Simon Webb is a composer, musical director, conductor, arranger and performer. His credits include music for all the major UK TV channels, London’s West End, The Royal National Theatre, and UK and US films.
Theatre
After reading music at York University, where he specialised in composition, conducting, and 20th century music, Simon Webb was appointed musical director of the Theatre Royal York. He subsequently wrote the music for many productions there including Dr. Faustus, The Devil’s Law Case, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
He has since worked in theatres (repertory and commercial) all over the UK, writing and directing music. In the West End his musical directing credits include The Who’s Tommy at The Queen’s Theatre, and conducting Cats at The New London Theatre. At The Royal National Theatre, he wrote, directed and performed the music for Nicholas Hytner’s productions of The Winter’s Tale and Henry V, and Mark Ravenhill’s Totally Over You.
Television
For television his writing credits include themes and scores for over a hundred British TV programmes including Delia Smith’s Summer and Winter Collections, Channel 4’s Fragile Earth nature series and Streets Ahead dance series, Think Tank, The Big Stage, Members Only, Help Squad, Hodson Confidential, The Antiques Trail, Kick Off, The Juno Mission, You Bet, Hale and Pace, Jobs For the Boys, Night Network, ITV Telethon, Lights! Camera! Magic!, Chef School, Treacle People, Euro Disney Opening, Taxi!, Mary Berry At Home, Monkey Business, The British Comedy Awards, Avenue Of The Stars, ITV’s 50th, and Casanova’s Love Letters.
His television musical directing credits include Wogan, Sunday Sunday, Friday Night Live, TFI Friday, and Saturday Night Live. His arranging credits include The Paradise Club, Test The Nation, and Last Night Of The Proms.
Films
Simon Webb has worked on many films including Playing Away, directed by Horace Ove and starring Norman Beaton, for Film On Four, for which he wrote the score; Runaway Dreams, an American drama film, for which he was musical director and arranger of a score by Bernie Marsden; Riders of the Storm, an American film starring Dennis Hopper, for which he co-wrote the theme song with Pierre Tubbs; Coast to Coast, a BBC film starring Sir Lenny Henry and John Shea, for which he was musical director, Tequila Sunrise, a Hollywood blockbuster starring Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer, playing keyboards with Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor, and Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson from Chic; Heavenly Pursuits starring Helen Mirren and Tom Conti, arranging, conducting and musical directing a score by B.A. Robertson; Awaiting, a British Horror film directed by Mark Murphy, for which Simon composed the score; and Speed Love, a musical thriller starring Elaine Paige which Simon also scored and musical directed.
Musical Director
As a musical director, Simon has worked with many great creative talents including Wanda Jackson, Pete Townshend, Don Black, Phil Daniels, Imelda Staunton, Kevin Short, Lenny Henry, Liz Dawn, B.A. Robertson, June Whitfield, Peter Straker, Richard O’Brien, Jean Rigby, Elaine Paige, and Bernie Marsden.
Composer
Simon has been composing music since the age of four, and his style has developed into a unique blend of old and new. He embraces the sound-worlds of the choir and orchestra, of soloist and ensemble, of pop, jazz and rock. He often collaborates with outstanding musicians from all walks of musical life, framing their performances in ultramodern soundscapes. String quartets morph into synthesisers, heavy electric guitars duet with oboes, operatic voices are shaped into extraordinary sonic extravaganzas. All this made possible by many years of experience working with great musicians and singers, combined with a passion for finding ‘the new’ in new music, and the express desire to support the director’s vision.
Albums
Simon has released four albums, Travelling Light, The Brain, A Leap Into The Light, and Everybody Powwow! (Double album). With his band The Spiderhawks, he has also released a number of singles including Holy Joe which raised money for homeless people during the pandemic, and Mahsa’s Song written in support of the women of Iran.
Music For Sport
Simon Webb is CEO and owner of Music For Sport, a production music library offering a broad pallet of music by an outstanding group of composers, principally aimed at sports coverage, documentaries, and dramas.
Synchronized!
Synchronized! is a podcast that Simon co-hosts with John Clifford. It deals with issues facing production music library owners, administrators, producers, and composers. Series 1 consisted of 43 episodes, and Series 2, now in production, is centred on AI and its impact on the music business.