Чарльз Роберт Симпсон (родился 7 июня 1985 г.) - английский певец, автор песен и музыкант из Саффолка. Он является участником поп-панк- группы Busted , удостоенной награды BRIT Award , а также ведущим вокалистом и ритм-гитаристом пост -хардкор -группы Fightstar . [1] [2] [3] AllMusic отметил, что Симпсон «пожалуй, единственная поп-звезда, которая убедительно превратилась из бойз-бэндера со свежим лицом в настоящего фронтмена хард-рока ». [4] Симпсон — мультиинструменталист, играющий на гитаре, басу, клавишных, фортепиано и барабанах. [5] [6]
За свою музыкальную карьеру Симпсон вошел в одиннадцать топ-40 релизов UK Albums Chart , шесть из которых вошли в топ-10 Великобритании. У него также было четыре сингла номер один с Busted и альбом номер один, а также два сингла номер один в топ-20. синглы с Fightstar и два сольных альбома, входящих в топ-10 Великобритании. Между Busted, Fightstar и своими сольными проектами он продал более пяти миллионов пластинок по всему миру, выиграл две премии Brit Awards и был номинирован на премию Kerrang! Награды.
Младший из трех мальчиков, Симпсон родился в Вудбридже, Саффолк . [7] У него есть два брата, Уилл (1980 г.р.) и Эдд (1981 г.р.). Он также некоторое время жил с двоюродным братом Дэном (1987 г.р.). Уилл — вокалист и гитарист Brigade , а Эдд — солист и гитарист альтернативной группы Union Sound Set. У Симпсонов очень музыкальная семья, берущая свое начало от сэра Уильяма Стерндейла Беннета (девичья фамилия матери Чарли), английского пианиста, дирижера и композитора, заметной фигуры в музыкальной жизни своего времени. [8] [9]
Симпсон получил образование в подготовительной школе Брандестон-Холл в Саффолке, а затем в школе Аппингем , где его прадед , Роберт Стерндейл Беннетт (1880–1963), был самым влиятельным музыкальным руководителем в период с 1908 по 1945 год.
Симпсон впервые получил известность благодаря поп-рок/поп-панк-группе Busted в результате ответа на рекламу, размещенную Мэттом Уиллисом и Джеймсом Борном в журнале NME в 2001 году. [10] В состав Busted входили Симпсон на соло-гитаре и иногда на барабанах, а также Уиллис на басу. гитара и Борн на ритм-гитаре и фортепиано; все три участника исполнили вокал. За два года трио добилось большого успеха и продало более 5 миллионов пластинок, [11] выиграло две награды BRIT Awards , [12] , а также получило награду «Рекорд года» в 2004 году. [13]
Симпсон покинул Busted в 2005 году, чтобы сосредоточиться на пост-хардкор-группе Fightstar.
10 ноября 2015 года Busted объявили, что они реформируются с Симпсоном в первоначальном составе и отправятся в тур на 18 концертов по Великобритании и Ирландии. Группа продала 100 000 билетов за первый час тура, поступившего в продажу. [14] Третий студийный альбом Busted Night Driver был выпущен в ноябре 2016 года. В 2018 году Busted анонсировали свой четвертый альбом Half Way There , а также даты тура по арене в марте 2019 года.
После еще одного четырехлетнего перерыва, пока группа сосредоточилась на других проектах, в мае 2023 года Busted объявили, что вернутся в тур по случаю 20-летнего юбилея Greatest Hits, который впоследствии стал самым продаваемым туром по арене Великобритании в 2023 году. Они также выпустили альбом Альбом Greatest Hits, занявший первое место в британских альбомных чартах.
