Simon Worrall, drummer from the Paris Angels died suddenly last week (1 Nov 2011).

A Fund has been launched to help Simon’s family pay for his funeral the details are:

Account number: 00304648
Sort Code: 16-30-13
Account name: Big Si

Please include your name and give what you can.

Obituary By John Robb (originally published on Louder Than War

The Paris Angels were one of the great lost bands of the baggy Madchester era.

From the east side of the city, hailing from Guide Bridge, Ashton-under-Lyne, they were made up of total music heads, fanatics who were just too young for punk but grew up with its shadow over them they went through all the cool musics. By the time I caught up with them- to interview them for Sounds in the late eighties they were walking musical encyclopedias. They were not rock stars- just smart kids who made music as valid as the soon to be big bands in the city.
Simon was their drummer, a big lad with a big grin.

I remember meeting Simon that day and he was really affable- a great drummer and a total dude. I would see him round town at gigs and clubs and he was always the same.

They were very much part of the early Roses/Mondays scene and were regular faces at the gigs, I would see them all the time hanging out at the legendary Boardwalk club checking out all the latest bands or at the Hacienda living the day-glo dream.

The band were very much part of the scene infrastructure, Paul ‘Wags’ Wagstaff, the guitar player would later be in Black Grape and the reformed Happy Mondays, Mark Adj- is the brother of ‘the Adge’ the Stone Roses fifth member and mainstay whilst the rest of the band was made up of scene faces, Rikki Turner, Steven Taji, Scott Carey- the original Inspiral’s bass player who nearly joined the Stone Roses just before Mani- as well as singer Jane Gill and Simon Worrall himself.

The band were heavily into the post punk and Velvet Underground scenes but with a genuine raw council estate take on the music. When acid house came they combined the two in a genuine way that many others tried to fake. Their single ‘Perfume’ is one of the classics of the era produced by Michael Johnson; and released on Sheer Joy records. It stands the test of time- a great piece of melancholic, psychedelic Manc-pop. A classic of its era.

There were other singles and a proper record deal with Virgin and a new single ‘Fade’ and the re-released ‘Perfume’ to back up the Paris Angels only album, ‘Sundew’, John Peel recognised the band’s talent and gave them a session- unusual as he was never a champion of the Madchester scene, maybe he saw something different in the band…

They fell apart in 1991 as Madchester went out of fashion and their lives became too crazy.

Farewell Simon, you will be missed.

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