Simon Gallup
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| Simon Gallup | |
|---|---|
 Gallup performing in 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Simon Jonathon Gallup |
| Born | 1 June 1960 |
| Origin | Surrey, England |
| Genres | Punk rock, Post-punk, Gothic rock, Alternative rock |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, Keyboard, Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1977-present |
| Associated acts | Lockjaw (1976-1978) The Magazine Spies (1978-1979) The Cure (1979-1982), (1985-present) Fools Dance (1983-1984) |
| Website | http://www.thecure.com/ |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Thunderbird Fender Precision Bass Fender Jazz Bass Epiphone Jack Casady Bass |
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Simon Jonathon Gallup (born 1 June 1960 in Duxhurst, Surrey) is an English musician and bassist of the post-punk band The Cure.
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[edit] Early years
Simon is the youngest of six children born to Bob and Peg Gallup. His siblings are Stuart, David, Duncan, Monica, and Ric.[1] Ric Gallup helped to make the Cure video Carnage Visors.
Simon married a woman called Carol. They had two children named Eden (born 18 March 1990) and Lily (born 7 September 1992) before they divorced. Since then, Simon has remarried and had a third child.
Before joining The Cure, Gallup was the bass player for a punk band called Lockjaw.
[edit] The Cure
Gallup first joined The Cure in 1979, replacing Michael Dempsey on bass guitar. He also has been credited for occasionally playing the keyboard, particularly after Matthieu Hartley's departure in 1980; he took over keyboard lines for many of the songs that Hartley played. Examples of songs he played keyboard on live include "At Night", "A Forest", "A Strange Day" and "Pornography". During "Cold" he multi-tasked playing bass guitar and bass pedals. On the Swing Tour in 1996, he played acoustic 12-string guitar on "This is a Lie". On the Dream Tour in 2000 he played a Fender Bass VI on "There Is No If". He is also credited with singing lead vocals for a demo for "Violin Song." Gallup first performed on the Cure albums that make up "The Dark Trilogy": Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography.
During the Pornography Tour in 1982, a series of incidents prompted Gallup to leave The Cure, including an incident when he got into a fist fight with Robert Smith at a nightclub reportedly over a bar-tab. Gallup left the band and started The Cry with Gary Biddles and Matthieu Hartley. Their first gig was at the Covent Garden Rock Garden on 19 April 1983. They later changed their name to Fools Dance, which released two EPs - Fools Dance and They'll Never Know. Biddles sang most of the songs that were released by this band, Gallup sang on one called "The Ring". When asked why he left The Cure, he said, "It's just basically that Robert and I are both really arrogant bastards, and it got to such an extreme. I suppose you just can't have two egocentrics in a band, and Robert was sort of 'the main man.'"[2]
In 1984, Smith asked Gallup to return to The Cure, an offer which he accepted. Since then, the two of them have remained on good terms. Gallup also served as best man at Smith's wedding in 1988.[3]
In late 1992, Gallup again took a brief break from the band during the Wish Tour after he had to be transported to hospital, suffering from pleurisy after being ill for several months. During this time, he was replaced on bass by former Associates and Shelleyan Orphan member Roberto Soave.[4]
Gallup is the second longest serving member of The Cure, which has led to him being referred to as Robert Smith's right-hand man. He performed on every album except Three Imaginary Boys/Boys Don't Cry, Japanese Whispers, The Top, and Concert.
[edit] Discography
- The Cure
- Seventeen Seconds (1980)
- Faith (1981)
- Pornography (1982)
- The Head on the Door (1985)
- Standing on a Beach (1986)
- The Cure In Orange (1986), VHS
- Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
- Disintegration (1989)
- Mixed Up (1990)
- Entreat (1991)
- Wish (1992)
- Paris (1993)
- Show (1993)
- Wild Mood Swings (1996)
- Galore (1997)
- Bloodflowers (2000)
- Greatest Hits (2001)
- Trilogy (2003), DVD
- The Cure (2004)
- Festival 2005 (2005), DVD
- 4:13 Dream (2008)
- Fools Dance
→ See Fools Dance discography
[edit] Gear
- Simon's favourite bass is his Gibson Thunderbird.[5] In 2004 Gibson created a special red Thunderbird bass for Simon Gallup, to celebrate his 25th year as the bassist for The Cure.[5]
- He has also played Fender Precision, Fender Jazz, Rickenbacker 4001, MusicMan Stingray, Washburn AB10 acoustic, Kramer Acoustic, custom Dick Knight, Epiphone Jack Casady and Eccleshall 335 basses live.[5]
- Simon uses the following Boss guitar effect pedals: BF-2 Flanger, CE-5 Chorus Ensemble, MT-2 Distortion, DD-3 Digital Delay and NS-2 Noise Suppressor.[5]
- Simon Gallup is a supporter of Reading Football Club and draped a team flag over his amp while playing in Sydney Australia during the band's 2007 tour. He also draped a Reading F.C flag over his amp at Coachella 2009 and during the set at Bestival 2011, Isle of Wight.
