Musician Simon serenades customers with special cartoon versions of artists’ vocals
Ever wondered how The Boss, Quo, or Lemmy would sing Happy Birthday? Wonder no more, for musician Simon Dartford has come up with the answer – his version of the ditty sung in each artist’s style.
The Birthday Songs is Simon’s new venture, marrying greeting card designs from artist Glen Stone featuring related puns with his own “tongue-in-cheek cartoon versions” of the tune mimicking the rock star’s vocals for a tune that can be downloaded via a QR code.
“We also sing the name of the recipient in the song,” Simon told PG Buzz, “so it’s more than a card, it’s a message, a song, a gift – a unique experience that shows your loved ones how much you care.”
And to get the full The Birthday Songs experience for yourself, click on the video below:
Simon explained: “The idea was born from performing gigs in bars and venues and being asked 90% of the time if I can sing happy birthday to one of their friends or relatives. This inspired the idea ‘what if we could send Happy Birthday in a card but in the style of some musical legends?’
“Quite often when I’m asked to sing Happy Birthday at a gig, I’m told the person’s name – but I completely forget it almost immediately, so have to blag it. At least when someone orders one of my cards I have all the details in front of me so there’s no chance it’ll be wrong!”
Having been performing in public since the age of 11, the now 34-year-old Simon clocked up his 1,000th gig back in November and also writes music for TV and film so has learned to recreate sounds as well as mastering different instruments to back himself both on stage and now for The Birthday Songs on which he currently does all the singing.
Simon added: “This knowledge has been huge in listening to certain nuances in the artists I’m parodying and re-creating that sound. I try to study the way the artists sing and deliver the vocal sound – I’ll be practicing in my car! But I’m not an impressionist, I feel people understand that and get that it’s a bit of fun and not a like-for-like tribute act.”
It was a chance meeting with Glen at a gig that saw the business partnership kick off. As Simon explained: “Glen works for the film industry and he also designs greeting cards which was perfect as he completely got my concepts and idea for this new way of sending and receiving birthday cards.”
As for the process, Simon first comes up with the puns and then usually runs it past a few people “to see if they think it works or makes sense. Often, I’ll hear a song on the radio and think ‘that would be a great pun’ – it’s become a bit of an uncontrollable obsession”!
As to which design is top of the pops for Simon personally, he admits his favourite so far is Motörhead. “It was difficult emulating such a legendary sound, musically and vocally. I like the Blur-style song I did too, I pitched my voice up to sound like Phil Daniels and it immediately made me laugh,” Simon told PG Buzz.
The inaugural Birthday Songs repertoire spans Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Motörhead, Blur, Oasis, Guns ’N’ Roses, Beastie Boys, The Cure, Meat Loaf, Kraftwerk, AC/DC, The Sex Pistols, The Smiths, and Status Quo.
The cards are currently available through the website at £7.99 for either an e-card or printed A5 design, which each come with unique QR code that links to the personalised song lasting between 1½ and 2½ minutes.
Simon doesn’t use the birthday songs on stage, but the recordings can be played in public, and he’s very happy to perfect any artist if customers want to make suggestions – although he’s sticking with male voices at the moment but hopes to expand eventually.
