Biography
“Make Us Happy is a spectacular effort, chock full of charm and whimsy, wrapped up in an exotic package full of heavy-duty chops and tones.” Marty Peters, Recording Magazine
“You never know what is lurking around That Dangerous Sparkle’s dark corner, but whatever it is will always shock and surprise. Scardanelli is always prepared to take a risk, and we should all hope that it is this experimentation that is the future of British singer/songwriters.” Evan Parker - Base.Ad
“Simon's greatest asset is a fantastic singing voice....his performance on tracks such as They Dance bear comparison to the likes of Scott Walker.” Sound On Sound Magazine
“A spine-tingling listen” Maverick Magazine
In 1980 Simon Scardanelli recorded a bizarre and rather odd album for X Records in Germany. It featured, amongst its eclectic stylings, a couple of pioneering electro-pop tracks - in fact Simon had hired from Kraftwerk an early analogue sequencer that no-one in the studio understood, and it was sent back unused. Instead the just-released Roland CSQ600 sequencer was utilised.
This debut album was mostly ignored, but Simon has continued to create music throughout the ensuing years.
He enjoyed chart success in the late 80s with Anglo-Canadian duo Big Bam Boo, scoring a top 40 hit in the USA & Canada in March 1989 with Shooting From My Heart, prompting the duo to re- locate to New York from London. Following the demise of the band in 1991 Scardanelli remained in New York, turned his back on the popular music scene and scraped a living in the underbelly of New York’s Lower East Side - including a stint working as a liquor runner at the infamous Save The Robots after-hours club. His darkly challenging solo album Death Row Tales (1994) bears testament to the dark & dangerous lifestyle he was living on 4th St & Ave D.
Death Row Tales has since become a cult album after it was discovered that the CGI programmers of The Matrix films were caning it during long rendering sessions.
A mini-album, Bed of Nails, came in 2002 and the album Hobohemia followed in 2005, coinciding with his return to live performances after an eleven year absence. That Dangerous Sparkle was released in 2007 and firmly established Simon’s reputation as an innovative and inventive songwriter.
A charismatic and engaging solo performer, Simon's shows are peppered with wry anecdotes and dry, self-deprecating humour – he is able to look back on a long and varied career with an ironic appreciation of its highs and lows. Tales of life on the margins of rock and roll, in the underbelly of NYC, and his meetings with an alien back in the 70s entertain and amuse his audiences.
2016 saw the release of Make Us Happy which received great reviews and plays on local and national radio.
Simon moved to Central Brittany in 2016. He released “The Rock, the Sea, the Rising Tide” in September 2019.
Simon is available for solo concerts or with the trio (accordion, percussion & backing vocals).
2021 saw the debut of the musical Clean! - with book and lyrics by Sam Chittenden, which premiered at the Brighton Fringe in June of that year, receiving 5 star reviews and an "Outstanding Production" award. See the musical theatre page here for more information on that. A second musical collaboration with Sam, an adaptation of The Little Prince, premiered in 2022. Video trailers for both musicals are on the Musical Theatre page.
Simon is currently working on his next project - an ambitious concept / live show & album. Its theme is climate change and the environment. Simon has written a new mythology for our planet, presented in the form of a narration with songs. The CD will be released in both French and English versions, with further languages to follow. It is hoped that the spectacle will tour in 2024.
“If you like intriguing and experimental songwriting, charismatic performing and singing that works in some of the areas explored by the likes of Scott Walker, John Martyn, Léo Ferré, Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens, you'll be inspired to discover Simon Scardanelli's work.” The Roomz, Hastings.
Discography.
"Fish Out of Water" - single, 2022
"Propaganda" - single - 2021
"The Glittering Prize" - single - 2021
"Live at Ty Blues" - album -2020
"It Really Is A Pity" - single - 2020
"God Gave You Such A Winning Smile" - single - 2020
“The Rock, the Sea, the Rising Tide” - album - 2019
“Shooting From My Heart” - single - 2018
“Without You” - single - 2018
“Not With A Bang” - single - 2017
“Jesus & the Moon” - EP - 2016
“Make Us Happy” - album - 2016
“They Lied” - single - 2015
“Three Dances With Sam” - EP - 2014
“Dark Dog Days” - album - 2013
“Song For A Soldier” single - 2013
“Alien State of Mind” - single - 2008
“That Dangerous Sparkle” - album - 2007
“Hobohemia” - album - 2005
“Bed of Nails” - album - 2002
“The Eye Camera - Death Row Tales” - album - 1994
The New York Tapes” - Big Bam Boo - album - 1992
Fun, Faith & FairPlay” - Big Bam Boo - album 1989
“What In The World?” - album - 1981
"Let's Talk" - single - 1980