Simon MacCorkindale

1952 - 2010

There seems little doubt that without the the persistent belief & unflagging enthusiasm of Simon Heyworth and later the faith, generosity and backing of Simon MacCorkindale and Susan George, the Tarka album would never have seen the light of day.......   Simon - ''Corkers'' as we affectionately knew him - absolutely loved the music and championed it in a way that was both terribly flattering to Harry & I yet somewhat unbelievable !

A project that had initially been met with derision in the post-Punk world, where record execs were running scared of anything  with more than 3 chords and everything had to be ''ballsy" (?!) was rather an unlikely project on which to pin commercial hopes, even in the less Stalinist era of the late 80's.  Yet Simon, with his genial demeanour and infectious boyish enthusiasm, was utterly behind it. A thoroughly likeable man, possessed of great generosity of spirit, he was a source of constant of encouragement at the time.

I remember when I finally finished ''Slow Dance'' and was hopelessly unsure of it, he made a point of listening to it straight away & calling me immediately to praise it and calm my fears. He understood the chronic lack of self-belief in many artistic people and responded to it in a very sensitive and reassuring way....

Alas, the film that he and Susan had hoped to use the music in subsequently, never made it to the screen - as far as I'm aware - and the Tarka album itself, despite many efforts to give it a greater commercial push, was never - with the benefit of hindsight - going to be a serious commercial proposition without a visual foil.  As the 90's hit, we all went our separate ways and there was no further contact.

However all involved will remember that time with fondness and will always hold the memory of Simon MacCorkindale with great affection and in high esteem.

Anthony Phillips

London October 2010

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