The Great Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel Story.

At the end 1986 I started to write a book about the great Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. When I finished it I sent it to Marc Badger and Liz Stoopman who did the grammatical and I continued writing after Steve's tour in 1989. I handed a copy to Steve and in 1991 the book was finished. I am working on an update.

In 1997 I started with Frank and Wijtze a Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel -site and I took these lines out of my book for Internet.

Perhaps you might find it a bit strange but the pictures of the sleeves are taken random out of my collection. The releases are from all over Europe.

With regards

Hans Peters

The story so far...

Steve Harley

Steve Harley was born on the 27th of February 1951 as Steven Nice. At the age of two Steve caught the dreaded and feared disease Polio, and spent four of his first fourteen years in hospital beds, where a good deal of his education took place.

Music was always a strong force in the family. His mother was a jazz singer before she married, and it seems her talent has been inherited by Steve.

School wasn't really of interest and he found a job working for a newspaper, he had always wanted to be a journalist. Steve decided it was not how he really wanted to earn his living. Steve had some piano and guitar lessons and at the age of 19 - 20 he started busking around and soon formed a band. When Steve had written enough songs, the band rehearsed hard and Cockney Rebel was born.

 

1973

Cockney Rebel

The band signed for EMI and recorded their first album 'Cockney Rebel' later mentioned as 'The Human Menagerie' at the London Air Studios. After the summer-recordings of the album, the first single 'Sebastian' came out on the 31st of August. Unfortunately it only just managed to chart in Britain, although it became a classic and massive hit elsewhere.

Not long after that he came into contact with Alan Parsons who had been working as producer for The Beatles. They recorded 'Judy Teen', which has been released in March 1974.

A new album 'The Psychomodo' was on the list, produced by Alan Parsons and Steve. The title is a contraction of the Hitchcock thriller 'Psycho' and the 'Quasimodo' character from the 'Notre Dame'. The album includes the hit 'Mr. Soft'. Over the years Steve played more than 15 different versions of this song. The album also has 'Tumbling Down'. which has been recorded with a full orchestra and some countries released the single 'Psychomodo '

On the 18th of July the band received a 'Gold Award' for the outstanding new act of 1974.
Not long after that, on the 23rd of July, the band split up.

 

1974

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

After the split Steve had to form a new band for the Reading Rock Festival. In the meantime he released a solo single 'Big Big Deal' which he recorded with Stuart Elliot, but unfortunately it went nowhere.

On the 23rd of November Steve wrote a piece for Melody Maker on 'Steve Harley' and Cockney Rebel.



  • The Best Years Of Our Lives
    •

    Very soon the new band went into the Abbey Road Studios with Alan Parsons as producer. They choose the shortest track 'Make Me Smile' for release. Within two weeks Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel had a number one hit in England and a smash hit elsewhere. It became a million-seller. The album 'The Way We Used To Be' as it originally was called had been changed to 'The Best Years Of Our Lives' and was released March in 1975.

    Steve assists in the recording and production of Patricia Paay's first album 'Beam Of Light'. Steve re-arranged the song 'Sebastian' and wrote 'Understand' for her.

    1975
    Timeless Flight

    It was poetry into music and its title was derived from the song 'All Men Are Hungry'.

    On the 7th of November there was the release of a single 'Black Or White' with a Hammersmith Odeon live 'Mad Mad Moonlight' on the other side. About the same time Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel went to the States as a supporting act for the Kinks. As a lot of people had never heard of him and the song 'Make Me Smile' was doing fine, he released a compilation for the American market: 'A Closer Look'.

    In between the band went to States for a tour and as the single 'Black Or White' didn't chart. He released in January 1976 the song 'White White Dove'.

    Unfortunately there was little interest in his work and Steve's effort to revive interest in the album failed. Steve went on tour with this concept and started to work at some bits and pieces.
    Although disappointed with sales of     'Timeless Flight', he had matured emotionally and was about to write and produce one of his finest albums:- Love's A Prima Donna



  • Love's A Prima Donna

    • On this album Steve succeeded in building a bridge between pop and classical music, whilst other songs include influences from Doo-Wop, Sixties, Rock & Roll and even some Jazz. Before its release the single-cover 'Here Comes The Sun' (Harrison) was expected to open the door to the charts and succeded in reaching the position of number 10. As second single 'Love's A Prima Donna' was released.

    As Steve hadn't had hits abroad now for a long time he decided to direct his energies and efforts toward the U.K. From this tour he recorded the concerts, sorted the best tracks and released a double live album.
  • Face To Face
    •

    Just before the release of the album, Steve announced that he had split up Cockney Rebel again. The album serves as a sound demonstration of the band live and what Steve had achieved so far.

