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Simon Brint | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-09-26)26 September 1950 High Ham, Somerset, England |
| Died | 29 May 2011(2011-05-29) (aged 60) |
| Occupation | Musician |
Simon Tracey Brint (26 September 1950 – 29 May 2011) was a British musician, best known for his role as part of the comedy duo Raw Sex withRowland Rivron. He also composed for many British TV comedy and drama programmes.
Son of Stephen Brint and Anne Tracey (née Watts), Simon Brint was born inHigh Ham, Somerset, one of five brothers. His father, from a large working-class family, had lied about his age to join the army; his mother was theSt Anne's College, Oxford-educated daughter of a high court judge.[1] The Brint family moved toHythe in Kent when he was 16, and he developed an interest in eccentric musical projects. Brint studied atReading University, graduating in English literature in 1972, before taking part in various artistic collaborations as both a musician andprop designer. He worked with the artistAnthony Benjamin, the singer andtightrope walkerHermine Demoriane, and theatre directorKen Campbell, as well as helping to disguise elephants asmammoths for the filmQuest for Fire and co-writing, withSimon Wallace, the music for theOscar-winningshortA Shocking Accident in 1982.[1]
In the late 1970s, he began working regularly at theBlitz club in central London, where he met drummer and comedian Rowland Rivron and pianist Rod Melvin. They became the house band atThe Comic Strip club, and Brint subsequently wrote several scores for the ensuing TV series,The Comic Strip Presents... With Rivron, he also developed the comedy music act "Raw Sex", in which he performed as the strait-laced father of the dissolute Rivron, most famously on theFrench and Saunders show. Raw Sex were also the house band on several comedy tours around this time, includingKevin Turvey and the Bastard Squad Featuring The Young Ones, Live,Nigel Planer'sNeil's Bad Karma in the UK Tour (with The Wow Show, whose TV seriesHello Mum Brint contributed written material to), and French and Saunders' 1990 tour.[2] He also continued to work as a composer for other TV comedy series, includingBottom (producing versions ofBB's Blues andLast Night with the specially-formed group The Bum Notes),Hippies (which he also sang the theme tune to),Absolutely Fabulous,2point4 Children (writing the song 'Age' performed byGary Olsen), music and dozens of songs for multiple incarnations ofThe Lenny Henry Show, all ofAlexei Sayle's TV work,Comic Relief (on which he was resident composer),A Bit of Fry & Laurie (producing all of Hugh Laurie's songs for the fourth and final series), the comedy specialTracey Ullman: A Class Act, the musical episodes ofTwo Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps,Lazarus and Dingwall andMurder Most Horrid, as well as TV drama includingLondon's Burning andMonarch of the Glen.[1]
As an actor, he appeared in several episodes ofThe Comic Strip Presents (his biggest role being that of a doctor in the episodeQueen of the Wild Frontier), the filmEat the Rich (as Dickie the pianist),Saturday Live,Girls on Top (as half of 'Shelley's People'), and four series and one special ofFrench and Saunders, in which he played various roles as a member of the supporting cast in addition to his regular role as Ken Bishop and occasional appearances as himself. He also appeared on-screen with Rivron in the final ever episode ofA Bit of Fry and Laurie, providing the rhythm section for Hugh Laurie's "A Sophisticated Song".
Brint and Rivron created a Raw Sex feature film, thepartially-improvised comedyThere's No Business..., which was released on VHS in 1994, starring Brint as Ken Bishop. The duo ceased to appear on theFrench and Saunders series from the 1994 special onwards (their role having been gradually decreased by incoming producerJon Plowman), but Brint continued to provide music until the show ended in 2009 and his singing voice (occasionally as Ken) was frequently heard. His last TV appearance as Ken Bishop was on the 1998 documentaryFirst on Four.
Though most of Brint's musical work remained commercially unreleased, a few items appeared in shops. A 1999 EMI Gold compilation ofLondon's Burning soundtrack cues included his work for the series, and in 2001, BBC Music released a dedicated compilation of his work forMonarch of the Glen. Additionally, his themes forBottom and the Joanna Lumley seriesGirl Friday turned up on the compilation albumThe Best of British Television. As a producer for other artists, he oversawVictoria Wood's single "The Smile Song" (released in 1991 as the B-side of Hale and Pace's "The Stonk"), and the debut EP ofElla Edmondson. There were unfinished attempts at assaulting shop shelves too – 1992 saw an aborted attempt to release "Christmas Is Charity" in time for that year's Christmas charts, a comedy single produced by Brint and co-written withCharlie Higson and performed byHarry Enfield andPaul Whitehouse as charactersSmashie and Nicey. In 1990, the majority of work forRaw Sex: The Album was completed for Sony BMG, featuring assorted guest comedians performing assorted cover songs with the band, but the project was shelved. In his autobiography, Rowland Rivron attributes the cancellation to BMG's UK operations concentrating almost entirely on marketingTake That.
In 2004, Brint helped set up a charity, Action for Music, to help undiscovered musicians inKenya, and later worked as a composer for the Kenyan TV soap operaMakutano Junction.[1] In 2010 he founded The Idiot Bastard Band with Edmondson, Rivron,Phill Jupitus andNeil Innes, which had been planning a nationwide tour and an LP for 2012. The initial rounds of Idiot Bastard Band gigs, incorporating original comedy songs, oddball cover versions, guest comedians and some resurrected Raw Sex routines, became Brint's final public appearances. His last TV work saw him compose and produce music forBellamy's People andThe One Ronnie in 2010.
On 29 May 2011 at the age of 60, Brinttook his own life.[1] The news was made public the following month via social networks by several of his friends and colleagues. He was survived by his wife, Amanda (née Cockerton). They had been married since 2003.[1]
Describing him as a "celebrated nonconformist", comedianAdrian Edmondson wrote of Brint:[1]
