Nick Simper
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Nick Simper | |
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 Nick Simper in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nicholas John Simper |
| Born | 3 November 1945 Norwood Green, Southall, Middlesex, England |
| Genres | Rock, hard rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, country rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Bass |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Website | nicksimper.net |
Nicholas John Simper (born 3 November 1945) is an English
Biography
Simper was born in Frogmore House Maternity Home,
Simper played bass on three Deep Purple albums from 1968 to 1969. He was fired from Deep Purple in mid-1969 together with original singer Rod Evans. When new singer Ian Gillan from the band Episode Six was sought as a replacement for Evans, bandmate Roger Glover tagged along to play bass at some rehearsals and recorded the single "Hallelujah" for Deep Purple. Ritchie Blackmore had also appeared in interviews during disputes with Simper.
After his departure, he briefly worked with Marsha Hunt before forming his own band Warhorse, that recorded two albums for Vertigo. Warhorse was managed by Ron Hire, originally part of HEC Enterprises, the original investors in Deep Purple. During this time, Simper also played on a Lord Sutch live album, along with Ritchie Blackmore and Keith Moon.
For Warhorse, the breakthrough of a big selling album had not occurred. There was very strong interest from Warner Bros., with their senior A&R rep (Dave Dee) attempting to sign the band to the label. At Warner Bros. expense, they went into the studio and recorded two tracks, competing with Heavy Metal Kids.
By 1974, crippling finances signalled the end for the band. Warhorse's last gig in late 1974 was at Polhill College, Bedford. Unfortunately, their 2000-Watt Midas P.A. broke down and despite the best efforts of their roadie and managers it could not be made to perform properly. They tried, and performed a B.B. King song (Three O'clock in the Morning) to see if they could manage some kind of performance, but made their apologies to the audience and left.
Simper and guitarist Pete Parks spent the next three years writing, recording and initially formed a new band, called Nick Simper's Dynamite (1975) that released one single.
On 9 October 1976, Simper took part in the Johnny Kidd 10th Anniversary Memorial Show at the Edwardian Club at the Loughborough Hotel in Brixton.
With no financial backing, along with Parks, Simper succeeded to get Nick Simper's Fandango (1977–83) off the ground and released two albums. Around the same time, Frankie Reid formed the band Flying Fox (1977–84) with Carlo Little, Simper and Parks to play rock 'n' roll whenever they were free from commitments from their other bands.
After Little's departure the band renamed itself The Good Old Boys (1985–present). In the mid-1990s, drummer Mick Underwood invited Simper to become part of the reactivated Quatermass, which had released one album on Harvest in 1970. Under the guise of Quatermass II (1994–97) they recorded one album.
In 2007, Simper also joined the line-up of Adelle & Co with Parks, Adelle Kirk, Jim Byers and Richard Hudson.
Since launching his own website in the 2000s, Simper has renewed his contact with a wider audience. The renaissance of his work has led to a one-off reunion of Warhorse in 2003 (and also 2005). During a gig in Austria in 2007, Simper performed the Deep Purple song "Emmaretta" with the support band Nasty Habits. On 6 September 2008, The Good Ol' Boys stepped in towards the end to support Deep Purple tribute band 24 Carat Purple at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford. Simper played "Hush" as a guest with this band, using bassist Pete Hartley's bass guitar. In March 2009, Simper again performed with Nasty Habits in Austria. The band played a setlist composed of songs from the first three Deep Purple studio albums. Later that year, Nick Simper & Nasty Habits played another show in Plock, Poland.
