Kevin Simm
Kevin Simm | |
---|---|
Born | Chorley, Lancashire, England |
5 September 1980
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, presenter, model, businessman |
Years active | 2001–2008, 2012–present |
Associated acts | Liberty X |
Kevin Ian Simm (born 5 September 1980, Chorley, Lancashire, England), is an English pop singer and member of the group, Liberty X.[1] Simm currently runs his own business.
Contents
Early life
Simm was born on 5 September 1980 at Chorley, Lancashire, England. He attended St Anne's Primary School then St. Mary's Catholic Technology College in Leyland between 1991 and 1996, where he showed promise as a junior footballer. In his last year in secondary school, he performed Elton John's "Daniel" in the school's annual show. Simm decided to concentrate on music and joined a local indie band called AnAlien where he began writing his own material. His aunt secretly applied for him to go on the ITV talent show, Stars in Their Eyes, where he appeared as Simon Fowler of Ocean Colour Scene. After a few years of writing and performing on the northern pubs and clubs circuit, and spending a summer season in a band called Force 5 with James Fox, Simm auditioned for the ITV reality TV show, Popstars.
Career
Liberty X
While the five winning contestants of Popstars formed Hear'Say, the five runner-up contestants formed the group Liberty. The name Liberty was chosen to reflect the freedom the members experienced following their participation in Popstars. Amidst pejorative media commentary (including the term "Flopstars"), the act proceeded to sign a multi-million-pound record contract with Richard Branson's independent record label, V2 records. Shortly after forming, Liberty received a legal challenge in the UK High Court from a funk R&B band, also called "Liberty", who achieved success in the 1990s, including being awarded Capital Radio Band of the Year, playing Wembley Arena, European tours and the release of albums in the USA, Europe and UK. The original Liberty claimed that the newly formed Liberty was taking advantage of the goodwill that had been created by the former's success (known in English law as the "tort of passing off"). The final judgment was in favour of the funk R&B band and the ex-Popstars then asked readers of UK tabloid newspaper, The Sun to suggest a new name. The winning name was "X Liberty",[citation needed] but the group used the entry as the basis for the official title, "Liberty X".
Liberty X enjoyed seven Top 10 singles from 2001 to 2005. Their biggest hit, "Just a Little", reached Number 1 in May 2002. "Thinking It Over", "Got To Have Your Love", "Song 4 Lovers", and "Holding on for You" all reached the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album, Thinking It Over, reached Number 3 in June 2002. Liberty X released another 2 albums, Being Somebody and X, which reached Numbers 12 and 27, respectively. Liberty X won two Brit Awards: for Best British Single and Best British Breakthrough Artist. From 2004 until 2007, Heaton contributed a regular column to the Hotstars section of OK! magazine. In 2004, she appeared in the fitness DVD Liberty X-Toned.[citation needed] In October 2012 it was confirmed that the group would reform for a one off appearance at the Hammersmith Apollo and ITV2 series The Big Reunion which aired from 31 January 2013.
Solo career
Following Liberty X's split, Simm began focusing on his solo career. He has created his own Myspace music profile, uploading demo tracks for his fans to hear his progress as a solo artist. In a March 2008 interview, he stated, "I've been very busy in the studio recording new solo tracks which I'll hopefully be able to share with people very soon." Simm has signed to JamDown Music, which his track Brand New is featured on their official website's music player. On 3 October 2008, Simm's debut album, titled "Brand New", was released in Japan.
He has two children with his wife.
Discography
Albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales and certifications | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK |
JAP [2] |
|||||||||||||
Brand New |
|
– | 12 | |||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK | JAP [2] |
|||||||||||||
"Brand New" | 2008 | – | 25 | Brand New | ||||||||||
"It's About Us" | – | 96 | ||||||||||||
"Hot Summer's Day" | – | — | ||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Popstars | Himself/Competitor | Season 1; 2nd place |
2002 2003 |
Bo' Selecta | Various role | Episode 1; Season 1 Episode 6; Season 2 |
2003 | Popworld | Presenter | "23 March 2003" |
2005 | The Games | Himself/Competitor | Season 3 |
2006 | ITV2 Celebrity Daredevils | Himself | "Kevin Simm" (Episode 2; Season 1) |
2013 | The Big Reunion | Himself |
References
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External links
- Pages with reference errors
- EngvarB from July 2014
- Use dmy dates from July 2014
- Articles with hCards
- Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters
- Articles with unsourced statements from November 2007
- Articles with unsourced statements from April 2012
- English male singers
- English pop singers
- English soul singers
- English songwriters
- English singer-songwriters
- Musicians from Lancashire
- People from Chorley
- 1980 births
- Living people
- Liberty X