Fitzsimon and Brogan Interview | Neil Fitzsimon guitarist and songwriter [2018-10-30]

Neil Fitzsimon and Bee Brogan were both members of the band, Pretty Blue Gun, who were signed to an indie label licensed to Sony. They released two albums which were critically acclaimed. Some of the guest musicians included members of The Art of Noise, Dave Bronze (Eric Clapton’s bass player), Tobias Boshell (Moody Blues) and Pip Williams who played guitar on the Walker Brothers’ track, ‘No Regrets’. The albums were produced by Pat Collier, who produced Katrina and the Waves’ international hit, ‘Walking on Sunshine’. The band went on national tours across the UK until disbanding. Neil Fitzsimon, the songwriter, and Bee Brogan, the vocalist, then went on to form a song writing/production partnership that led to placement of their songs in Film and TV. They also wrote a musical, Jack Dagger, which was showcased at the Greenwich Theatre, London for the Musical Futures Award. It was also showcased at the Bridewell and the Royal College of Music in London. They have also just had a song placed in a USA Sci Fi Feature film. They recently had a track reach number 3 in a French national download chart. All songs are written by Neil Fitzsimon. Vocals, keyboards, drums and engineering by Bee Brogan. All guitars played by Neil Fitzsimon. Fitzsimon and Brogan see themselves as a studio act much in the vein of Tin Tin Out and Talk Talk. Their influences range from The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Webb, Jacques Brel and David Bowie. Their aim is to produce pure pop for now people.

– How is it going with Fitzsimon and Brogan?
Yeah, it’s going great at the moment. Our album, Big Blue World, has been getting great reviews and we are releasing another album in the fall, called The Girl Who Shouted Love at the Heart of the World. Both albums are released through WTPL and are available on all download portals.

– How was it recording and writing your album Big Blue World?
It’s always an experience, recording an album, and not always straight-forward, but with our Producer, Pat Collier (who produced the Katrina and the Waves’ international hit, Walking on Sunshine) we overcame any hurdles with ease. We ended up with an album that we are proud of.

– Any promotional videos made for this album and what’s your thoughts on lyric videos being so popular now with YouTube?
We did a promotional video for one of our tracks called, The Cutest and the Cruelest, which reached number 3 in the French national download chart. We have now joined the trend and released a lyric video of our single, Big Blue World, and yeah… we think it’s a great idea as the budget for a storyline video can be quite costly.

– What are some of your main influences?
Our number one influence is The Beatles. They are the benchmark that everyone has to try and reach. Other influences are Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Abba, Jimmy Webb and Jacques Brel.

– Any special shows planned for the summer?
No, we are strictly a studio project. We have gigged and toured in the past, but we feel happiest working in a studio environment.

– Where do you see music going in 50 years from now?
It is a bit worrying at the moment… the way that music is now drifting towards the music that was around before The Beatles exploded onto the scene. In the UK, we have reverted back to cardboard cut out singers who stay around for a couple of songs and then disappear. There seems to be a generation of X factor wannabes who are not prepared to take the long hard road to achieve success and just think it will be handed to them on a plate. Let’s hope we’re wrong because there are many great bands out there who still have strong musical values. Sadly, this is not always what sells in the market place these days.

https://www.fitzsimonandbrogan.com