Pic of Simon bass guitar

Simon Atkinson - Bass Guitar

I've known Simon longer than anyone else in the band. So long in fact, that both of us had a full head of hair.

At the time Simon was playing in a band along with Ian, Mike and Dave. I don't remember the name of the band now but it was in the day when The George in Eston was known as Bowlers and they had either a band or a bandbox playing most weekdays.

I wasn't that impressed with some of the songs I heard but every now and again they'd play something, which really made me pay attention.

At the time I'd just started to play and sing publicly myself. Every Monday and Thursday I'd get up and sing, whether I wanted to or not, Space Oddity by David Bowie or Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. To be honest I wasn't very good but I thought this could be a good way of getting fixed up. I was wrong then and I am now. Occasionally Simon and the rest of the lads would get up and perform on a bandbox night and it wasn't long before we became friends.

That was several years before the birth of The Beer Pigs and before they finally saw sense and begged me join them in a bid to finally give them some recognition as a popular band. I kid you not, honest.

I can sum Simon up in one simple phrase, he's an annoying irritating t**t and I don't mean twit. When I first started to play with The Beer Pigs I was a little nervous about performing live. The rest of the lads had a lot more experience than myself and learning so many new songs in such a short space of time ready for a debut gig was a real worry for me. Simon knew this but never the less took great pleasure in throwing oil on any burning worries I had. He had a habit and still does sometimes of shaking his head in disapproval gesturing that I was playing the wrong chords. It didn't matter whether I was or not, the seed of doubt would enter my mind and I'd be thrown.

Simon however, despite his many faults is a very talented lad. As well as playing a mean bass guitar, operating the lights and making sure the band has a good overall sound without being too loud (yer right). He has actually engineered some real bands. Coldplay, Toploader and Beatlemania, being just a few.

He's still an annoying irritating t**t none-the-less.