Simon Phillips (drummer)


Simon Phillips is an English jazz fusion and rock drummer, songwriter, and record producer, based in the United States. He worked with rock bands during the 1970s and 1980s, and was the drummer for the band Toto from 1992 to 2014.
Phillips worked as a session drummer for Phil Manzanera's 801, Jeff Beck, Big Country, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, Bernie Marsden, Jon Lord, Nik Kershaw, Mike Oldfield, Judas Priest, Mike Rutherford, Tears for Fears, 10cc, the Chemical Brothers, Pete Townshend, and the Who. He was the drummer for the Who during the band's American reunion tour in 1989.
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Career

Phillips began to play professionally at the age of twelve in a Dixieland band led by his father, Sid Phillips, for four years. After his father's death, he started playing pop and rock and found work in a production of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. He worked as a session musician for cast members, and this led to other session work. Beginning in the 1970s, he worked with Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Stanley Clarke, Peter Gabriel, Pete Townshend, and Frank Zappa; he was the drummer in the Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno supergroup 801 on their 1976 album 801 Live.
Phillips replaced Judas Priest drummer Alan Moore to record on the band's Sin After Sin album, and on that album, Phillips introduced the combination of the double bass drumming that would come to define heavy metal in later years, particularly the thrash metal sub-genre which emerged in the 1980s. The track "Dissident Aggressor" was an early example of the tempo and aggression which would soon become synonymous with the new wave of British heavy metal. Author Andrew L. Cope has described Sin After Sin as a key album in the development of heavy metal technique, in particular for its use of double kick drumming.
Phillips played on guitarist Michael Schenker's 1980 debut album The Michael Schenker Group, as well as the solo album for Genesis bassist Mike Rutherford, Smallcreep's Day. In the early 1980s, Phillips formed part of RMS with session musicians Mo Foster and Ray Russell. In 1981, Phillips formed Ph.D. with Jim Diamond and Tony Hymas. The new wave outfit released two albums and five singles, including "Little Suzi's on the Up" and "I Won't Let You Down", before splitting up in 1983.
Phillips was the drummer for the Who on their 1989 American reunion tour and appeared on solo recordings by band members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend.
Also in 1989, he recorded his debut album Protocol, for which he played all instruments. Wanting to make bigger changes in his music career, Phillips decided to move to Los Angeles in 1990. In 2000 he recorded a jazz album, Vantage Point, with trumpeter Walt Fowler, saxophonist Brandon Fields, and pianist Jeff Babko. Phillips also made an uncredited contribution on electronic duo the Chemical Brothers' 1997 break-out hit Dig Your Own Hole, drumming on the song "Elektrobank".

Toto

In 1992, Phillips had recently completed the recording of an album in England when he was invited by Toto to fill in for Jeff Porcaro after the latter died following the completion of the recording of Kingdom of Desire. Phillips became the band's only choice to replace Jeff for two reasons: Jeff himself viewed Simon as one of his favorite drummers, and that he toured with Steve Lukather and Carlos Santana on their solo tours. Phillips decided to settle permanently in Los Angeles and began rehearsals with the band. After the Kingdom of Desire tour, Phillips officially joined Toto.
As the band began its 1995 Tambu tour, Phillips suffered from back problems and was unable to play on the first leg of the said tour; the band turned to Gregg Bissonette to substitute for him. When Phillips fell ill prior to the 2004 Night of the Proms concert, Bissonette was unavailable to take over his drumming duties, causing the band to invite Ricky Lawson instead.
Phillips' last show with Toto was in 2013. He left the following year to focus on his solo career and was replaced by Keith Carlock.

Hiromi Trio Project

After leaving Toto, Phillips became a member of Hiromi Uehara's Trio Project along with bassist Anthony Jackson. The Trio Project made four albums together: Voice, Move, Alive, and Spark. The albums Move and Alive reached the top 10 on the Billboard Jazz Album charts, with Spark hitting the number one position. From 2011-2016, Phillips toured extensively with the Hiromi Trio Project.

