Simon House (born 29 August 1948 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a British composer and classically trained

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist and

keyboard player A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

, perhaps best known for his work with

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

band

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

Career

Before his time with Hawkwind, House played in

High Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

and the

Third Ear Band Third Ear Band were a British musical group formed in London during the mid-1960s. Their line-up initially consisted of violin, cello, oboe and percussion. Most of their performances were instrumental and partly improvised. Their records for th ...

, who contributed the soundtrack to

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

's ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''. Guitarist Tony Hill recounted how House became a member of High Tide: " ete Pavli and I werehanging out with" and crashing where we could at Mike's or Wayne's. Simon ended up crashing there as well. Simon was playing bass then. He said: 'I used to play violin, you know?' So I said 'Get it!' That was basically it."Shaw, Adrian. (2000
"Tony Hill interview"
''Perfect Sound Forever magazine''. He joined Hawkwind in 1974. His arrival introduced a new element to the band's style. He was the first conspicuously trained musician to join, and the sound that emerged on ''

Hall of the Mountain Grill ''Hall of the Mountain Grill'' is the fourth studio album by space rock band Hawkwind, released in 1974. It is regarded by many critics as a career highlight. Overview The group's fourth studio album, it was the first by a new line-up that inc ...

'' was a previously unheard, lush chaos which sounded reminiscent of a fusion of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

and

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...

. He left the group for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's band in 1978. That, along with Robert Calvert falling into clinical depression, led to Hawkwind breaking up in mid-tour. Along with other Hawkwind members he as a session musician for

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

author

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...

's ''

New Worlds Fair ''New Worlds Fair'' is a 1975 concept album by UK rock group Michael Moorcock & The Deep Fix. Moorcock was an established science fiction author who has contributed lyrics and occasionally performed with Hawkwind. In 1974 he was offered a recor ...

'' in 1975 and has also played on solo projects by former Hawkwind members Robert Calvert and

Nik Turner Nicholas Robert Turner (26 August 1940 – 10 November 2022) was an English musician, best known as a member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner played saxophone and flute, as well as being a vocalist and composer. While with Hawkwind, T ...

. Since the 1970s, as well as cutting an album (''Interesting Times'') with Tony Hill under the High Tide banner and releasing several solo albums under his own name, House has twice rejoined Hawkwind; between 1989 and 1991, and between 2001 and 2003.

Discography

High Tide

* ''

Sea Shanties A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large merchant sailing vessels. The term ''shanty'' most accurately refers to a specific ...

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) * ''

Interesting Times ''Interesting Times'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the seventeenth book in the ''Discworld'' series, set in the Aurient (a fictional analogue of the Orient). The title refers to the common myth that there exists a Chi ...

'' (1986) * ''Precious Cargo'' (1989) * ''The Flood'' (1990)

Denny Gerrard

* ''Sinister Morning'' (1970)

Third Ear Band

* '' Music from Macbeth'' (1972) * ''The Magus'' (recorded 1972, released 2004)

Hawkwind

* ''

'' (1974) * ''

Warrior on the Edge of Time ''Warrior on the Edge of Time'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind. Many of the lyrics are by Michael Moorcock, and the album is loosely based on the concept of Moorcock's novel '' The Eternal Champion''. It was the band ...

'' (1975) * '' Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music'' (1976) * ''

Quark, Strangeness and Charm ''Quark, Strangeness and Charm'' is the seventh studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1977. It spent six weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at number 30. This is Hawkwind's seventh studio album, hence "The Hawkwin ...

'' (1977) * ''

PXR5 ''PXR5'' is the ninth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1979. It reached No. 59 on the UK album charts. Overview Allmusic referred to ''PXR5'' as "the last in the sequence of brittle, pop-inflected records the ...

'' (1979) * ''Lord of Light'' (1987) * ''

Space Bandits ''Space Bandits'' is the sixteenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1990. It spent one week on the UK albums chart at #70. By mid-1989, the group's line-up had changed once again. Guitarist Dave Brock, keyboar ...

