Simon Geoffrey Fowler (born 25 May 1965 in Meriden, Warwickshire) is an English singer and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

ist, best known as the frontman of

Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to date ...

The Fanatics

Simon Fowler commenced his music career as the lead singer and songwriter for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

band The Fanatics, which consisted of Simon Fowler (vocals & guitar), Damon Minchella (bass), Paul Wilkes (guitar) and Carolyn Bullock (drums). Future

drummer and former

Echo Base Hoth is an ice planet in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film '' The Empire Strikes Back'' and has also been a setting in ''Star Wars'' books and video games. Description Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote ...

band member Oscar Harrison replaced Bullock on drums. The Fanatics released one record in 1989 before splitting, the four track 'Suburban Love Songs' 12" vinyl e.p. on Chapter 22 Records (12 CHAP 38), containing the songs "1,2,3,4"; "My Brother Sarah" (later re-recorded by

), "Suburban Love Songs" and "Tight Rope". Following the demise of The Fanatics in late 1989, Fowler, Minchella and Harrison teamed up with guitar player

Steve Cradock Stephen "Steve" Cradock (born 22 August 1969 in Solihull) is an English guitarist, most notable for playing in the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. Cradock also plays the guitar in Paul Weller's band, having appeared on all of Weller's solo reco ...

to form Ocean Colour Scene.

Other works

Fowler has also appeared as a backing singer for

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

, Alison Moyet,

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele (musician), David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat (British band), The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (fo ...

, and with

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

Merrymouth

In 2012 Fowler formed the band Merrymouth with Ocean Colour Scene band member

Dan Sealey Dan Sealey is the former session bass guitarist for the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. He was drafted in by the band after Damon Minchella left the band in 2003. Sealey is also in Merrymouth, a folk band with Ocean Colour Scene bandmate ...

, and Mike McNamara. Their debut album, '' Simon Fowler's Merrymouth'', was released in March 2012, and their second album, '' Wenlock Hill'', featuring Adam Barry,

John McCusker John McCusker (born 15 May 1973) is a Scottish folk musician, record producer, and composer. An accomplished fiddle player, he had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and ...

and

Chas Hodges Charles Nicholas Hodges (28 December 1943 – 22 September 2018) was an English musician and singer who was the lead vocalist of musical duo Chas & Dave. Early life Hodges was born at the North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton on ...

, was released in 2014.

Personal life

Fowler lives with his long-term partner Robert in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. He was educated at Tudor Grange School in

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe ...

, and later studied at The Sixth Form College Solihull where he wrote "Foxy's Folk Faced". He then became a journalist, working for the ''

Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...

''. He is a supporter of

Birmingham City Football Club Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

References

External links

Ocean Colour Scene Band Biography

The Official Ocean Colour Scene Website

The Official Merrymouth Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Simon 1965 births Living people English male singers English rock guitarists English rock singers English gay musicians Ocean Colour Scene members Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Britpop musicians English male guitarists British LGBT singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people