    To promote the album the song 'The Best Years Of Our Lives' with its B side 'Tumbling Down' was released in July as a single and a twelve inch.

     

  • Steve Harley

    • While he was recording and mixing for the 'Love's A Prima Donna' album, partly in Los Angeles, he felt attracted to the city and later bought a house in Beverly Hills. He stayed there for nearly a year to gain new experience and inspirations. He did record and write a few songs and in the summer of '78 he finished an album on his return to England.

  • Hobo With A Grin
    •

    'It's an album of old songs and a few others I wrote when I got back, simply for the reason I couldn't write there', he told the papers a few months later. A couple of songs had been recorded with some famous musicians, to mention a few: Rikkie Fataar (ex Beach Boys), Bill Payne (Little Feat) and Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers). At this point it would-be appropriate to mention Steve's good friend 'Marc Bolan', who played guitar on 'America The Brave'. Tragically Marc died in a motor car accident in South London. One week before the album came out, a single was released to clear its way to the charts. 'Roll The Dice' was the chosen single but unfortunately it didn't chart that well. The second single a remix of 'Someone's Coming' came out, but followed the fate of the first.

    In May Steve played a few songs as a guest-star on Kate Bush's benefit concert. A few months later Steve announced a planned comeback with a new concept and a new band. The album was finished and in the first week of October the third track from the album made its entrance to the charts. A few days later the album came and on the 20th Steve returned to a sold out Hammersmith Odeon were he showed us a new classic pop song 'Star For A Week' better known as 'Dino', an ordinary boy from the streets who wanted to find his own identity.

    10 years later Steve released this song, a different version, on 'Yes You Can'

    The Candidate

    Despite predictions the album did not sell that well and 'Freedom's Prisoner', a song where Steve combines elements of new wave with more orthodox pop, stuck at number 51. In contrast to British reviews Germany thought well of the album.

    As opinions seem to be spread it is worth to point out some very strong songs:

    'Young Hearts (The Candidate)' is a song about social development among peers, and also the beautiful 'Love On The Rocks'. 'One More Time' is a very Dylanistic song, and of course the more religion-song 'Audience With A Man' Steve's favourite.

    That's basically about every person and nation, every human being somewhere has his example to aspire to and follow.



    The Eighties

    Even though the eighties have been in Steve's words the 'lost years', there is still a lot to tell. On Monday the 23rd of June, Steve suddenly gave a one off gig in the Venue with Jim and Duncan as guests. The concert was a try out for his new band and to let the public know that he's still working.

    In November a 'Best Of...' was for sale. An album made of singles, some other favourites and the lost song 'Big Big Deal'. To promote the album, the single 'Make Me Smile' with 'Sebastian' on the B-side was released. After the release of the album Steve announced a tour with Cockney Rebel again. A few Christmas dates had been planned and he introduced three new songs. 'My Cold Heart', 'I Could Be Anyone' and 'Such Is Life' besides a reggae-version of 'Mr. Soft'.

    1981 - 1989

    Things and times were changing. Steve, who parted from Yvonne Keeley after six years, married Dorothy Cromby in February of this year. There were also some rumours of the release of a new album, but they did not materialise. Shortly after, he went to rehearse some new songs with the band and gave another one-off on the 18th of August. After the concert he got a call from an agent who had seen him on stage and was asked if he would accept a role as 'Christopher Marlowe' in Marlowes "Conspiracy'. Steve accepted and shortly stepped on stage receiving an enthusiastic response and loving critics. In his return to England he wrote some new songs and rehearsed again for a new tour around Christmas time. He introduced 'Don't Shoot, Till You See The Whites Of Their Eyes', 'Knock On Her World' and his forthcoming single 'I Can't Even Touch You'.

    Three weeks into the New Year the release of his new single 'I Can't Even Touch You', a surrealistic love song produced by his friend Midge Ure and released by Chrysalis. It never even entered the charts, despite their feeling it could be a hit. On the B-side was 'I Can Be Anyone', totally different from the live version he showed the audience these last two years.

    Although fans waited, nothing was heard until suddenly on the 10th of June another one-off gig occurred. Nobody could seem to predict what Harley would do next. The concert was a sell out in no time with the impact and atmosphere of a full stadium. 'Too Much Tenderness' made its entrance for the first time along with a completely different version of 'Sebastian', a new song 'Sophistication' and 'Ballerina( Prima Donna)', the latter being written and produced by another of Steve's friends, Mike Batt (Lady Of The Dawn). The song became a single on the 17th of June. About a month later the band appeared at the last official Reading Rock Festival yet again to a favourable response. Later that year EMI released a double album 'The Human Menagerie/The Psychomodo'.


