Simon Boswell (born 15 October 1956) is a BAFTA-nominated British

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, conductor, producer and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

, with more than 100 credits to his name. He is known for combining mainly electronic elements with orchestral.

Biography

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, Boswell studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. Playing the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

since age 12, he was an accomplished guitarist and was signed by Transatlantic Records in 1975 whilst still at college. This led to the release of his first

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, "The Mind Parasites", a collection of contemporary acoustic songs and instrumentals. He formed the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

" in 1977, at the beginning of the punk rock era. Labelled "

Power Pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, an ...

," the band was more of an

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

to the pop art style of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

and the

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

. They toured extensively with Blondie. After the split of "Advertising", Boswell became a

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

both in the

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and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He produced Italian

mega star Mega or MEGA may refer to: Science * mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106 * Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation * "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy * Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Ear ...

Renato Zero Renato Fiacchini (born 30 September 1950), known by the stage name Renato Zero (), is an Italian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and actor whose career spans from the 1960s to the 2020s. Zero is the only artist to have reached the top of th ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

and album of

Nino Buonocore Nino Buonocore (born 26 July 1958) is an Italian singer-songwriter, best known for the songs "Rosanna" and "Scrivimi". Life and career Born Adelmo Buonocore in Naples, he debuted at 20 years old with an auto-produced single "Sferisterio". Put un ...

.https://i.discogs.com/mgU1BPQGL-5auGOymiM4SyjKJEKWHtCtst39rgVxn6s/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:588/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTExMjg4/NTk5LTE1MTcyNjEz/NDAtNjY2OS5qcGVn.jpeg Boswell's record productions from the 1980s have influenced many contemporary musicians, notably the sample of the band 23 Skidoo's "Coup" which became

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat gen ...

' "Block Rockin' Beats". After producing two albums for the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Live Wire, he joined the

Film

Boswell's film career started in 1985, and since then he has countless awards from around the world and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA award. Some Directors that Boswell has worked with include Danny Boyle, Michael Hoffman, Dario Argento, Clive Barker and Alejandro Jodorowsky. Genres of his work in film include Italian exploitation ("Phenomena", "Stage Fright"), contemporary thrillers ("Shallow Grave", "Hackers"), horror flicks ("Lord of Illusions", "Hardware"), romances and character studies ("Jack and Sarah", "This Year's Love", "Born Romantic"), dramas ("In My Father's Den", "The War Zone", "My Zinc Bed"), fantasies ("Santa Sagre", "Photographing Fairies", "Tin Man") and literary classics ("A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Cousin Bette"). He has also collaborated with many high-profile artists on his projects, such as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

and

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

. Established as a live performer as well as working in recording studio, he is accomplished with

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and rock genres, combining these with epic orchestral scores. Boswell has also worked on two projects with the Vatican. "Santo Subito" was his first project, which was a film collaboration setting the speeches and the singing of Pope John Paul II to Boswell's music and visuals. Boswell more recently composed for and produced the album "Alma Mater", featuring Pope Benedict XVI. The works on the album combine Gregorian chant along with Western art contemporary music and Middle-Eastern influences, and the album was launched officially at a concert in Westminster Cathedral in November 2009, featuring the Chamber Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome and singer Yasemin Sannino.

TV

Boswell has composed for BAFTA nominated TV series The Lakes, and collaborated with film-maker Brian Hill and poet Simon Armitage on "Pornography: The Musical" and "Songbirds".

Music

Boswell has worked with musicians from bands such as Blur, Orbital,

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and Echo And The Bunnymen. In 1982 he produced and arranged the album ''Via Tagliamento 1965-1970'' for the popular Italian singer and songwriter

. His credits as arranger and producer also include albums by

Amii Stewart Amy Paulette "Amii" Stewart (born January 29, 1956) is an American disco and soul singer and dancer who found prominence with her 1979 U.S. Billboard number 1 hit cover of Eddie Floyd's song " Knock on Wood", often considered a classic of th ...

Tony Esposito Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (April 23, 1943 – August 10, 2021) was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 15 of those for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of ...

Tullio De Piscopo Tullio De Piscopo (born 24 February 1946 in Naples, Italy) is an Italian drummer, percussionist and singer- songwriter. De Piscopo was born in Naples. His father was an orchestra percussionist. In 1969 he moved to Turin and two years later he move ...

and

.Enzo Giannelli. "Boswell, Simon". Gino Castaldo (edited by). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990. p. 205. In Autumn 2006, his album ''Close Your Eyes'' was released independently via his own Flick Records after 12 years of work. Quote: "I cut up my previous scores into bits and re-assembled them as new songs mixing full orchestra with musicians from Blur and The Kills and spoken word parts for some of the actors and directors I have worked with along the way – including Ewan McGregor, Ray Winstone, Goran Visnij, Dario Argento and Alejandro Jodorowsky."

Art

Boswell continues to work on his own unique art project called BLINK!, an audio-visual installation looped to last forever of portraits extracted from news footage, and individually scored with their own soundtracks. This was first exhibited at the ICA in London in 2002 on 4 simultaneous cinema-sized screens.

Film credits

TV credits

2007 * '' Tin Man'' * ''Nearly Famous (6 episodes)'' * ''Catwalk Dogs'' 2006 * ''Jackanory (2 episodes)'' * ''The Magician of Samarkand'' * ''Muddle Earth'' 2004 * ''Sea of Souls (2 episodes)'' 2003 * ''Pornography: The Musical'' 2002 * ''Widows'' 2001 * ''Mind Games'' 2000 * '' Jason and the Argonauts'' 1999 * '' Tube Tales'' ''(segment "

Bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

")'' 1998 * ''Killer Net''

Other music credits

2004 * ''In My Father's Den'' - Music Recordist 2003 * ''Octane'' - Soundtrack Producer 1999 * ''Women Talking Dirty'' - Music Arranger * ''The Debtors'' - Conductor 1998 * ''Cousin Bette'' - Music Arranger and Producer 1994 * ''Second Best'' - Music Arranger * '' Burn:Cycle'' - Soundtrack Producer 1987 * ''Fino alla morte (TV)'' - Music Arranger

Personal life

He married and divorced, having had a son named Jack; he lived with the actress

Lysette Anthony Lysette Anne Chodzko (born 26 September 1963), known professionally as Lysette Anthony, is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles in the film ''Husbands and Wives'' (1992), as Princess Lysssa in the 1983 fantasy epic '' Krull ...

and has a son by her, Jimi, born in 2004. In 2008 Jimi was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis and recovered after an operation a year later. Simon is now married to the contemporary fine artist Lg White which is also the lead singer in his band TheAnd, which are performing Simon's film score's Live.

References

External links

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HotHouse Music
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, Simon People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School 1956 births Living people English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Musicians from London English film score composers English male film score composers 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians Varèse Sarabande Records artists