Co-founder and director of leading UK creative agency Tour Design, Simon’s CV over the past 25 years is a crazily diverse list including the likes of Morrissey, The Sex Pistols, Blur, Madness, Paul Weller, Dynamo, Eddie Izzard, French and Saunders, Lee Evans, Paul Merton, BBC Radio 1, Phoenix Festival, ATP Concerts and The Prince’s Trust, plus many others.
Burton-born Simon’s roundabout journey has taken in the unlikely sights of Newcastle Under Lyme for an art foundation course, then Wigan for an HNC in editorial design. There he befriended John Yates, who soon joined iconic Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra in the USA, proving to Simon that anything’s possible if you care for enough. After graduation, he learned his trade at a traditional printers by day and by night (using the company photocopier when no one was around), he fulfilled his passion, designing for local bands (including The Comedians featuring future Verve drummer Pete Salisbury), record label First Strike and the local paper’s pop column. He eventually went on the road nationally and internationally with Probe / Musidisc / Transatlantic-signed Wigan act The Tansads, designing the band’s sleeves and merchandise and living the rock and roll dream for a bit. Sort of.
His long-term plan to go into magazines – preferably his weekly bible the NME – all changed in 1995 when a few days’ work experience with top promoter Phil McIntyre in London turned into a month's stay. Simon’s unique talent has been in demand ever since (he still works with Phil McIntyre). There was a spell with Sold Out advertising agency, before he and Bruce Fisher founded Tour Design. For twenty years, the agency has been at the forefront of live entertainment design, Simon turning the most versatile mouse in music to everything from tiny single date adverts to full-scale event programmes and websites; working with every leading promoter in the UK along the way.