Paul Simonon
| Paul Simonon | |
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Paul Simonon at the Eurockéennes 2007 with The Good, the Bad and the Queen
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Gustave Simonon |
| Born |
15 December 1955 Thornton Heath, Croydon, England |
| Genres | Punk rock, reggae, alternative rock, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Bass guitarist, visual artist, vocalist, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, guitar, vocals, harmonica |
| Years active | 1976–1993, 2006–present |
| Labels | CBS, Capitol, Parlophone |
| Associated acts | The Clash, Havana 3am, The Good, the Bad and the Queen, Gorillaz |
| Notable instruments | |
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Fender Precision Bass Rickenbacker 4001 |
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Paul Gustave Simonon (born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the punk rock band The Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the project The Good, the Bad & the Queen in 2007 with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen and the Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach in 2010, which along with Albarn saw him reunite with Mick Jones.
Simonon was born in Thornton Heath, Croydon, Surrey. His father, Gustave, was an amateur artist and his mother, Elaine, was a librarian. He grew up in both the South London area of Brixton and Ladbroke Grove in West London, spending around a year in Siena and Rome, Italy with his mother and stepfather. Before joining the Clash, he had planned to become an artist and attended the Byam Shaw School of Art, then based in Campden St, Kensington.
In 1976, he met Mick Jones and six months later the Clash was formed when Joe Strummer joined, with Jones on lead guitar. Simonon learned his bass parts by rote from Jones in the early days of The Clash and still did not know how to play the bass when the group first recorded. He is credited with coming up with the name of the band and was mainly responsible for the visual aspects such as clothing and stage backdrops. He was also immortalised on the front cover of the band's double album London Calling: Pennie Smith's image of him smashing his malfunctioning bass guitar during a 1979 concert in New York City has become one of the iconic pictures of the punk era.
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