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Несмотря на огромный успех Busted, Симпсон начал испытывать все большее недовольство образом жизни поп-звезды и музыкой, которую он исполнял. [15] Будучи заядлым поклонником рок-музыки, он чувствовал себя неудовлетворенным коммерческими поп-песнями Busted. [15]
Он встретил Алекса Вестэуэя в конце 2003 года, вскоре после этого сформировав группу, которая стала Fightstar . Более года он вел тайную «двойную жизнь»: по ночам он посещал репетиции своей новой группы после завершения обязательной работы в СМИ и концертных выступлений с Busted. [15] В 2004 году он и Вестэуэй написали дебютный EP Fightstar « Они любили тебя лучше, когда ты был мертв» . EP продемонстрировал более тяжелое звучание с влиянием пост-хардкора , которое сильно отличалось от материала Busted. [16] EP был записан в ноябре с Марком Уильямсом в Лондоне. [15] В это время начали расти предположения о будущем Busted. В январе 2005 года он объявил, что покидает Busted, чтобы продолжить свою карьеру в Fightstar на постоянной основе.
Simpson then funded and put together a compilation album called The Suffolk Explosion, which was released through his own label Sandwich Leg Records. It showcased a number of unsigned bands from Charlie's home county of Suffolk, including Brigade and Prego, as well as a solo acoustic track written by him called "Carry Her".[17]
Fightstar went on to record their debut full-length studio album with rock producer Colin Richardson. Grand Unification was released on 13 March 2006, and further proved the initial cynics wrong by receiving widespread positive reviews. In particular, Paul Brannigan of Kerrang! magazine stated the album was "one of the best British rock albums of the past decade".[18] Scottish music publication The Fly also lauded the album as "one of the 21st Century's ultimate rock debuts".[19] Shortly afterwards, the band went on to receive nominations at the Kerrang! Awards for "Best British Newcomer" and "Best British Band".[20] After leaving Island Records due to a disagreement over the band's artistic direction,[21] the band signed to an independent label called Institute Records which was a division of Gut Records to release their second album.[22] One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007), peaked at No. 27 on the UK Album Chart,[23] before releasing a B-sides compilation album titled Alternate Endings (2008). The four-piece then funded and co-produced their third album, Be Human (2009). Fightstar released their forth full length album Behind The Devils Back (2015), which would be their most critically acclaimed album, making Rock Sound magazine's Top 50 Albums list for 2015.
On November 6th 2023 Fightstar announced they would be returning for their biggest ever headline show at Wembley Arena to mark the bands twenty year anniversary.
On 29 July 2009, he made a Myspace page for his acoustic solo work. There were three songs on the page, "Dead Man Walking", 'Empty Guns (Demo)', and 'Carry Her'.[24] 'Carry Her' was previously available on The Suffolk Explosion.
Fightstar announced a hiatus at the beginning of 2010, stating that they were "taking some time off" for the remainder of 2010–11 to work on separate projects before regrouping in 2012 to begin working a new record. Simpson has started working on a solo acoustic album, while Westaway and Haigh will be completing post-production on the bands film and working on some music videos.[25]
Simpson went into the studio in June 2010 to start recording his full-length debut album with producer Danton Supple, whose previous work includes Coldplay and The Cure. The album was funded through PledgeMusic and as one of the main incentives for the campaign, fans received an EP called When We Were Lions on Christmas Day 2010. The full-length album was finally finished in February 2011 and was mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios in London. The first single to be taken from the album was called "Down Down Down" and it had its first radio airplay on 11 April, as Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton's Record of the Week. The single was officially released on 16 May, though it was made available to buy on iTunes straight away. The album, titled Young Pilgrim was released on 15 August 2011. It went straight into the UK album chart at number 6, having been at number 5 in the midweeks. Simpson signed to PIAS Records in Germany and the album was released in Europe in August 2012.
On 2 February 2013, it was reported that Simpson had finished writing the follow-up to his 2011 solo debut 'Young Pilgrim' and he would be heading into the studio with producer Steve Osbourne (U2/Placebo) to start recording in early March.
