Musicians

Simon knew from a very early age that he wanted to sing - aged four, you would find him regularly singing to family members and friends, and from the age of six he recalls jotting down melodies and words to sing aloud.

Born and raised in Hereford, he was first inspired by the sound of his father playing guitar and singing to him.

As he grew older he began to experiment at the piano, he joined Hereford cathedral choir, and sang alongside the country's top orchestras, recording on television and radio.

Simon at a soundcheck

After several years of classical training in both voice and piano, he began composing his own work, greatly influenced by his Dad's copy of 'The Beatles Complete Songbook'.

He first met Matt Butler, the producer of Tuesday Blue, whilst performing some new songs at college; Matt was intrigued by Simon's talent and asked to be kept up to date with developments of his work.

At 19, Simon moved to London to study music, where he became disillusioned by the lack of creative freedom, and after a year, moved back home.

For the next three years he had various jobs in offices, factories, supermarkets and the local council.

This period gave Simon inspiration and insight into everyday working life, resulting in him writing 'Nothing Changes' and 'Tuesday Blue'.

"Songs are a way of helping me to understand life, I find the process of writing them therapeutic and by observing situations around me, I get stuff off my chest".

Into the studio

Re-applying to university in 2002 enabled him to devote more time to his composition; York's English course re-ignited his passion for live performance, and also introduced him to many other talented musicians.

Matt says: "When I first heard Simon I knew immediately that he was the real deal, he wrote music from the heart with lyrics that he believes in, he's a highly original, gritty songwriter with an incredible voice".

The producer invited him to the Yellow Shark studios in Cheltenham to make a demo, which soon led to Simon being offered a contract by the newly established Alto record label.

The result of this creative partnership was the debut album, Tuesday Blue, released in November 2007 on iTunes.

The Music Magazine describes Simon's album Tuesday Blue as: "Eloquent lyrics, accompanied with talented piano pieces, result in songs with substance."

On tour

Since then, Simon has been working hard writing new songs and performing live whenever he can, sometimes squeezing in three gigs a night!

But the hard work of tearing between pianos, scribbling songs in between the day jobs and honing his craft by night has certainly paid off for the young musician whose talent has been spotted by Steve Harley.

It's the first time Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel has toured with a guest in more than 30 years.

After playing to over 14,000 people, Simon commented about the tour: "I work hard by day with various jobs, writing songs on bits of scrap paper as I go.

"At night I set out to play those songs, sometimes three sets in one evening.

"To be on a national tour supporting Steve Harley is a breakthrough opportunity, and quite different from playing the local gigs."

Balancing creating his music with work to pay the bills, Simon's current day job is delivering wine around the country.

Whatever he is doing, Simon enjoys observing real life and then writes about it:

"My music is a reflection of the people and the world around me.

"I try to reach out directly to the audience through my lyrics and say things that everyone can connect with.

"And without trying to be too didactic or offering any particular political bias I also try and raise pertinent issues and ideas that are current within the world today, such as immigration, crime and the environment."

Despite such thought provoking themes Simon delivers an upbeat cheerful sound, something that was picked up by the reviewers of his album, the legendary Toxic Pete:

He also marvels at his luck: "To be on a national tour with Steve Harley was an amazing opportunity, and it's hard to believe that my songs, written on pieces of paper in the corner of the work canteen, were played in some of the country's most famous performance venues."

You can listen to all the latest music from across the two counties on the Friday Session, every week from 7pm on BBC Hereford & Worcester.