Simon Jeffes

Simon Jeffes (1949–1997) was a British composer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the founder and driving force of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO), one of the most distinctive and beloved musical ensembles in British musical life. Formed in 1974 after Jeffes experienced a vivid dream during a bout of food poisoning — in which he was visited by a 'voice' describing a penguin café — the ensemble developed a unique sound that blended elements of minimalism, folk music from around the world, baroque, and light music into something entirely its own.

The Penguin Cafe Orchestra released a series of celebrated albums including Music from the Penguin Cafe (1976), Broadcasting from Home (1984) and When in Rome... (1988), beloved for their wit, warmth and technical invention. David Bintley drew on the PCO's music for Still Life at the Penguin Café (1988), created for The Royal Ballet, weaving Jeffes's pieces together into a full-evening ecological fable featuring endangered species. The ballet became one of the most popular works in the Royal Ballet's contemporary repertoire.

Jeffes died of a brain tumour in 1997, aged 48. The Penguin Cafe Orchestra was later revived by his son Arthur Jeffes.