Simon Gilbert is an Englishdrummer and member of the English bandSuede, one of the 'Big Four' Britpop bands of the 1990s, along with Oasis, Blur and Pulp. Gilbert was initially drummer for English punk band Dead to the World, however by June 1990 he was working at the University of London Union alongside Ricky Gervais, who was also managing the then unknown and unsigned Suede. After Gervais played him a demo, Gilbert asked to audition as the band were relying on a drum machine at the time. After seeing the group perform at an NME show in January 1992, Saul Galpern approached the group with a view to signing to his independent record labelNude Records. In 1994, following the departure of Suede's guitarist Bernard Butler, Gilbert heard singer Brett Anderson playing through audition tapes and mistakenly believed one to be an early Suede demo. It turned out to be the work of 17 year-old Richard Oakes who was subsequently hired as Butler's replacement. In January 1996, the band was joined by new member Neil Codling, a cousin of Gilbert who played keyboards and second guitar until early 2001. Suede's last concert before their hiatus took place at the London Astoria on 13 December 2003 and was a two-and-a-half-hour marathon show, split into two parts plus encore, after which Gilbert became the drummer for a Bangkok band named Futon together with Into a Circle's Paul Hampshire. Following persistent rumours, Saul Galpern officially announced on 15 January 2010 that Suede would be playing together again at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the 2010 Teenage Cancer Trust shows on 24 March of that year. Planned as a 'one off', the reception to the band's reformation prompted several tours in Europe and Asia as well as three more albums. Gilbert had collected a considerable amount of Suede footage spanning the band's career, much of which featured in a major definitive feature-documentary ‘Suede: The Insatiable Ones’. The film was directed by the acclaimed Mike Christie, whose film-making career actually began while working with Suede during the band’s 1993 collaboration with Derek Jarman.
