Simon Sean Nicholas David Austin (born 9 October 1966, Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

) is an Australian guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist, songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and sound engineer. Austin was a founding member of Frente!

Frente!

Frente! are an Australian alternative rock group, formed in 1991. The original lineup featured singer Angie Hart, founder and guitarist Simon Austin, bassist Tim O'Connor , and drummer Mark Picton...

 in Melbourne in 1989 with Angie Hart

Angie Hart

Angie Hart is an Australian pop singer best known for her role as lead vocalist in the band Frente!.Hart was a founding member of Frente! in 1989. She is renowned for her delicate songcraft, lyrics, and her breathy vocals....

 on vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar and Mark Picton on drums. Their top five hits on the Australian Recording Industry Association

Australian Recording Industry Association

The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

 (ARIA) Singles Chart

ARIA Charts

The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

 were "Ordinary Angels" (co-written by Austin and Hart) and " Kelly Street" (both in 1992). Their debut album, Marvin the Album

Marvin the Album

Marvin the Album is the Australian alternative rock group Frente!'s debut album, released 26 April 1994. Recorded in 1992 at Platinum Studios, Melbourne Australia...

, reached top five on the ARIA Albums Chart in the same year. After Frente! disbanded in 1996, Austin moved into record production and sound engineering.

Biography

Simon is the grandson of Jack Austin

Jack Austin (footballer)

John William "Jack" Austin was an Australian rules football player for the South Melbourne Swans from 1930 to 1938, playing 140 games in the back-pocket and at full-back...

an Australian rules footballer.