Background
Simon Scott was born in Peterlee in County Durham in Northern England on October 20, 1966, and attended Our Lady of the Rosary Infants and Junior School, before attending Street Bede"s Remote Control Comprehensive School.
Simon Scott was born in Peterlee in County Durham in Northern England on October 20, 1966, and attended Our Lady of the Rosary Infants and Junior School, before attending Street Bede"s Remote Control Comprehensive School.
His vibrant paintings and graphic artwork can be found throughout the lower Manhattan neighborhoods he loved to roam. He has designed artwork for some of New York City"s most visually engaging restaurants, clubs and bars. At 16, he moved to London and began working as a musician, singing and playing guitar in a number of bands around the city, where he soaked up a wide range of musical influences.
Later, he and Kirkbride, along with fellow Durham County native Colin Murray "Gem" Archer, who went on to play rhythm guitar for Oasis, and Welsh musician Carwyn Ellis, formed Southern Fly.
Scott honed his sound as Southern Fly maintained a busy touring schedule through bars and nightclubs in London and other European cities. Scott also sang for a band called The Soul Winners, and another called The Edge, founded by Archer.
In 2001, Scott moved to New York City, where he lived in Spanish Harlem - writing songs and working as a chef to pay the rent. Musicians appearing on this record include Cody and Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) and Ellis (Colorama).
Back in New York, Scott formed a new band—Simon Scott and the Band of Infidels—which performed frequently throughout the city.
Meanwhile Scott was honing a signature style of painting that increasingly dominated his focus in the latter years of his life. Scott"s knack for communicating a rich, shared vision fostered successful collaborations with fellow artists, gallery owners, and corporate clients including Budweiser, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Red Bulletin and Pernod Ricard. Towards the end of his life, Bowery Ballroom held a benefit concert to raise money for his cancer treatment.
Performers included The Bogmen, Blubba Brothers, Beast Patrol, and Annie Ragz.
"Chances are that if you"ve had a pint of beer, maybe more, anywhere around town during the last eight or so years, you"ve come into direct contact with the work of Simon Scott," New York Magazine"s Grubstreet blog wrote.
