Simon Bell

Simon Bell (born 15 January 1949) is a Scottish session singer based in London.

Career

Born in Tradeston, Glasgow, Bell first sang in local bands in the 1960s, including the bands The Soundtracks, formed at Shawlands Academy, where he was educated, and Harlem Shuffle. He has worked with Marvin Gaye, Hot Chocolate, Elkie Brooks, Elaine Paige, Leo Sayer, and the James Last Orchestra.

His career as a session singer began in earnest when he relocated to London in the 1970s, Bell was initially taken under the wing of American soul star Doris Troy. Troy's connections began landing Bell singing gigs on recording sessions with soul singers like Madeline Bell.

Simon Bell's first single, Giving It Plenty, was issued in 1977 on the PYE label. It was used as the theme to the movie Number One of the Secret Service and featured in the Susan George shark movie Tintorera. Doris Troy recorded his composition "All I Have Is Written in Your Eyes" on her album "Stretching Out".

Bell has also written songs with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin for the soundtrack for the movie Scream for Help, and had his own compositions in films.

He has been a contributor to most documentaries on Dusty Springfield, and mentored the Dusty impressionist on BBC television's "The One And Only "[1].

On December 16, 2014 he released a 4 track E.P. of his own songs. "About Time E.P." is his first solo release since Giving It Plenty. It was followed on September 25, 2015 by "A Better Day", another collection of his own new compositions.

In December 2016 a third EP of seasonal songs was released, Winter Tales. It includes the Robert Burns song "Ae Fond Kiss" which was also released as a single in January 2017.

Bell releases a 4th digital EP - Should I move On? on January 11, 2018. It features 3 original songs - I'd Listen To You All Night, Colour & Light, and Should I Move On?, plus the James Last classic Games That Lovers Play.

Discography

  • 1978 - Givin' It Plenty (single) - PYE
  • 2014 - About Time EP - digital
  • 2015 - A Better Day EP - digital
  • 2015 - A Better Day (single) - digital
  • 2016 - Winter Tales EP - digital
  • 2017 - Ae Fond Kiss - (single) - digital
  • 2018 - Should I Move On? EP - digital

The Springfield connection

Through Madeline Bell, he eventually met Dusty Springfield, with whom he would have an association for many years. Bell met Springfield at a challenging time in her career, and he became her backup singer and friend. Bell remained close friends with Springfield, helping her through her illness and singing at her funeral after her death from breast cancer in 1999.[2][3] Bell maintains a website, "Dusty Devotedly", that pays tribute to Springfield.[4]

References

  1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110125102459/http://www.bbc.co.uk/theoneandonly/superfans/dusty_springfield_superfans/ BBC - The One & Only
  2. ↑ A Girl Called Dusty by Sharon Davis
  3. ↑ Dancing with Demons by Vicki Wickham & Penny Valentine
  4. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=K4HcAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Simon+Bell+%28singer%29%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=y8GEVIuJGMasUcyngNgP&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Simon%20Bell%20&f=false
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.