Tom Simpson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Tom Simpson is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, best known as the keyboardist of the Northern Irish alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...

. He has been with Snow Patrol as a touring member since 1997 and became a permanent one in 2005. In 2007, he was arrested on drug charges, but was later acquitted.

Biography

Tom Simpson attended Monifieth High School
Monifieth High School
Monifieth High School, a comprehensive state high school in Monifieth, Angus, Scotland, was founded in 1976. Its current headmaster is Richard Coton. The school enrolls approximately 1100 pupils from a catchment area including Monifieth, parts of Barnhill, Birkhill and other rural areas of Angus...

 in Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. He went to the art school in the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....

, the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is an integral part of the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. It is ranked as one of the top schools of art and design in the United Kingdom and has an outstanding reputation in both practice and research.-History:Attempts were made to...

, and has a degree in drawing and painting.

He had no musical leanings as a youngster, and always had aspirations of being a scratch/mix DJ. He started deejaying when he was about 17, and used to run a few clubs in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, in whose university Gary Lightbody
Gary Lightbody
Gary Lightbody is an Northern Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.- Early life :...

 studied at the time. Lightbody used to visit one of these clubs, and met Simpson one day, and the two ended up becoming friends. Simpson, at the time did not know Lightbody was in a band. However, one day, Lightbody invited him to the university to watch Snow Patrol (his band) play a concert. Simpson liked the band's show, and felt they had "potential" and "a lot of soul". Lightbody was relieved, and said that the band would like him to do synthesizers and turn table effects for their first album Songs for Polarbears
Songs for Polarbears
*"Marketplace" is included as a hidden track after "One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed" on both versions.*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "Songs for Polarbears".-Personnel:Snow Patrol...

. He did, and later got invited to go on tour with the band. He felt happy at the opportunity, as he was finding himself at "crossroads" in his own life. Since, he has been with Snow Patrol.

Simpson started to play keyboards in his late 20s, and in around 2006, finally took lessons in classical piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 at the insistence of a friend. He finds the lessons interesting and challenging. He has said that after the years he was with Snow Patrol, he realized that he had become a musician, despite having no intentions to become so. He was declared an official member of the band when bassist Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson (musician)
Paul "Pablo" Wilson is a Scottish musician, who is best known as the bass guitarist for Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He previously played guitar in Glasgow band Terra Diablo from 2000–2005. In March 2005, he replaced bassist Mark McClelland in Snow Patrol and switched...

 was recruited into the band, after founder Mark McClelland
Mark McClelland
Mark Peter McClelland is a musician from Northern Ireland, known best as the former bass guitarist with the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album, Final Straw...

 was fired. As a musician Tom Simpson plays piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

s, a monitor mixer, and professional instrumental mixing of effects (recording music and application in live shows).

His previous experiences as a DJ included playing at The Spaceship, Skoolin' and The Phat Clinic which were held at the old Coffee Bar at Duncan of Jordanstone College. His nights at The Spaceship were done in partnership with friends Nick DeCosemo and Anu Pillai (of the band Freeform Five
Freeform Five
Freeform Five is London based DJ, producer, songwriter Anu Pillai. It was his remix of Isolee’s “Beau Mot Plage” in 1999 that alerted many to this production outfit....

), Lightbody and Roy Kerr
The Freelance Hellraiser
Roy Kerr, aka The Freelance Hellraiser, is one of the creators of the UK bootleg scene.He gained fame with a mash-up called "A Stroke of Genius", which combined an instrumental edit of The Strokes' track "Hard To Explain" with Christina Aguilera's pop hit "Genie in a Bottle"...

. He still follows his passion as DJ in British clubs outside Snow Patrol, often in partnership with his friend and band mate Gary Lightbody under the moniker Snow Patrol DJs or SP DJs, and with Dave Bowie from the Autodisco DJs.

Personal life

Simpson was accused of possessing Class A drugs in Glasgow in June 2006. He was arrested on 7 July 2007 in RAF Northolt
RAF Northolt
RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...

, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, which put the band's headlining set the next day (at T in the Park) in jeopardy. He was held at London's Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

, mere hours after the band played at Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...

, which made him miss the Oxegen 2007
Oxegen 2007
Oxegen '07 was the fourth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Saturday, 7 July and Sunday, 8 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland. The festival was headlined by Muse and Snow...

performance that night. The band had started searching for a replacement for Simpson, who however, was released in time to play at T in the Park. All charges against him and a friend were later dropped.

Tom currently lives in Monifieth Scotland. Outside of his passion for music he enjoys playing golf and when off tour he can be found playing on the town's course. Tom is also an avid supporter of Dundee Football Club. Although his occupation has brought him to public notice he endeavors to maintain his privacy.

External links

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