سيرة
Simon Fisher Turner's career has been remarkably diverse, evolving from child actor to teenage pop idol, and from self-described 'extreme sound freak' to respected solo recording artist. Early on, he appeared in film and TV roles such as Black Beauty and the Robert Mitchum remake of The Big Sleep, while simultaneously leading various '70s pop groups. At 17, he signed with Jonathan King's UK Records, releasing his first solo album in 1969. Following this early success, Simon pursued an often unconventional and sometimes flamboyant musical journey. He dabbled in punk’s periphery, briefly joined The The, served as 'Musician in Residence' at the ICA in 1980, and released two albums as part of the fictional French female duo Deux Filles. Throughout, Simon cultivated a profound fascination with everyday sounds, amassing an extensive library of audio samples that now underpin his improvisational and eclectic musical style. This is showcased in his recent solo albums on the Mute label, contributing to a discography of around 30 solo works. From mainstream pop to experimental sound explorations, the mature SFT (as he now calls himself) has achieved a captivating originality.
Simon’s career as a film composer began through his collaboration with Derek Jarman during the 1980s and ’90s. He scored several Jarman films, including Caravaggio, The Last of England, The Garden, and Edward II. His final work with Jarman was the evocative Blue, where a soundscape recorded at Brian Eno’s country home, combined with Jarman’s AIDS-inspired narration, replaced visual imagery—only a blue screen was shown. The film received the Michael Powell Award. Simon later toured Blue globally, performing its music live during screenings.
His film work has continued steadily since Jarman’s passing, with recent credits including Anna Campion’s Inertia and Bipolar, Don Boyd’s My Kingdom (collaborating with Deirdre Gribbin), Paul McGuigan’s Gangster No. 1, and Mike Hodges’ Croupier and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.
While skilled in avant-garde projects like Blue, Simon Fisher Turner remains highly adaptable and responsive. He has composed for numerous television dramas and documentaries, including BBC1’s Helicopter, Channel 4’s Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes, and commercials such as the 2008 Macmillan Cancer campaign.
Over the past year, Simon produced an album for Mute labelmate Polly Scattergood and created music in spring 2008 for Frank Gehry’s summer pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery. Additionally, he composed the score for Derek Jarman documentary filmmaker Isaac Julien’s acclaimed film, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Simon has also been active performing in various formats, recently debuting live as one third of Critical Distortion alongside Natalie Clein and Shiva Feshareki, as well as performing Blue live with Black Sifichi across Europe and the UK. He is currently performing a new soundscape accompaniment to the 1932 silent film I Was Born But… by renowned Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu. Recently, Simon released Japanoise on Papier Mache Records and completed a new 12" for London’s Isis Gallery, creating musical responses to works by Nayland Blake, Martin Griffiths, and Alyson Schotz.
