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Simon Tong (born 9 July 1972) is an English
guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
and
keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...
who was a member of
the Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simo ...
between 1996 and 1999. He has played with Damon Albarn on tour with his bands Blur and
Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...
, and as a member of
the Good, the Bad & the Queen The Good, the Bad & the Queen were an English art rock supergroup composed of singer Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, guitarist Simon Tong of the Verve, and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. They released t ...
. He ranks in
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 exam. ...
...
's "The Axe Factor" as the 40th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years. Tong grew up in English town
Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...
, the subject of his most recent release, ''Prospect of Skelmersdale'' with his project The Magnetic North.


Career


The Verve; 1996–1999

From 1996 to 1999, Simon was a guitarist and keyboardist for
The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simo ...
. He was brought in to replace lead guitarist
Nick McCabe Nicholas John McCabe (born 14 July 1971) is an English musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Verve. Early life McCabe is the son of a bus driver father and a social worker mother and has two older brothers, Alan and Paul. When asked ...
after the band's first short-lived split, but remained with them when McCabe returned. Their third album was 1997's highly acclaimed ''
Urban Hymns ''Urban Hymns'' is the third studio album by English alternative rock band the Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Records. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling rel ...
''. He played on many of their hits from that time such as "
The Drugs Don't Work "The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by English rock band the Verve. The song was written by Richard Ashcroft and is featured on their third studio album, ''Urban Hymns'' (1997). It was released on 1 September 1997 as the second single from the albu ...
", "
Bittersweet Symphony "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by the English rock band the Verve, from their third studio album, '' Urban Hymns'' (1997). It was produced by Youth and released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings and Virgin Records as the album's lead single. ...
" and "
Sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
". The Verve disbanded in 1999 and later reformed in 2007, this time without Tong, as Jones stated in an interview, "When we were getting the band back together we wanted to go back to the core members, he was cool with it, he understood. He would like to have been part of it but he understood the reasons,". By 2009 they had disbanded again.


The Shining; 2002–2003

After The Verve disbanded, Tong and Simon Jones (The Verve) were members of short lived band The Shining from 2002 to 2003.


Blur/Gorillaz; 2002–2010

Following
Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...
's departure from Blur in 2002, Tong was recruited as the guitarist for the band's live performances in support of the album ''
Think Tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
'' (2003). He continued the relationship formed with frontman
Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...
by contributing guitar to
Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...
' 2005 album ''
Demon Days ''Demon Days'' is the second studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was first released on 11 May 2005 in Japan and on 23 May 2005 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Virgin Records. Produced by the band, ...
'' and playing guitar in the Gorillaz live band for the
Demon Days Live Demon Days Live was a limited concert tour performed by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, in support of their second studio album ''Demon Days''. Demon Days Live consisted of two residencies, with five shows played at the Man ...
performances. Tong also contributed guitar to Gorillaz' 2010 album ''
Plastic Beach ''Plastic Beach'' is the third studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 3 March 2010 by Parlophone internationally and by Virgin Records in the United States. Conceived from an unfinished project called ''Carousel'', th ...
'' and substituted for lead guitarist
Jeff Wootton Jeffrey Wootton (born 12 May 1987) is an English musician, guitarist and songwriter from Manchester. He has been the lead guitarist in the Gorillaz since 2010. A long time collaborator with Damon Albarn, he has also collaborated with Brian Eno, ...
on certain dates of the
Escape to Plastic Beach Tour The Escape to Plastic Beach Tour was a concert tour by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz in support of their third studio album '' Plastic Beach''. During the tour, Damon Albarn recorded '' The Fall'', described by Albarn as a ...
.


