Episode 177: Simon Halfon - Graphic designer and Film Producer on The Style Council, Paul Weller Solo & The Jam
On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, we hear from graphic designer and film producer, Simon Halfon to discuss his incredible porfolio of work with The Jam, The Style Council and Paul Weller solo...
We find out about his love of The Jam - and how he first met Paul Weller in 1979 following a gig in Bridlington when he and his mates stayed up with the band drinking and putting the world to rights until the early hours.
On this podcast chat, we hear how he fell into art design by accident via the creation of a fanzine (that provided another early connection to The Jam) to a job in the postroom at Stiff Records, then assisting Neville Brody at The Face magazine.
The first sleeve Simon designed was for Department S, whose singer Vaughn Toulouse became part of a gang of friends that included journalist Paolo Hewitt, DJ Gary Crowley and Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama.
His first commission as a freelancer in 1982, was by Paul Weller through the design on the sleeve for a book that he was publishing about the Small Faces.
When Paul formed The Style Council with Mick Talbot in 1983, it was Simon that he turned to for the record sleeve designs starting with Speak Like a Child, right the way through to the Modernism album cover that was completed for it's ultimate release in the 90s.
We also chat about Simon's creations with Paul Weller for singles and albums for 20 years of the solo career - an incredible collective of work from that first single sleeve from Into Tomorrow in 1991 and those wonderful matchday programmes and merch designs, right through to 2010's Fast Car/Slow Traffic...
Simon also designed every album sleeve with Paul from that debut solo album through to Wake Up The Nation in 2010...
You'll hear about their shared love of The Beatles (which led to Simon designing the cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Milk and Honey album in 1984) and Simon's work with other long standing clients including the late George Michael and Oasis.
In the mid noughties Simon had started to take an interest in the film industry, inspired by friendships forged during his time in LA. He produced his first feature film in 2008, the Kenneth Branagh directed Sleuth, which was to become the last screenplay by Harold Pinter and starred Michael Caine & Jude Law.
But it wasn't until 2016 that Simon really embraced the film world, when the Gallagher brothers approached him to tell the story of Oasis. As lead producer, he brought together the team to create the award winning feature ‘Supersonic’, a documentary of huge commercial and critical success.
We also chat about the incredible Wham documentary for Netflix that he produced - which topped the charts in the summer of 2023...
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EP64 - Seckou Keita - Musician - Kora Master - Griot - Pioneer - ”A melody strong, an angel‘s voice and I find myself in awe of its truth...”
EP63 - John Wilson - Broadcaster & Journalist - ”Like a perfect stranger, you came into my life”
EP62 - Jon Abnett - Designer / Author - From the Floorboards Up - ”When we play, we play, we play!”
EP61 - Neil ‘Twink‘ Tinnings - Photographer - Mental Health Ambassador - ”I‘ve got the gift of life can‘t you see it in the twinkle of my eye?”
EP60 - Declan O‘Rourke - Singer-Songwriter - ”He went off, like a rocket touched...”
EP59 - The Jam Tarts - Jane, Jackie & Rachel - ”Thick as thieves us, we‘d stick together for all time”
EP58 - Dylan Jones OBE - Journalist, Author, GQ, Fashion - ”I dress myself for the part...”
EP57 - Hannah Peel - Award-winning Composer, Artist, Musican - ”Dancing through the fire, just to catch a flame...”
EP56 - Jacko Peake - Flutist and Sax Player - ”Let‘s throw out the past and get something back...”
EP55 - Sam Brown - Musician, Singer, Songwriter - ”We talk and we talk until my head explodes”
EP54 - Shaun Hand - Pop Art Poems - The Music of The Jam ”Kid walks down the street - Bumps into emptiness - Pow!”
EP53 - Steve Brookes - Singer, Songwriter - The Jam Co-Founder - ”Take me back there again, let me feel the same way...”
EP52 - Chris Green - Filmmaker -The Pebble and the Boy - "Far away in the distance, with the sun in your eyes..."
EP51 - Aziz Ibrahim - Guitar Wizard, Master Collaborator & Composer - "Come down beside the water sit and rest"
EP50 - Steve Wheatley - Love Weller Live "Must be me that's rushing by, time just lingers on the wind"
EP49 - Kathryn Williams - Singer - Songwriter - Author "When you gonna find the strength to be, clear your mind of the darkness that you see."
EP48 - Peter Gordon (PG) - Surrey Broadcaster - "The past is our knowledge, the present our mistake..."
EP47 - Steve Trigg - Trumpet Player / Arranger / Composer - Stone Foundation...
EP46 - Dave Swift - Bass Player - Jools Holland - "I've got a song, I ain't got no melody, I'm a gonna sing it to my friends..."
EP45 - John Harris - Author & Journalist & Paul Weller Super-fan - ”Oh like paper caught in wind, I glide upstreet, I glide downstreet...”
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