Well my name is 'Simon Paul' not to be mis-tooken with 'Paul Simon'
I have been in the Music business for as long as i can remember, picking up my Dad's guitar at the age of 3 and teaching myself 'Michael Row the Boat ashore', from then on i knew that this was what i always wanted to do, going on tour with 'Dad' (Mike Ellis - Union Gap) always gave me that buzz of wanting to be on the stage, so i thought i would learn the Piano like dad!
After several Lessons with a teacher, i got bored, as i wanted to play songs I 'wanted' to play, like 'Bohemian Rhapsodyand 'Easy', so, i decided at an early age to teach myself the Piano, Guitar and the Drums, getting, although i may say, quite good!!.
I formed Several Bands at school, under many different names, but the band that worked the best was 'Oedapus Complex' formed at Langley School, in Solihull during the early 90's, we played venues in and around Birmingham, supporting the likes of Ocean Colour Scene and Reef, including venues like the Hibernian, The Ship Ashore,
The Pen & Wig and The Railway, gathering a rather modest following we released several albums, and had national success in the Battle of the Bands, appearing on Radio 1 and Radio WM.
I first started my solo career in the mid nineties, after 'Oedapus' disbanded, starting my apprenticeship in the local bars and clubs, thanks to 'Status UK' (in Worcester) in and around the West Midlands, this went on for a number of years, and eventually i got a break, when performing @ the Rose and Crown in Redditch,
the members of the Union Gap turned up to watch my show, being the cheeky thing i am, i got them up on stage and performed there number 1 hit 'Young Girl' with them. This then led onto a phone call later from the band, asking me if i would be interested in an audition playing Bass Guitar and Vocals, naturally i said yes,
and i got the job!!.
Previous to joining the Union Gap i had the fortune of appearing in many well known musicals across the country, including,
'Les Miserables' 'Cats' 'Miss Saigon' & 'Grease'
I performed with the Union Gap for 9 years, touring the country and the world, meeting some lovely and influential people, but decided after 9 wonderful years with the boys, enough was enough and decided to go to Fuerteventura, Spain, for a long extended time out with my new Family. We lasted 8 months in spain, before returning to the UK, where upon i was contacted by Ray @ BCM promotions and asked if i fancied returning to my Solo roots, i said yes, and thanks to BCM i am now touring the UK, and abroad taking my Solo show to all sorts of venues, including - Butlins, Warners, Park Resorts, British Holidays, Grosvenor Casino's, Park Dean, NEC, Aston Villa FC, Peterborough United FC, Jaguar and the Ricoh Arena, to name a few. Since returning to the UK, i had many offers to join other named bands, including some well known 60's bands but chose to continue with the whole solo thing, So i am going to be around for a while yet, and have no plans on going away yet.
(performing with the Union Gap @ Bognor for the British Heart Foundation)
