Demonstrations

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Budgie at the Limelight
Budgie at the Limelight in Crewe during the 2003 UK Tour. Performing the song Crime Against The World from the Power Supply album. Photo by Mark Potts.

I’ve recorded a series of videos which show me improvising long guitar solos over a range of different backing tracks. The first half of each video shows me creating the backing track from scratch. You can see how I programme the drums, then record bass and rhythm guitar parts to form the backing track. I then launch into the guitar solo and the camera is set up so you can see exactly what I’m playing. I’ve based most of the backing tracks on well known songs which, hopefully makes them a bit more entertaining than if I’d just made something up. To select which video you’d like to watch, click on the three lines in the top corner of the YouTube window and scroll up or down.

I’ve based the backing tracks on an extremely diverse selection of songs including:-

And many, many more, Please remember THESE ARE NOT COVER VERSIONS! I simply created backing tracks based on these well known songs and used them as a canvas on which to “paint” huge improvised guitar solos!

The thing to notice here is that I’ve created each backing track from memory and that the video is not edited in terms of time. You see the entire process which usually takes between twenty and thirty minutes! No preparation has gone into either the backing or the guitar solo. This is to demonstrate my particular skill set which I hope will give you confidence in me as a session musician, music producer and teacher.

Simon Lees Harley Les Paul and Rock Chicks
Promotional photo for We Will Rock You – the Musical where I played Pop – the character originally played by Nigel Planer. This was the first time the show had been licensed outside the West End and three sell-out shows took place at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton one weekend in April 2007. Photo by Andy Bishop.