Other ventures

Phillips has worked with Big Country, Jack Bruce, David Gilmour, Big Jim Sullivan, and Whitesnake. Phillips was one of two drummers to play on Pata's self-titled album, the other being Tommy Aldridge.
In 1997, Phillips appeared as a bandleader, performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 2009, Phillips joined with keyboardist Philippe Saisse and bassist Pino Palladino in forming an instrumental jazz/funk rock trio: Phillips Saisse Palladino, PSP, which toured in Europe in 2009 and 2010. Phillips also performed on Joe Satriani's album Super Colossal, appearing on multiple tracks. Phillips appears in Alan Parsons' Art & Science of Sound Recording educational video series, as well as the program's single "All Our Yesterdays". He played in the Michael Schenker Group album In the Midst of Beauty and took part to the band's 30th Anniversary world tour in 2010.
Phillips has co-produced and engineered albums by Mike Oldfield, Derek Sherinian, Planet X, and Toto. In 2018 Phillips was featured on the album Origin of Species. In addition to playing drums and keyboards, he engineered, mixed, and was a co-producer.

Influences

Phillips cited Buddy Rich, Grady Tate, Louie Bellson, Tony Williams, Billy Cobham, Steve Gadd, Ian Paice, Tommy Aldridge, and Bernard Purdie as his main influences.

Awards and honours

  • In 2003 Phillips was inducted into the Modern Drummer magazine Hall of Fame.
  • In 2015 at the 14th Annual Independent Music Awards, Phillips was the winner in the Jazz Instrumental Album category for Protocol II.
  • In 2019 Phillips was voted #1 in the Fusion category of the annual Modern Drummer Readers Poll.
  • In 2019 the Protocol 4 album was nominated for a GRAMMY Award in the Contemporary Instrumental Album category.

Partial discography

As leader

Two Generations, Sid Phillips and his Band & The Simon Sound Protocol Simon Phillips Force Majeure with Ray Russell, Anthony Jackson, Tony Roberts - live albumSymbiosis Another Lifetime Out of the Blue - live albumVantage Point with Jeff Babko Protocol II with Andy Timmons, Steve Weingart, Ernest Tibbs Protocol III with Andy Timmons, Steve Weingart, Ernest Tibbs Protocol 4 with Greg Howe, Dennis Hamm, Ernest Tibbs Protocol V with Otmaro Ruiz, Alex Sill, Jacob Scesney, Ernest Tibbs

As sideman

With Duncan BrowneThe Wild Places Streets Of Fire
With AsiaAqua Aura
With Big CountryThe Buffalo Skinners
With DarWinOrigin Of Species DarWin 2: A Frozen War DarWin 3: Unplugged Five Steps On The Sun Distorted Mirror
With CamelThe Single Factor
With The Chemical BrothersDig Your Own Hole
With Derek SherinianInertia Black Utopia Mythology Blood of the Snake Oceana The Phoenix Vortex
With Gary MooreBack on the Streets After the War
With Gordon Giltrap
With 801801 Live Listen Now Live @ Hull Manchester
With HiromiVoice Move Alive Move: Live in Tokyo Spark
With Jeff BeckThere & Back
With Jack BruceHow's Tricks Cities of the Heart Jet Set Jewel
With Joe SatrianiFlying in a Blue Dream The Extremist Time Machine Super Colossal
With Jon AndersonSong of Seven Animation
With Jon LordBefore I Forget
With Judas PriestSin After Sin,
With KarmakanicTransmutation
With L. ShankarTouch Me There
With Michael SchenkerThe Michael Schenker Group The 30th Anniversary Concert – Live in Tokyo In the Midst of Beauty Temple of Rock
With Mike OldfieldCrises Discovery Islands Heaven's Open
With Nik KershawRadio Musicola You've Got to Laugh
With MetroMetro
With Pete TownshendEmpty Glass All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes White City: A Novel The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend
With Ph.D.PhD Is It Safe? Three
With Russ BallardRuss Ballard S/T
With Stanley ClarkeRocks, Pebbles and Sand
With Steve HackettBeyond the Shrouded Horizon At the Edge of Light
With Mike RutherfordSmallcreep's Day
With Madness (band)The Madness
With Steve LukatherCandyman Santamental Bridges
With TotoAbsolutely Live Tambu Toto XX Mindfields Livefields Through the Looking Glass Live in Amsterdam Falling in Between Falling in Between Live Live in Poland
With ToyahThe Changeling Warrior Rock: Toyah on Tour
With Trevor RabinWolf
With The WhoJoin Together Thirty Years of Maximum R&B
With Intelligent Music ProjectMy Kind o' Lovin Touching the Divine Sorcery Inside Life Motion
With Kings of MerciaKings of Mercia
With Dewa 19'
  • "Love Is Blind"