Simpson spent the summer of 2013 playing on the Vans Warped Tour in the US, which was the first time he has played live as a solo artist in America. During October 2013, Charlie went on a tour of the UK supporting rock band, Deaf Havana. He previewed two new tracks from the forthcoming album "Winter Hymns" and "Ten More Days". In 2014, he undertook a small run of solo shows in the UK in the lead up to the release of his second solo album.
Simpson announced on 28 April 2014 that his second solo album is to be called Long Road Home and will be released later that year, since revealing the release date would be 4 August 2014.[26]
In October 2014, Simpson announced that he would play a 13 date UK solo acoustic tour in January/February of the following year.[27]
On 5 May 2016, Simpson released his third solo album, Little Hands, a compilation of rare tracks from 2010 though 2016. The first single was a stripped-down version of "Emily". The album also included the track from the Watch UKTV series Singing In the Rainforest, "Walking With the San", which first aired in 2015. The song was recorded as part of the show in which Charlie travelled to Namibia to spend time living and playing music with the San people. After the show aired, an edit was made to act as a music video for the song and was uploaded to Facebook, the track has since gone viral and has been viewed over 14,000,000 times.
On 23 October 2020, Simpson released the first track from his upcoming album I See You, which peaked at 39 on the iTunes chart in its first week.[28] In late 2021, Simpson announced his fourth album Hope Is A Drug would be released in March 2022. He announced a planned Hope Is A Drug tour.[29]The tour was later postponed citing delays to album supply chains and shipping caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2015, Simpson released an EP with a side project called Once Upon a Dead Man alongside his two brothers Will and Edd Simpson, and friend Simon Britcliff. On 10 November 2015,
Outside of his main musical activities, Simpson also has frequently collaborated with other musicians, which include This Is Menace, Gunship (the side project of his Fightstar bandmates, Alex Westaway and Dan Haigh) as well as indie band, The Travis Waltons. With Gunship, he co-wrote and lent his voice for their highly critical acclaimed single, "Tech Noir", of Gunship's debut album.[30] In 2018, he contributed to Bullet for My Valentine's sixth album Gravity, receiving a songwriting credit on the track "Breathe Underwater". He also co-wrote the song Can't Escape The Waves on Bullet For My Valentine's 2022 self titled album.
Charlie has also been involved in film scoring, stating in an interview that this was something he was keen to pursue later in his career. He wrote the score for an independent British film 'Everyone's Going To Die', which debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2013.[citation needed]
In 2023, Simpson won the fourth series of The Masked Singer as "Rhino", making him the first male winner in the UK.[31] After his victory, he released the EP Kifaru containing songs he performed on The Masked Singer.[32]
In 2023, Simpson appeared on Gunship's third album "Unicorn", lending his voice to "Tech Noir 2", the sequel to "Tech Noir" from the first album. with film director John Carpenter and Tim Cappello from Tina Turner (1939–2023) and the movie The Lost Boys (1987) on Saxophone.[33]
Simpson married his long-time girlfriend Anna Barnard in June 2014, following the announcement of their engagement the week earlier.[34] During a show on his 2015 UK Tour at London's Islington Assembly Hall,[citation needed] Simpson announced that he and his wife were expecting their first child together. On 21 July that year, Simpson's wife gave birth to their first son, Arlo Simpson. In February 2018, their second son, Jago was born.[35][36]
In 2004, Simpson was quoted in Tatler magazine as saying he supported the Conservative Party, stating that he'd "grown up with their views" and "way of doing things".[37] According to The Guardian, Simpson "was pilloried just like Phil Collins and Geri Halliwell before him".[38] However, he later denied this claim of a political allegiance to the Conservatives, saying, "The Tory thing is complete bulls--t! It came out of Matt's mouth in an interview taking the complete p--s, and it was on the front cover of a newspaper. He was like laughing when he said it. Matt's Labour! He said something like, 'Now I've got loads of money I'm a f--king Tory boy,' laughing."[39]
