Simon Taylor & full band Simon Taylor is a singer-songwriter from Newcastle upon Tyne who has been releasing and performing music for over fifteen years. His songwriting contains elements of rock, pop and Latin with influences ranging from Leonard Cohen to Lou Reed. Simon began his performing career in 2011 with his Latin/ funk/ jazz 5-piece Simon Taylor & The Sundowners. They performed at the Mouth Of The Tyne & VAMOS Festivals and since 2012 Simon's music has featured regularly on BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio USA. Following a headline gig at the 02 Academy in Newcastle in 2018 Simon began to perform solo. On hearing his mental health-themed e.p "Survival" in 2022, the British Library Sound Archive asked him to send over his back catalogue for storage in the archive. In 2021 Simon reached the Semi-Finals of the UK Songwriting Contest with his ballad "Bad Times Are Through". Simon has recently formed a new band featuring his brother Paul Taylor (keys), Richard Millington (drums) and Dan Pietruszka (bass) and is about to release his drama-soaked new e.p “Eden”. Support comes from The Agency, an amalgam of talent from around the north east described by NARC as 'an English Velvet Underground for the 21st Century.'