Mickey Simmonds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (May 2008)

Mickey Simmonds (born 31 January 1959, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England) is a British session keyboardist, arranger and composer.He is best known for his work with progressive rock acts, Mike Oldfield, Renaissance, Camel and Fish.He has also worked with Joan Armatrading, Paul Young, The Rutles, Art Garfunkel, Kiki Dee, John Coghlan's Diesel Band, Elkie Brooks, Judie Tzuke, Imagination, Bucks Fizz, Jennifer Rush, The Mods and, most recently The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

Working so much in progressive rock, Mickey Simmonds has been referred to as "The Prog Prince".

Mickey has a long standing relationship with Neil Innes, hence The Rutles (including all the arrangements on Archaeology 1996) & The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, who have just released a new studio album Pour l'Amour des Chiens ("For the Love of Dogs"), co-produced by Simmonds & Innes. Simmonds also released a solo album entitled The Shape of Rain (1996) and is currently working on another, entitled The Seven Colours of Emptiness. As influences, he cites progressive rock acts such as early Genesis, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Pink Floyd.

1 Work with Mike Oldfield
2 Work with Fish
3 Work with Camel
4 Work with Renaissance
5 External links

[edit] Work with Mike Oldfield

Mickey Simmonds played on four albums; The Complete Mike Oldfield (1985) Islands (1987), Earth Moving (1989) and Heaven's Open (1991)), as well as on tour 1983 -1993.

[edit] Work with Fish

Mickey Simmonds was the dominant writer on Fish's 1990 solo debut Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors, also co-wrote all tracks on the follow-up album Internal Exile and performed on the tours promoting these albums. Fish described him as the musical director of his early solo years. Her resigned in 1992 to be replaced by Foster Patterson, but later returned for the tour promoting Sunsets on Empire (1997) and co-wrote two and performed on three tracks on Raingods With Zippos (1999).

[edit] Work with Camel

Mickey Simmonds appears on the Camel live album Never Let Go (1993) and the studio album Harbour of Tears (1996). Foster Patterson, his successor in Fish's solo band, would later take his place in Camel as well.