Simon Wallace (born 1957) is a British composer and pianist. Simon Wallace was born in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. He studied music at the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, where he ran the

Oxford University Jazz Club The Oxford University Jazz Society, also known as JazzSoc, is the focus of jazz music at the University of Oxford, England; the place to be for players and listeners, dancers and drinkers. Formerly known as the Oxford University Jazz Club, the s ...

and played with ''

The Oxcentrics The Oxcentrics is a Dixieland jazz band founded in 1975 at Oxford University. The band's name was derived from ''The Oxontrics'', an original 1920s jazz band. Several (although by no means all) members were from University College, where many of ...

'', a Dixieland jazz band. He also studied with jazz pianists in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Wallace collaborated with the film and television composer

Simon Brint Simon Tracey Brint (26 September 1950 – 29 May 2011) was a British musician, best known for his role as part of the comedy duo Raw Sex with Rowland Rivron. He also composed for many British television comedy and drama programmes. Early life ...

from 1980 until Brint's death in 2011. They composed music for television series including ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (often shortened to ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom created and written by Jennifer Saunders, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990 '' French and Saunders'' sketch " Modern Mother and Daughter", cr ...

'', ''

Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mo ...

'', ''

French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is al ...

'', ''

Murder Most Horrid ''Murder Most Horrid'' is a British black comedy anthology series starring Dawn French. It was broadcast on BBC Two for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999. Created by Paul Smith, who also co-created ''Colin's Sandwich'' (with Terry ...

'', ''All Rise For

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including n ...

'', '' The Ruby Wax Show'', ''Bosom Pals'', ''The All New Alexie Sayle Show'', ''The

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...

Show''.. In 1982 they scored ''

A Shocking Accident ''A Shocking Accident'' is a 1982 British short comedy film directed by James Scott and produced by Christine Oestreicher, based on Graham Greene's short story by the same name. In 1983, Oestreicher won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short ...

'' which won 1983

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for 'best live action short their last broadcast work together was the music for ''

The One Ronnie ''The One...'' is a comedy sketch television series starring Ronnie Corbett, of ''The Two Ronnies'', Lenny Henry of '' The Lenny Henry Show'', Jasper Carrott, comedian and former presenter of ITV game show '' Golden Balls'' and Welsh comedian an ...

'' in December 2010. Independently of Brint he scored the 1982

David Leland David Leland (20 April 1941 – 24 December 2023) was a British film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987. Life and career Leland initially trained as an ac ...

television drama ''R.H.I.N.O.'', the 1998 series ''

Duck Patrol ''Duck Patrol'' is a British television comedy series that originally aired between 19 July and 30 August 1998. Produced by LWT for the ITV network, it centred on a river police station by the River Thames. The series consisted of seven episo ...

'', and the documentary series ''Famous Authors''. He worked on two series of

The Armstrong and Miller Show ''The Armstrong & Miller Show'' is a British sketch comedy television show produced by Hat Trick Productions for BBC One. It features the double act Armstrong and Miller and a number of notable scriptwriters including Andy Hamilton, co-creator ...

(2007-2009 BBC1) arranging and playing music for the ''Brabbins and Fyffe'' sketches. In 1986, the

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Symphony Orchestra commissioned a five movement symphony for

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

, the

King of Thailand The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty. ...

's 60th birthday. A further commission ''Fanfare and Rhapsody'' was performed in 2006 as part of the celebrations for His Majesty the King's 60th Jubilee. From 1990 to 1993, Wallace toured internationally as a member of ''The

Lindsay Kemp Lindsay Keith Kemp (3 May 1938British Film Institute entry for Lindsa ...

Company'' devising and performing music with composer percussionist Joji Hirota for the show ''Onnagata'' and the film ''Travelling Light''. In 1993, he was musical director for the West End production and cast recording album of ''

Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens ''Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens'' is a musical with music by Janet Hood and lyrics and book by Bill Russell. The work features songs and monologues inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Edgar Lee Masters' ''Spoon River ...

''. In 1994, he met the American lyricist

Fran Landesman Fran Landesman (born Frances Deitsch; October 21, 1927 – July 23, 2011) was an American lyricist and Poetry, poet. She grew up in New York City and lived for years in St. Louis, Missouri, where her husband Jay Landesman operated the Crystal Pal ...

. with whom he collaborated until her death in 2011 writing some 300 songs. Theatre shows based on Landesman/Wallace songs include ''There's Something Irresistible in Down'' (1996) produced at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

by members of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, ''Forbidden Games'' (1997) at the Ustinov Theatre Bath, the

Pleasance Theatre The Pleasance is a theatre, bar, sports and recreation complex in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University Stud ...

Edinburgh and the Gdansk Shakespeare Festival and ''Queen of the Bohemian Dream'' (2007) produced at the Source Theatre in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

From 2003 to 2006, Wallace was musical director for jazz singer Clare Teal. He arranged and directed her 2004 album '' Don't Talk'' (SonyBMG) and wrote arrangements for her broadcasts with the

BBC Big Band The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band, previously run under the auspices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The band broadcasts exclusively on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long ...

, the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

and for television appearances including two on the

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (28 March 1935 – 16 August 2023) was an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other ta ...

Show. Between 2009 and 2011, he toured in the UK and US with singer

Barb Jungr Barb Jungr (born 9 May 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and theatre writer, who has recorded versions of songs by Bob Dylan, Sting, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen. Career Barb Jungr was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, ...

and in 2010 worked with

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

on the premiere of "An Appointment With Mr Yeats" at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He arranged and co-produced Jungr's 2010 album ''The Men I Love'' (Naim Records) and has produced albums by singers Ian Shaw (Jazzhouse), Sarah Moule (

Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...

), Nicki Leighton-Thomas (

Candid Records Candid Records was a jazz record label first established in New York City. Early Candid Records The CANDID jazz label was founded in New York City in 1960 as a subsidiary of Cadence Records, owned by Archie Bleyer. The jazz writer and civil righ ...

Pete Atkin Pete Atkin (born 22 August 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer, notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series, '' This Sceptred Isle''. Early life Born in Cambridge, ...

(Hillside Music) and Gill Manly (

) In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Wallace produced a distributed

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

version of the 1925 song '' Don't Bring Lulu'' played by the

Oxcentrics The Oxcentrics is a Dixieland jazz band founded in 1975 at Oxford University. The band's name was derived from ''The Oxontrics'', an original 1920s jazz band. Several (although by no means all) members were from University College, where many of ...

. Simon Wallace is married to jazz singer Sarah Moule, lives in southeast London, and has a son born in 2000.

References

External links

Simon Wallace website

Simon Wallace
on

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Simon 1957 births Living people 20th-century British classical pianists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British classical pianists 21st-century British male musicians British jazz composers British television composers British classical pianists British jazz pianists Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Alumni of University College, Oxford British male classical pianists British male jazz composers Oxcentrics members Musicians from Newport, Wales Male jazz pianists The Waterboys members