turner provided the score for ''

The Epic of Everest ''The Epic of Everest'' is a 1924 documentary about the Mallory and Irvine Mount Everest expedition. After a digital restoration in 2013, the film was re-released in UK cinemas. The publicity surrounding the film provoked a diplomatic incident, ...

'', a film made in 1924 by Captain John Noel, restored by The British Film Institute and released on Blu-ray. A soundtrack album released on Mute Records won him an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

. Simon Turner lives with his wife and two children in London.

Actor

Television

* ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' (3 episodes, 1968) - (as Tom) * ''

'' (1971 TV serial) * ''The Intruder'' (1972) TV series * ''The Long Chase'' (13 episodes, 1972) * ''

The Adventures of Black Beauty ''The Adventures of Black Beauty'' is a British adventure family television series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974. It was distributed internationally by London Weekend Interna ...

'' (1972) * ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' (3 episodes, 1974) - (as Barty) * '' Who Killed Lamb?'' (1974) (TV) * ''Village Hall'' (1974) TV series * '' Kim & Co.'' (1975) TV series * ''Lillie'' (1978) TV serial * '' Stay with Me Till Morning'' (1981, TV series) * ''Neptune's Children'' (1985) TV series

Films

* ''

'' (1978) * ''

'' (1986) * ''The Party: Nature Morte'' (1991) * ''The 90 Days (Japan)'' (1992) * ''

Claire Dolan ''Claire Dolan'' is a 1998 American-French drama film directed by Lodge Kerrigan and starring Katrin Cartlidge, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Colm Meaney. It premiered at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and was given a limited release in the United Stat ...

'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999) * ''

The End of the Affair ''The End of the Affair'' is a 1951 novel by British author Graham Greene, as well as the title of two feature films (released in 1955 and 1999) that were adapted from the novel. Set in London during and just after the Second World War, the n ...

'' (1999) *'' Hana wo tsumu shôjo to mushi wo korosu shôjo'' (2000)

Discography

As Simon Turner

Singles

* "Shoeshine Boy" / "17" (

UK Records UK Records was a music label launched in 1972 by Jonathan King to distribute his own releases and those by some other artists.

, 1972) * "Baby (I Gotta Go)" / "Love Around" (UK Records, 1972) * "Baby (I Gotta Go)" / "I Wanna Love My Life Away" (UK Records, 1972) * "The Prettiest Star" / "Love Around" (UK Records, 1973) * "California Revisited" / "Simon Talk" (UK Records, 1973) * "She Was Just a Young Girl (No Way)" / "I'll Take Your Hand" (UK Records, 1974) * "Sex Appeal" / "Little Lady" (UK Records, 1974) * "I've Been a Bad Bad Boy" / "Little Lady" (UK Records, 1974) * "New York" / "Hello I Am Your Heart" (1975) * "Could It Really Be" (Ariola Records, 1977)

Albums

* '' Simon Turner'' (

UK Records UK Records was a music label launched in 1972 by Jonathan King to distribute his own releases and those by some other artists.

, 1973) * ''Simon Turner'' (

, 1990) * ''Sex Appeal'' (1992) * ''The Many Moods of Simon Turner'' (1993) * ''Revox'' (1993)

As Deux Filles

* ''Silence & Wisdom'' (1982)

As the King of Luxembourg

* ''Royal Bastard'' (1987) * ''Sir'' (1988) * ''Sex Appeal'' (1992) * ''Sweets of Japan'' ( Felicite Records) (2003)

As Loveletter

* ''Beethoven Chopin Kitchen Fraud'' (1999)

As Simon Fisher Turner

* ''The Bone of Desire'' (1985) * ''Caravaggio Original Soundtrack'' (1986–1995) * ''The Last of England'' Original Soundtrack (1987) * ''Melancholia'' Soundtrack (1989) * ''Edward II'' Original Soundtrack (1991) * ''The Garden'' Original Soundtrack (1991) * ''I've Heard the Ammonite Murmur'' (1992) * ''

'' (1993) * ''Live Blue Roma (The Archaeology of Sound)'' (1995) * '' Nadja'' (1995) * ''Shwarma'' (1996) * ''Loaded'' Original Soundtrack (1996) * ''Still, Moving, Light'' (1999) * ''Oh Venus'' (1999) * ''Eyes Open'' (1999) * ''Travelcard'' (2000) * ''Riviera Faithful'' (2002) * ''Swift'' (2002) * ''Lana Lara Lata'' (2007) * ''Music From Films You Should Have Seen'' (2009) * ''Soundtracks for Derek'' (2011) * ''The Great White Silence'' Original Soundtrack (2011) * ''Berlin'' Soundscape recording made during the shooting days of the film ''The Invisible Frame'' (2012) * ''Soundescapes'' (2012) by SFT and Espen J jorgenson * ''The Epic of Everest'' Original Soundtrack (2014) * ''Giraffe '' (

Editions Mego Mego was an experimental electronic music independent record label based in Vienna, Austria. The label has been superseded by a new company, Editions Mego, which was set up both to keep Mego albums in print and to issue new albums, run by Peter ...

, 2017) * ''Care'' (an album with Klara Lewis in Edition Mego, 2018)

Film music not released on CD (selection)

* '' I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'' * '' William Eggleston in the Real World''

References

External links

SFT siteiMDB: SFTDiscogs: SFTMute: SFT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Simon Fisher 1954 births English film score composers English male film score composers Georges Delerue Award winners English male film actors English pop guitarists English male guitarists English male singer-songwriters English male television actors Living people Mute Records artists People from Dover, Kent The The members Musicians from Kent Male actors from Kent Soleilmoon artists