Erland and the Carnival/The Good, the Bad and the Queen; 2006–2019

In July 2006, it was reported that Tong would again be working with Damon Albarn.
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
reported that Albarn had foregone plans to record a solo album and instead formed a new group
The Good, the Bad & the Queen The Good, the Bad & the Queen were an English art rock supergroup composed of singer Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, guitarist Simon Tong of the Verve, and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. They released t ...
, which featured Tong with Albarn, former Clash bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Tony Allen. The band released the single " Herculean" in October 2006 and later released their self titled debut studio album on 23 January 2007. The album enjoyed very good reviews and a second single, "
Kingdom of Doom "Kingdom of Doom" is a song by the British alternative rock supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen, made up of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen and is the fourth track on their 2007 album ''The Good, the Bad & the Queen'' ...
", was also released in January 2007 as part of their pan European tour. The band was active again after a decade, releasing their second album, '' Merrie Land'' on 16 November 2018 to largely positive reviews. It was supported by a 2018 December tour in the UK and a European tour in 2019. However, the band was split again shortly after finished the UK and Europe tour. In 2021, Tong contributed to Damon Albarn's solo album,
The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows ''The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows'' is the second solo studio album by British musician Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur (band), Blur and Gorillaz. It was released on 12 November 2021, by Transgressive Records ...
.


The Magnetic North; 2012–present

Simon Tong co-created The Magnetic North with Erland Cooper of Erland and the Carnival, and
Hannah Peel Hannah Mary Peel (born 27 August 1985) is a British artist, music producer, Mercury Music Prize and Emmy-nominated composer and BBC Radio 3 broadcaster. Her solo music is primarily electronic, synthesiser-based and often includes classical scor ...
of
John Foxx and the Maths John Foxx and the Maths is a musical project featuring electronic music pioneer John Foxx, Benge and more recently Hannah Peel. The group specialises in the use of analogue synthesizers and drum machines. It was initially a studio based proj ...
. They originally planned on only releasing one album in 2012, ''Orkney: Symphony of the Magnetic North'', but due to its popularity reconvened to release follow-up ''Prospect of Skelmersdale'' in 2016, a concept album about Tong's Transcendentalist hometown,
Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...
.


Other projects

Tong also set up a record label with
Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
(of
Killing Joke Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Ki ...
) called Butterfly Recordings. The first acts to be released are Indigo Moss and Duke Garwood along with a compilation entitled "What the Folk". In 2012 Simon contributed to the recording of the
Dr Dee ''Dr Dee: An English Opera'' is an opera created by theatre director Rufus Norris and musician and composer Damon Albarn. Its debut performance was at the Palace Theatre, Manchester in July 2011, as part of the 2011 Manchester International Fes ...
soundtrack, written by
Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...
, which was released on 7 May 2012. He was a member of the band
Transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...
with
Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
, Paul Ferguson (of
Killing Joke Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Ki ...
) and Tim Bran (of
Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group. They have released eight studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. Career Dreadzone were formed in London, England in 1993 when ex- Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts teamed up ...
) which has released a single called "Noctolucent" and an album "Beyond Light" in 2006. He has also played guitar on several tracks on the 2007
Client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuable ...
album "
Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...
". Tong was asked to play guitar on the album Apriti sesamo by Italian composer
Franco Battiato Francesco "Franco" Battiato (; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes, a ...
. After its 2012 release Tong toured with Battiato in Italy. In 2020 Tong was involved in a project called 'Mirry

with his brother in law Tom Fraser and Kirsteen McNish. It resulted in an album based around the 1950s piano recordings of Frasers great aunt Mirry.


Personal life

Tong grew up with fellow Verve member
Richard Ashcroft Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...
and went to school with other members of The Verve. He is credited with teaching him guitar.


References


External links


Gorillaz – Official websiteBlur – Official websiteThe Good, The Bad, The Queen – Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tong, Simon English rock guitarists English male guitarists English rock keyboardists English songwriters Living people 1972 births Music in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan People from Farnworth People from Wigan Blur (band) members The Verve members British people of Chinese descent British people of Portuguese-Jewish descent Gorillaz members Transmission (band) members The Good, the Bad & the Queen members The Shining (band) members Erland and the Carnival members The Magnetic North members