'' (1989) * ''

Palace Springs ''Palace Springs'' is a 1991 live/studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind. Although released in 1991, this album was recorded in 1989 prior to the previous album '' Space Bandits''. The first two tracks had been recorded with a m ...

'' (1990) * ''Live in Nottingham 1990'' (2004) * ''Anthology, 1967-1982'' (1998) * ''Stasis: The U.A. Years, 1971-1975'' (2003) * ''Yule Ritual'' (2002) * ''Canterbury Fayre 2001'' (2002) * ''The Weird Tapes No. 5: Live '76 & '77'' (2001)

Michael Moorcock & The Deep Fix

* ''

'' (1975)

Robert Calvert

* '' Lucky Leif and the Longships'' (1975) * '' Hype: Songs of Tom Mahler'' (1981) * ''Revenge''

David Bowie

* ''

Stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

'' (1978) * '' Lodger'' (1979) * ''Sound + Vision'' (2001) * '' Welcome to the Blackout'' (recorded in 1978) (2018)

Japan

* '' Tin Drum'' (1981) * ''Gentlemen Take Polaroids/Tin Drum/Oil on Canvas'' (1994) * ''Exorcising Ghosts'' (2004)

David Sylvian

* ''

Everything and Nothing ''Everything and Nothing'' is a compilation album by David Sylvian. Released in October 2000, the album contains previously released and unreleased, re-recorded, and alternate versions of tracks from Sylvian's twenty years with Virgin Records. ...

'' (2000)

Thomas Dolby

* ''She Blinded Me With Science'' (1982) * ''The Golden Age of Wireless'' e-released version1982) * ''The Best of Thomas Dolby: Retrospectacle'' (1994)

Mike Oldfield

* "Crises" (1983) 013 Deluxe Edition only* ''The Complete Mike Oldfield'' (1985)

Magic Muscle

* ''One Hundred Miles Below'' (1989) * ''Gulp'' (1991)

Nik Turner

* ''Prophets of Time'' (1994) * ''Transglobal Friends and Relations'' (2000) * ''Space Gypsy'' (2013) * ''Life In Space'' (2017)

Simon House

* ''Yassasim'' (1995) * ''Spiral Galaxy Revisited'' (2005)

Simon House with Rod Goodway

* ''House of Dreams'' (2002)

Spiral Realms

* ''A Trip to G9'' (1994) * ''Crystal Jungles of Eos'' (1995) * ''Solar Wind'' (1996) * ''Ambient Voids: A Hypnotic Compilation'' (1995)

Anubian Lights

* ''The Eternal Sky'' (1995) * ''Jackal & Nine'' (1996)

Ambient Time Travellers

* ''Ambient Time Travellers'' (1995)

Adrian Shaw

* ''Head Cleaner'' (2000)

Bedouin

* ''As Above So Below'' (2001)

Earth Lab

* ''Element'' (2006)

Judy Dyble

* ''Enchanted Garden'' (2004) * ''Spindle'' (2006) * ''The Whorl'' (2006)

Astralasia

* ''Cluster of Waves'' (2007) * ''Away With the Fairies'' (2007)

Spirits Burning

* ''Earthborn'' (2008) * ''Bloodlines'' (2009)

Nektar

* ''A Spoonful of Time'' (2008)

Alan Davey

* ''Eclectic Devils'' (2009)

Albums in process

Psychestra

* ''Psychestra'' (demo, 2009)

Dark Chemistry

* ''Romance of Desolation'' (demo, 2009)

Comitatus

* ''Portable Casanova'' (demo, 2009)

Career

Discography

High Tide

Denny Gerrard

Third Ear Band

Hawkwind

Michael Moorcock & The Deep Fix

Robert Calvert

David Bowie

Japan

David Sylvian

Thomas Dolby

Mike Oldfield

Magic Muscle

Nik Turner

Simon House

Simon House with Rod Goodway

Spiral Realms

Anubian Lights

Ambient Time Travellers

Adrian Shaw

Bedouin

Earth Lab

Judy Dyble

Astralasia

Spirits Burning

Nektar

Alan Davey

Albums in process

Psychestra

Dark Chemistry

Comitatus

References

External links