S. Ward was the moniker of Simon Ward, a singer-songwriter from Liverpool who was active in the city between 2018 and 2023. He composed alternative music on an autoharp and led an eight-piece band that featured cello, violin and saxophones.
Ward’s early songs developed out of his fiction, which he began publishing whilst living in Berlin between 2012 and 2015. Longstanding inspirations included the likes of Leonard Cohen, Serge Gainsbourg and Nick Cave.
His band formed in September 2018 with founding members of QUARRY C.I.C over a shared love of post-punk and early industrial music. Their debut EP, Gürtelstraße, was released on all major platforms on April 24th, 2020. Their second EP, The Collegiate, was released on November 25th, 2022. They disbanded for the foreseeable the following year, after Simon decided to focus on other projects.
Ward created the content for his releases, including artworks, designs and music videos. For archival press articles and interviews, click here; for details on their shows and releases, it’s here.
“Roots” by S. Ward from their second EP, The Collegiate. Directed and edited by Jon Stonehouse, filmed by Jon and Cameron Brown.
‘‘Angeline’’ by S. Ward taken from their debut EP, Gürtelstraße. Directed by Samuel Winston and edited by Simon Ward.
"Sleepless" by S. Ward from their debut EP, Gürtelstraße. Video by Simon Ward and Jolene Borrelli, 2019.