In 2010, Simper and Nasty Habits played more shows presenting "The Deep Purple Mark One Songbook" in Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Poland while an album was in the making. The Budapest show was recorded for future release.[1]
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snub
In 2016, Deep Purple was inducted into the
Simper stated, "Yes, it is a little strange that I am [the] only one from Marks I, II and III being left out, but I shan't lose any sleep over this. It's not as if I need to be given this award to know what we did in Deep Purple made an impact. And I'm sure it wasn't a decision that came from the band."[2]
Discography
| Year | Band | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Deep Purple | Shades of Deep Purple | Re-mastered ed.: 2000 |
| The Book of Taliesyn | Re-mastered ed.: 2000 | ||
| 1969 | Deep Purple | Re-mastered ed.: 2000 | |
| 1972 | Purple Passages | Compilation, Japan re-release: 1993 | |
| 1973 | Mark I & II | Compilation | |
| 2002 | Inglewood – Live in California | Re-release: 2009 | |
| 2004 | The Early Years | Compilation | |
| 2011 | BBC Sessions 1968–1970 | ||
| 1970 | Johnny Kidd & The Pirates | The Johnny Kid Memorial Album | Compilation |
| 1978 | The Best of Johnny Kid & The Pirates | Compilation | |
| 1983 | Rarities | Compilation | |
| 1990 | The Classic & Rare | Compilation | |
| 1970 | Warhorse | Warhorse | UK: Vertigo 6360 015, :UK re-releases: 1983, Thunderbolt THBL-004 (as "Vulture Blood") / 1997, RPM Records RPM-174, incl. bonus tracks / 1998, Angel Air SJPCD 034, incl. bonus tracks |
| 1972 | Red Sea | UK: Vertigo, :UK re-releases: 1984, Thunderbolt THBL-010 / 1997, RPM Records RPM-175, incl. bonus tracks / 1998, Angel Air SJPCD 035, incl. bonus tracks | |
| 1997 | The Warhorse Story – Vols I & II | [2CD]: UK 1997 RPM Records RPM-501[ | |
| 1974 | Nick Simper's Dynamite | St. Louis / Soul Rider (Single) | |
| 1979 | Nick Simper's Fandango | Slipstreaming | Germany: Shark Records INT 148.503 / UK: Gull Records GULP 1033 |
| 1980 | Future Times | Germany: Shark Records INT 148.506 | |
| 1982 | Just Another Day/Wish I'd Never Woke Up (Single) | UK SP: Paro Records Paro-S4 | |
| 1994 | Slipstreaming / Future Times | UK 2CD: RPM Records RPM-125 UK 2CD: Angel Air SJPCD 041 (incl. bonus tracks) | |
| 1982 | Flying Fox | Flying Fox | ltd. ed. cassette |
| 1997 | Quatermass II | Long Road | UK: Thunderbird CSA 108 / Japan: PCCY-01156 |
| 2005 | The Good Old Boys | Live At the Horns (CD+DVD) | unofficial release |
| 2007 | We Can't Do This When We're Dead – Rock n' Roll!!! (DVD) | unofficial release | |
| 2009 | Live At the Deep Purple Convention | UK: Wymer Records TSA1001 | |
| 2009 | Nasty Habits | The Austrian Tapes – Live At the Orpheum Graz (DVD) | unofficial release |
| The Austrian Tapes – Live At the Reigen (DVD) | unofficial release | ||
| 2010 | Dolina Charlotty – See You in August (DVD) | unofficial release | |
| The Deep Purple MKI Songbook (CD) | UK: Wymer Records TSA1002 | ||
| 2012 | Live at Szene, Vienna (CD+DVD) | UK: Angel Air Records SJPCD386 | |
| 2015 | De La Frog Conspiracy (CD) | studio album | |
| 2010 | Blaggards & Cowboys | Skulduggery (CD) | self-released |
Guest appearances
- 1972 Hands of Jack the Ripper (Screaming Lord Sutch & Heavy Friends)
- 1983 Roscoe Rocks Again (Roscoe Gordon)
- 2003 Rag Moppin' (Wee Willie Harris & the Alabama Slammers)
- 2007 Carlo Little Night of Honour (DVD)
- 2008 White Horses of Lyme Bay (CD EP)
- 2009 Never Stop Rockin' (Carlo Little All Stars)
References
- ^ Anasontzis, George. "Rockpages.gr interview with Nick Simper". Rockpages.gr. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
- ^ Weisman, Roger (6 April 2016). "Deep Purple Bassist Nick Simper's Hall of Fame Snub". Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
External links
- Official site
- MySpace
- Nick Simper profile at deep-purple.net
- Nick Simper interview on Rockpages.gr
- [1]
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