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Neil Codling - Biography

Full name: Neil John Codling 
Role : Keyboard Player, Rhythm Guitar Player, Songwriter
Birthplace: Teddington, Warwickshire, England
Birthday: December 5, 1973
Family: brother Paul, sister Lynda, mother Mrs. Loader
Marital Status : Celibate
Height: 5’ 10”
(UK) Shoe Size: 9.5

BIOGRAPHY

Neil Codling comes from a rather wealthy family from Stratford-upon-Avon. The Codlings lived on an affluent close not far from Simon’s estate. Neil Codling, nine years Simon’s junior, was a pupil first at Bridgetown J and I and then at the King Edward V school, a big leap upmarket from the local high which Simon had attended. In October 1992, Neil left for Hull, to study English and Drama at university.

Neil saw his first Suede gig in Birmingham in 1992. Crucially he also attended the Phoenix Festival on 14 July 1995, the day that saw Suede begin to twist free of the clutches of Bernard Butler’s muse, and move on.

A month or so before they began recording ‘Coming Up’ Suede booked rehearsal time at Dave Stewart’s studio, The Church, in North London’s Crouch End. Neil, who had by now graduated with a 2:1, had moved to the capital and was living round the corner. Knowing him to be Simon’s cousin - and a Suede fan - they allowed him to be present as they demoed songs.

Mat: “We’re quite insular as a band. We don’t even allow people to hear tapes of us playing. But Neil was… pretty clued up. I don’t even know how we knew that. Almost from the way he looked and the way he talked.”

Neil would video the odd rehearsal, disappearing occasionally to sign on. They liked him a lot: Brett, for one, found him hilarious company. For a Suede fan. Neil was not shy of offering criticism, which they invariably found spot-on. One day, when the band were rehearsing ‘By The Sea’ (a piano-led song), Richard, the pianist, decided to try some guitar. It was now time for Simon to announce his cousin played the piano.

Mat: “He just sat there and played it. Great. He could just do it.” Whenever Neil turned up at Tire Church thereafter, he was invited to play with Suede.

Brett “I remember when I actually decided for myself that he was going to be in the band. We were sitting round at my house: there was me, Alan, Neil and, I think, Richard and Simon. We were off our faces, listening to these demoes. and Neil started playing along on the guitar. He could do all these intricate little licks from ‘Abbey Road’. All of a sudden this guy, who I didn’t know, emerged as this great bloke with the same opinions on music and life as me”

Neil was invited to play keyboards on the album sessions, which began in November. At Christmas. the band took a break. Brett went on holiday to Barbados. Back in London, as 1995 began, Brett suggested Neil try writing a few songs. Neil quickly came up with two pieces ‘Starcrazy’ and ‘The Chemistry’ Between Us’ that floored the others.

Mat: His first demoes were incredible. The demo of ‘Starcrazy’ was almost as good as the record, and he did it in three hours after one of his two-day fasts, shaking in this tiny room: Richard then wrote Trash, which the band ear-marked as the album’s first single. And so they kept on recording. re-jigging the tracklisting and chucking out songs as they went.

The first that Suede fans knew of Neil was when he lined up with the band onstage at London’s Hanover Grand for their annual fan-club show in January. That night, they played an entire set of new unreleased songs.

His last appearance with Suede was the Iceland Airwaves Festival, October 21, 2000. On March 23, 2001, he quit from Suede, causing shock and tears to many, due to his chronic fatigue syndrome illness. Subsequently he’s been working on several music projects and soundtracks. He rejoined Suede in their 2010 reunion and he’s currently touring with them. In a recent interview he reassured the fans about his health, saying that he’s now finally feeling better.

CAREER AFTER SUEDE

In other bands:
Barry O’Neil  - Barry O’Neil is a duo formed by Harriet Cawley (vocals) and Neil Codling (piano, acoustic guitar). Their music has been decribed as “an intoxicating blend of lo-fi pop-songs, wisful folk melodies and windswept Americana” and “glorious, emotive, heartfelt pop with a blues flavour”.

Penguin Cafe - The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) was a collective of performing musicians created by Simon Jeffes. The Penguins’ sound is not easily categorized, but has elements of exuberant folk music and a minimalist aesthetic occasionally reminiscent of composers such as Philip Glass.

The Penguin Cafe Orchestra recorded and performed for 24 years until Jeffes died of a brain tumour in 1997. In 2009 a new band called Penguin Cafe was formed by Arthur Jeffes, son of Simon and Emily Young, and appeared at the BBC Proms on 8 September 2010. The Penguin Cafe released two albums with the new line-up (Neil is credited on both albums):

- Music From The Penguin Cafe – Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2009)
- A Matter of Life (2011)

As a soundtrack composer:
Far From China (2001) - Written and directed by CS Leigh, the film is the story of a respected writer’s struggle to make peace with her political activist father’s legacy and to build a positive future for herself. A co-production between, among others, Leigh’s SD2 Productions and the UK’s Parallel Pictures, the film stars Aurelia Thierree as the writer at the centre of the storm and features an impressive supporting cast including Steven Mackintosh, Marianne Faithfull, Antoine Chappey, Lambert Wilson, and Thure Linhardt. Original music for the film is written and performed by Suede, including various instrumental pieces plus the theme song, “Simon”, written by Brett Anderson and Neil Codling. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately the movie is not available in any format and no O.S.T has ever been released.

The Postman (2007) - A dark, comedic tale of the bizarre events of one beautiful summers day in the English countryside. The Postman is the story of a boy who discovers an air crash survivor and uses the situation to his own ends. Macabre and disturbing the film explores the darker side of our psyche while placing strong emphasis on the visual art of film making. Starring Dylan Lewis and new comer Charlie Clark this short from first time director Rupert Porter has a Hitchcockian twist that will stay with you whether you like it or not.

Songs of Grace and Redemption (2007) - A play directed by Janette Smith starring: Natasha Alderslade, James Hurn, Robert Reina, Mark Springer, Hannah Young. Five lost people make life-changing decisions to rescue themselves – and each other – through random acts of kindness. Seductive and penetrating, Songs of Grace and Redemption is the story of ordinary people struggling to break out and break free.

Your Number’s Up (2010) - A hilarious, moving story of friendship across the divide. It follows the loud, gaudy, eccentric, Bingo-loving Bernie from the Falls Road, as she whiles away her days since her husband’s death scouring the local paper and deciding which wake to gatecrash next. Bernie enjoys attending wakes – usually of strangers. This unusual pastime leads to a riotous series of scrapes, culminating in a heartrending twist. The movie was directed by Jonson D’angelo and features Patricia Queen and it was premiered at the 2010 edition of the Belfast Film Festival.

As a session musician:
Brett Anderson (solo) - He played keyboards for two Anderson solo concerts in Berlin in April 2007 
Hard-Fi - He played keyboards for Hard-Fi in 2006
Natalie Imbruglia - He toured with Natalie Imbruglia’s band during the Counting Down the Days tour. 
Pearl - He worked on Pearl’s solo album (which never was released) in 2004 and also played bass at the Infinity Club in London as part of Pearl’s band.
The Toques - Now known as Friends of the Stars, Neil played keyboard and guitar with them during a “Peel Session” in 2002.
Others: Arthur Baker, Faithless, Neil Tennant, Joe Purdy, Rishi Rich