Paul Simpson
Encyclopedia
Paul Simpson is a musician, vocalist, lyricist and writer from Liverpool
, England
. His vocal and lyrical styles have been described as "haunting" and "doomed romantic", respectively. Musically, his contributions have crossed the genres of Synthpop
, Post-punk
, Neo-psychedelia
, New Wave
and Ambient
. He is not to be confused with Paul Simpson the prolific New York producer of Disco, Dance, and House records, or disc jockey Paul Simpson, former host of both the Volcano Worshipper's Hour on WRSU-FM and Chester's Blanket Fort on WPKN
/WPKM
.
, Ian McCulloch
and others under the name 'A Shallow Madness'. This later transformed into the Cope-lead Teardrop Explodes
, while McCulloch went on to form Echo & the Bunnymen
. Around this time, Simpson shared a flat with Bunnymen drummer Pete de Freitas
.
He left the Teardrops in 1979 to form his own band The Wild Swans
in 1980. Between the two incarnations of the band, he was also co-founder of the duo Care
with Ian Broudie
, later of the Lightning Seeds
.
Care broke up around 1984 and after a while, he and a Mark II version of The Wild Swans re-formed to record 1988's Bringing Home The Ashes and 1989's Space Flower.
Speaking of his past, he recalls, with some humour, the early Teardrops and Wild Swans period where he often sported enormous baggy trousers and a foppish, 'Brideshead Revisited
' haircut.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His vocal and lyrical styles have been described as "haunting" and "doomed romantic", respectively. Musically, his contributions have crossed the genres of Synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
, Post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
, Neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia is music that emulates or is heavily influenced by the psychedelic music of the 1960s. It began to be revived among British post-punk bands of the later 1970s and early 1980s and was taken up by groups including bands of the Paisley Underground and Madchester scenes, as well as...
, New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and Ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
. He is not to be confused with Paul Simpson the prolific New York producer of Disco, Dance, and House records, or disc jockey Paul Simpson, former host of both the Volcano Worshipper's Hour on WRSU-FM and Chester's Blanket Fort on WPKN
WPKN
WPKN is a 100% non-commercial, listener-supported†radio station broadcasting at 89.5 FM in Bridgeport, Connecticut and formerly 88.7 FM in Montauk, New York. Its volunteer programmers present a wide variety of music and public affairs programming including the syndicated weekly radio news magazine...
/WPKM
WEER
WEER was a radio station serving the Long Island, New York from May 2010 until October 2011. It broadcast on FM frequency 88.7 MHz and is under ownership of the Hamptons Community Radio Corporation. This station is operated under a construction permit as their radio station facility was built...
.
Early career
His music career began in the late 1970s, commencing with the bedsit collaboration with Julian CopeJulian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
, Ian McCulloch
Ian McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
and others under the name 'A Shallow Madness'. This later transformed into the Cope-lead Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
, while McCulloch went on to form Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
. Around this time, Simpson shared a flat with Bunnymen drummer Pete de Freitas
Pete de Freitas
Pete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
.
He left the Teardrops in 1979 to form his own band The Wild Swans
The Wild Swans (band)
The Wild Swans are a post-punk band from Liverpool, England, which originally formed in 1980 shortly after Paul Simpson left The Teardrop Explodes and teamed up with Jeremy Kelly , Ged Quinn , James Weston and Justin Stavely...
in 1980. Between the two incarnations of the band, he was also co-founder of the duo Care
Care (band)
Care were a New Wave band formed by Paul Simpson and Ian Broudie in 1983 in Liverpool, England.-History:Paul Simpson is the vocalist of The Wild Swans, whose songs include the 1981 single "The Revolutionary Spirit". Simpson has said that the Care single "Whatever Possessed You" was originally...
with Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
, later of the Lightning Seeds
Lightning Seeds
The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed in 1989 by Ian Broudie , formerly of the Big in Japan band....
.
Care broke up around 1984 and after a while, he and a Mark II version of The Wild Swans re-formed to record 1988's Bringing Home The Ashes and 1989's Space Flower.
Speaking of his past, he recalls, with some humour, the early Teardrops and Wild Swans period where he often sported enormous baggy trousers and a foppish, 'Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. Waugh wrote that the novel "deals with what is theologically termed 'the operation of Grace', that is to say, the unmerited and unilateral act of love by...
' haircut.