Simon Ellis (record producer)

British songwriter and producer

Simon Peter Ellis (born 18 May 1961) is an English songwriter, producer, musician and musical director who has worked with many artists including the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Westlife, S Club 7, East 17, and music mogul Simon Fuller. Ellis co wrote and produced the chart topping S Club 7 hits "Two in a Million", "Never Had a Dream Come True" and "Don't Stop Movin'", the latter winning ITV record of the year award in 2001 and "Best British Single" at the Brit Award 2002.

Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Ellis lived with his mother and brother in his early years. Growing up he attended Swain House School followed by Hanson School, before then going on to study at Bradford Art School and Preston Art School where he graduated with a BA Honours in Graphic Design. Ellis harboured another passion besides graphic design; he was talented musically and taught himself to play piano from the age of 15. In the mid '80s, he made the move to London to pursue a career in graphic design, but it was fate that intervened and he fell into the world of music. Ellis now resides in Hebden Bridge, with Johanne Ellis; his wife and co writer of hits from his past and present catalogue, and their two adult children.

In 1988, Ellis co formed the band Ellis, Beggs & Howard consisting of himself, Nick Beggs and Austin Howard. Supported by their debut album Homelands, the band had success across mainland Europe, where their music sold in considerable numbers, gaining a modicum of success in the continent. Although the album failed to ignite the public consciousness in the UK, it was their distinctive sounding first single, "Big Bubbles, No Troubles", which broached the UK charts, peaking at number 41. The band split c. 1990 during the sessions for a second album. After the split, Ellis continued trying to make a living in music for three years, meeting his future wife, Johanne along the way, who was soon expecting their first child. In 1994, Ellis took up his first musical director job with the band D:Ream, who had hits such as "Things Can Only Get Better" and "U R the Best Thing". He toured with them for a couple of years until he then went on to join East 17 as part of their live band on promotional tours.

In 1997, Ellis got his major break as a musician when was head hunted by "the most successful British music manager of all time", Simon Fuller, for the then new project, the Spice Girls. Fuller brought Ellis into the world of 19 Entertainment and gave him the job as the girls musical director. Ellis went on to securing a publishing deal from Fuller, where he wrote and produced chart topping records for a variety of artists. As of 2023, Ellis continues to work with Fuller at the rebranded XIX Entertainment.

Ellis made numerous TV appearances with the girls, and was the mastermind behind all of their concerts and world tours through to 2019. Due to commitments with the group Westlife in the summer of 2019, Ellis did not musically direct the Spice World – 2019 Tour.

The producer has had a long standing collaboration with English group S Club 7, dating back to the late 1990s. This artistic partnership resulted in him co writing and producing three top five UK singles, including two number ones. He has toured with the group on all of their live concert tours as the musical director.

During 2009, Ellis was appointed the role of Musical Director for Britney Spears's The Circus Starring Britney Spears, consequently leading on to 2011 when he once again was asked to MD for Spears' Femme Fatale Tour.

In 2019, Ellis reunited with Westlife, whom he worked with on two of their past concert tours − Where We Are Tour (2010) and Gravity Tour (2011), and was appointed the musical director for their comeback 2019 The Twenty Tour. This continued into 2020 for which Ellis was their MD and keyboard player for the Stadiums in the Summer Tour. Ellis continues to write and produce music for new and already established artists, and is actively working as a Musical Director.