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STEVE
HARLEY was born in Deptford, south
London, on February 27th 1951, the second
of five children.
Due
to a childhood illness, Steve spent almost
four years in hospital between three and sixteen
years, undergoing major surgery in 1963 and
1966. It
was aged twelve years, while in hospital recovering
from a
major operation, that Steve first heard
BOB DYLAN and realised that his life was likely
to be preoccupied with words and music.
Close to Christmas 1964, during that same nine-months' hospitalisation at Queen Mary's Hospital for Children, Carshalton Beeches, Surrey, the ward welcomed the young ROLLING STONES who were on a goodwill PR visit.
"Charlie Watts spent quite a time chatting with us kids, but the others seemed more interested in knocking the huge poster of THE BEATLES we had pinned above the fireplace."
Steve was a pupil of EDMUND WALLER PRIMARY SCHOOL, in Waller Road, New Cross, London, a short walk from his parents' home at FAIRLAWN MANSIONS, New Cross Gate, between the ages of five and eleven.
He
attended HABERDASHERS' ASKE'S HATCHAM GRAMMAR
SCHOOL, Telegraph Hill, New Cross until seventeen.
He left school without completing his Advanced
Level exams. Steve later took an A-Level in
English in his mid-30s, gaining a B-grade.
"I was heartbroken not to get the big A, but I only had three hours of tuition a week for six months, so maybe it wasn't such a bad result, after all."
Steve
was given private tuition for the course by
his former English teacher at Aske's, and later
his good friend, Anthony Harding.
Steve's first guitar was a Christmas gift from his parents when he was ten-years-old.
It was a Spanish, nylon-strung instrument.
He took classical violin lessons from the age of nine to fifteen and played
in his Grammar school orchestra.
"But I was a hopeless reader of music, so I must have been bluffing a lot of the time."
In
the spring of 1968, Steve got his first full-time
job, as a trainee accountant, at the DAILY
EXPRESS newspaper in Fleet Street, London,
in spite of gaining a mere 24% in his mock
O-Level maths exam. But his heart was set on
a career in Journalism, so being at the industry's
heart was a useful stepping-stone for the nascent
reporter. Interviewed by several newspaper
editors, Steve finally signed indentures to
train with ESSEX COUNTY NEWSPAPERS in Colchester,
Essex. After three years working within the
group, including stints at the Essex County
Standard, the Braintree and Witham Times, the
Maldon and Burnham Standard and the Colchester
Evening Gazette, Steve moved back to London
to work for the EAST LONDON ADVERTISER, then
based in Mile End Road, in the heart of London's
East End.
Among many of Steve's contemporaries who have gone on to successful careers
in national Journalism are JOHN BLAKE (now Managing Director of BLAKE PUBLISHING)
and RICHARD MADELEY, of daytime TV fame. It was Madeley who actually took over
the desk relinquished by Steve at the ELA in 1972.
"So, if you hadn't given it up to become a rock star," Madeley has told Steve, "I may never have got my chance to become a reporter."
Steve
began his singing career "floor-spotting" (singing
for free as a member of the audience) in London
folk clubs in 1971/2. He sang at LES COUSINS,
BUNJIE'S and THE TROUBADOUR on nights featuring
JOHN MARTIN, RALPH McTELL, MARTIN CARTHY and
JULIE FELIX, all leading lights of the London
folk movement at the time.
He later joined folk band ODIN as rhythm guitarist and co-singer, which was
where he met the first COCKNEY REBEL violinist, JOHN CROCKER. However, the
folk scene proved a little tame for Mr Harley and, as he was constantly writing
songs, formed COCKNEY REBEL as a vehicle for his own work. It was here that
Steve and STUART ELLIOTT first met and worked together. Stuart drums with Steve's
band on record and on tour from time to time to this day.
The band signed to EMI for a guaranteed three album deal in 1972 and released
THE HUMAN MENAGERIE early in '73. From this collection, a single, SEBASTIAN,
became a huge European hit, staying at NUMBER ONE in HOLLAND and BELGIUM for
many weeks. Other COCKNEY REBEL and/or STEVE HARLEY albums are: THE
PSYCHOMODO,
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, TIMELESS
FLIGHT, LOVE'S A PRIMA DONNA, FACE
TO FACE (LIVE), HOBO WITH A GRIN, THE
CANDIDATE (all EMI), YES
YOU CAN (1992), POETIC JUSTICE (1996) and THE QUALITY OF MERCY released in late 2005.
One Steve
Harley and Cockney Rebel single, MAKE ME SMILE (COME UP AND SEE ME), reached
NUMBER ONE in 1975 in the UK and many European countries and is regularly
voted among the top singles in the history of the charts, which covers six
decades of releases. The Performing Rights Society has confirmed it one of
the most played records in British broadcasting.
The song has been covered MORE THAN 100 TIMES in seven languages and has been
featured in several movies including THE FULL MONTY (whose soundtrack album
went TRIPLE PLATINUM in the UK, and PLATINUM in the USA and Australia), VELVET
GOLDMINE, BEST and SAVING GRACE. The song has also been used on more than twenty
TV and radio advertising campaigns around the world.
Steve's other chart singles include, JUDY TEEN, MR SOFT, MR RAFFLES (MAN, IT WAS MEAN), HERE COMES THE SUN, LOVE'S A PRIMA DONNA, IRRESISTIBLE, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (with SARAH BRIGHTMAN) and A FRIEND FOR LIFE (a small hit in 2001).
During the eighties, Steve took time out from the rock world as his two children were going through their formative years but did perform on stage, albeit the legitimate stage. He starred as the C16th playwright Christopher Marlowe, in the musical-drama MARLOWE, which ran off-Broadway and in London. Steve's performance was described by one leading critic as "a major and moving performance."
Steve
has written lyrics for several other artists,
including his old friend ROD STEWART who has
called him "One
of the finest lyricists the UK has ever produced."
And Steve still plays between 70 and 100 live concerts on average each year.
"I love it more now than ever. I cannot imagine stopping it. It's what I do, play and sing."
The
majority of the shows will be with his rock
band, but many are in the STRIPPED
TO THE BARE BONES format, an acoustic set with one or two
other musicians accompanying him.
Among those who have benefited from Steve's charity performances have been
HUNTINGDON HALL, Worcester; CHAILEY HERITAGE SCHOOL FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN;
NORDOFF-ROBBINS MUSIC THERAPY Charity; THE BRIDGE PROJECT (for those with learning
difficulties), SUFFOLK, and GUITARS AGAINST LANDMINES.
Now,
mid-2002, Steve is preparing songs for the
recording of another original album, provisionally
titled THE LAST FEAST, after a narrative song
written recently and performed many times Live,
chronicling the writer's early life experiences
and adventures. Steve has presented his own
show for BBC RADIO 2, SOUNDS OF THE SEVENTIES,
comprising classic tracks and rarities from
the era and anecdotes from Steve himself, since
1999. The show airs weekly, Tuesdays at 10pm
and has an (increasing regularly) audience
of around 440,000. Steve has been involved
in racehorse ownership since 1984 and racing
is his main pastime.
"It's
my therapy. My hobby. I only wish I could
have ridden a big, good steeplechaser over
the Cheltenham course just once in my life."
Steve was awarded a GOLD
BADGE OF MERIT by the British Academy
of Composers and Songwriters in 2002.
Steve and his band continue to tour regularly, playing between 70 and 100 concerts most years. In recent times, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel have played Glastonbury Festival three times, the Isle of Wight festival in 2004 and many of Europe's major rock festivals.