Simon House

Simon House (born 29 August 1948 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England) was a composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, perhaps best known for his work with space rock band Hawkwind. His arrival in 1974 introduced a new element to the band's style. He was the first conspicuously trained musician, and the sound which emerged on Hall of the Mountain Grill was a previously unheard, lush chaos which sounded a little like Black Sabbath meets The Moody Blues. Before Hawkwind, House played in High Tide and the Third Ear Band, who contributed the soundtrack to Roman Polanski's Macbeth. Guitarist Tony Hill recounted how House became a member of High Tide: "[Pete Pavli and I were] hanging out with and crashing where we could at Mike's or Wayne's. Simon ended up crashing there as well. He joined Hawkwind in 1974, playing on some of their albums, before leaving for David Bowie's band in 1978, which, along with Robert Calvert's depressive phase, led to Hawkwind breaking up in mid-tour. Along with other Hawkwind members, he guested on science fiction author Michael Moorcock's New World's Fair in 1975 and has also played on solo projects by former Hawkwind members Robert Calvert and Nik Turner.