    1984

    It was in December that Steve and Company did another one-off gig at Camden Palace. He hadn't been there for about 10 years and now it was a special performance for Satellite

    Television Broadcast.
    The violin that returned after years of absence and another new song was introduced,     'Irresistible'.

    On the 1st of May 'New Musical Express' announced that Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel were back on vinyl and a single 'Irresistible' would-be out on the 28th of May with its B side 'Such Is Life', a song he played live in 1980. Steve was just halfway through another new album, the first one for RAK, when Mike Batt who recommended him to Andrew Lloyd Webber approached him. He agreed to record the title track from 'The Phantom Of The Opera' and in January 1986 the single 'The Phantom Of The Opera' was released.

    In April he released his second single for RAK 'Heartbeat Like Thunder' and the twelve inch remix. It was recorded with Duncan Mackay, Mark Brzezicki from Big Country on drums and Stuart Elliot's backing vocals. It contains a wall of sound by synthesisers and emulators with a couple of melodies on top of it. On the B -side was self-produced 'Warm My Cold Heart'.

    In June that year RAK released a re-mixed single and twelve inch of 'Irresistible' with its B-side 'Lucky Man' featuring Midge Ure on guitar.

    During the next couple of months Steve worked very hard on the musical drama of 'Marlowe' where he played the title role of the life of the 16th century Bon Viveur playwright and poet 'Christopher Marlowe' - he had excellent reviews. A leading London critic described it as 'A major and moving performance'.

    Time passes...

    In the next year a lot of compilation albums were released. EMI re- released the single 'Mr. Soft' with its B-side 'Mad Mad Moonlight' in April together with 'The Greatest Hits'. The actual reason was in fact of the success of the commercial on 'Soft Mints' where they have used 'Mr. Soft's' melody. On November came a cancer research charity single by Steve with Mike Batt and Jon Anderson 'Whatever You Believe' on Epic.

    Not so long after that came a second compilation album 'Mr. Soft'. And if that wasn't enough a second compilation double album came out. This 'Collection' contains the more interesting side of Steve. It includes some live tracks from 'Face To Face' and the more theatrical songs.

    Early 1989 Steve went into the studio with Jim, Duncan & Stuart to record some demos and it worked well. As quiet as it was the last few years, much seems to be happening now. Steve and the most successful reincarnation of Cockney Rebel are back again. With his new manager Steve arranged an extended tour for February in England and March abroad. He added a couple of new songs to his repertoire, 'Not Alone Anymore' (Roy Orbison),' Dancing On The Telephone', 'When I'm With You' and 'The Lighthouse'.

    Success again reached him everywhere and he released a new song on vinyl 'When I'm With You' to promote his tour. On the B-side is the 'Theme From Babbacombe Lee', a soundtrack for a film in which is a true story of John 'Babbacombe' Lee, who survived three attempts to hang him in Victorian times. After the singles release the band rehearsed some more songs and appeared at each gig for about two hours or more. At the end of the year he gave another five concerts in England, with the final on the 22nd of

    December at Hammersmith Odeon with special guest Jim Cregran. With almost a whole year of touring behind him he's finally standing in the place where fans wanted him to be.

    In October 1991 Steve has been invited to play 'Night Of The Proms' and after another big European tour fans and public kept asking for a new album. Steve who played those songs all over the years wasn't very happy at first to record that old stuff.

    Finally he released 'Yes You Can', a collection of old songs never released before and some new ones. Steve drew the cover and there it was the first album after nearly a decade. In 1993 the album was released in the UK with the songs in a different order and with a futuristic blue cover. To promote the album Steve wrote a complete new tour , the YES YOU CAN - tour with some new musicians.

    Meanwhile all these tours Steve again wrote some new songs, which resulted in a new album at the end of 1996. Before that 'Poetic Justice' came out another compilation was released: 'Live At The BBC', later re-released as 'On Air', a live in the studio - February 1974. Steve has been asked a lot for radio and TV and there was also a new album so again he starts touring. First some shows on the continent later with Nick Pinn the 'Stripped To The Bare Bones' - tour.

    It has been very successful and Steve is planning to release a live-registration of this tour.

    The album 'Poetic Justice' contains some very nice poems. 'All In A Life's Work' and 'The Last Time I Saw You' are absolute masterpieces. It also contains poems from great artists like Van Morrison and Dylan. Steve himself recorded another version of 'Riding The Waves'. Unfortunately no efforts and singles were taken to promote this album.

    In between nearly all of his albums has been re-released again on CD. Except for 'Hobo With A Grin' and 'The Candidate'.