Born
19th July, 1981, the younger of two siblings, Simon began his musical career at
the age of five playing the tin whistle. A year later he took up the violin at
the prestigious Conservatory of Music where he would be classically trained for
over a decade.
Having been introduced at an early age to the Godfathers of Rock n’ Roll (Elvis, The Kinks, The Beatles, The Beach Boys etc..) by his mother, and to the traditional Irish legends (the Dubliners, Luke Kelly etc..) by his father, Simon developed a strong appreciation for a rich mixture of music.
By his teenage years, Simon became extremely interested in the “Manchester scene” including bands such as the Stone Roses and the Charlatans. He also started listening to punk bands such as the Clash and the Sex Pistols.
By the age of fourteen he had taken up both the guitar and piano. Two years later he was asked by Mic to play bass in a band with himself and Stephen. He had never played the bass before but couldn’t resist the opportunity of learning a new instrument and playing in a band. By this stage, Simon had reached grade 8 on violin and was playing with numerous highly respected orchestras including DYO Symphony and DIT Chamber.
An eternal student, Simon has a healthy balance between his books and his music. He is currently pursuing a PhD in political philosophy in Queens University Belfast.
His Philosophy of music
is summed up in the book Steppenwolf:
‘Music does not depend on being right, on having good taste and education
and all that.’
‘Indeed, then what does it depend on?’
‘On making music Herr Haller, on making music as well and as much as possible
and with all the intensity of which one is capable. That is the point.’
His musical influences vary
from- Vivaldi to Rachmaninov, Jeff Buckley to Tom Waits, Bob Dylan to Paddy
Casey, The Kinks to The Frames, The Smiths to The Coral, My Bloody Valentine
to Primal Scream, and The Ramones to The Pixies.
His favourite beer is Schöfferhofer but usually he has to settle for Budwiser.
His favourite football team is Liverpool.
His favourite book is Crime and Punishment.
His favourite bassist is Paul Mc Cartney.
Simon McArdle: bass, violin and vocal