A Record Producer, Simon Emmerson passed away at 67. Let’s see more details about Simon and his cause of death in detail.
How did Simon Emmerson die?
Afro Celt Sound System announced the demise of Simon Emmerson on social media. It says that
“It’s with a heavy heart that we announce on Monday 13th March the peaceful passing of our dear Simon Emmerson, after a prolonged illness.
Simon touched the hearts of millions of people through his music and infinite wisdom. His legacy remains with the amazing people he bought together and they will continue to create the magic of his music with his guidance from above.
We would like to request that our fans, friends, and fellow artists respect the privacy of the family at this difficult time.
There will be plans for a tribute memorial concert later in the year and the details will be released on all platforms.
Thank you and Love and Light to you all.”
Cause of death
Simon Emmerson aka Simon Booth has just passed away on March 13 after a prolonged illness. Friends and families are pouring condolence on social media. Simon Booth was probably best known for being an integral part of Working Week, who was somehow a pioneer of this thing called Acid Jazz.
Dave Dray expressed his condolence through a sad message,
“A man is not dead until the ripples they create in life die away (Terry Pratchett). Simon’s ripples will always flow, we will always have his music.
RIP Simon. Thoughts to his family, his friends, and Afro Celts.”
Who was Simon Emmerson?
Simon Emmerson was born on 12 March 1956. He was an English record producer, guitarist, DJ, musical director at Lush, and founder of the group Afro Celt Sound System. He was also the main organizer of The Imagined Village, a collaborative work from many roots artists. Emmerson also played on this album. In 1995 Emmerson was nominated for a Grammy for his production work on Baaba Maal’s album Firin’ in Fouta.
Earlier in his career, under the pseudonym Simon Booth, he was a member of the bands Working Week and Weekend, played guitar on Everything but the Girl’s debut album Eden and produced records for Baaba Maal and Manu Dibango. Emmerson was a keen bird watcher.
Simon-Obituary
Alongside his love for music, Simon was also a very keen birder. Some of you may recall that he put together some inspiring guest mixes for Folk Radio in which he shared his deep love of nature. He came up with the title ‘Weirdy Birdy Mix’ for the first, on which we heard the twilight call of Great Northern Divers or the dry song of a Yellowhammer before being gently led away from the maddening crowd to join Swifts, Swallows, and Cranes returning home along coastal paths, past childhood oaks and dream time Sky Larks.
Last year, he followed that with ‘Weirdy Birdy’ II, to promote the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch on which he transported us across meadows filled with the rare sounds of turtle doves, quails, and corncrakes to the Portuguese border with Spain under a starry on the River Tagus to hear red deer bellowing.
As a tribute to Simon, you can listen to those mixes below in which his passion for nature and music is clear, he was one of a kind.
Our love and condolences to his family.
Social Media Condolence
Rainer Trueby Posted
very sad to hear about the passing of Simon Booth today, who was probably best known for being an integral part of Working Week, and who was somehow a pioneer of this thing called Acid Jazz. Even before with his “Weekend” project and later on participating with Everything But The Girl, the James Taylor Quartet, and his very own Afro Celt Sound System. R.I.P. Simon and thanks so much for everything you have contributed to my world of merry music xx
The Mood club Posted
An old friend of mine Simon Booth has just passed away. When I first contacted the London Club Sandino organizers about running Club Sandino in McGonagles. Simon came over to DJ and away we went. At the time Simon was a guitarist with Working Week and introduced me to the whole Acid Jazz scene in London from Straight No Chaser’s Paul Bradshaw to Talkin Loud Gilles Peterson, Acid Jazz head man Eddie Piller, other great DJs like Ronnie Scott’s Dave Hucker, Patrick Forge, Sue Steward, Baz Fe Jazz, Jerry Dammers and more. As Working Week came to an end he went on to even bigger and better things with the Afro Celt Sound System. Always moving forward and never forgotten.
DA Ve Posted
I reached out to Simon once to ask for some tune recommendations to play at a protest outside Downing Street… he sent me a rare CD and got really involved in finding out about the protest… we kept in touch on Facebook and a while later he gave me a couple of tickets for an Afro Celt gig in Brighton where he’d got the entire band to give a huge shoutout for the campaign I was heavily involved in at the time… This man is an absolute legend and I feel lucky to have vaguely known him
and to have seen and loved his music. RIP.
Van mai Posted
So much gratitude for Simon Emmerson the musical genius for inspiring me to find my inner Wirlie and to dance through life’s ups & downs. Frances your “birthday twin” has left us. What truly ecstatic times we had at Womad & Exeter Phoenix.
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