Steve Knightley (born 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and acoustic musician. Since 1992 he has been one half of folk/roots duo

Show of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mandoc ...

along with

Phil Beer Phil Beer (born 12 May 1953 in Exminster, Devon, England) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and one half of English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Biography Beer first began to play fiddle, guitar, and mandolin whils ...

. Knightley was named "Songwriter of the Nineties" by

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

in 2012.

Personal life

Knightley was born in Southampton in 1954 of English, Irish and Scottish descent. His grandfathers were both soldiers. When he was five his family moved to

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. At thirteen the family moved again to nearby

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

. Apart from spells away in Coventry, Brighton, London and rural Dorset, he remains a resident of East Devon where he lives with his wife Clare, a local medical doctor, and their three children.

Career

At fourteen Knightley began playing acoustic guitar at Exmouth Grammar School. It was there he met long-time friend and musical collaborator

Paul Downes Paul Downes is an English folk guitarist, singer and composer. He has appeared on eight albums with bands, three highly acclaimed solo albums and has over 150 session credits. He has toured every concert venue, theatre and festival in Britain, p ...

. Knightley was attracted to folk music after hearing his older step-brother's

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

records. Together with Downes they began playing songs from the ''Penguin Book of English Folk Songs''. They were also drawn to the repertoire of

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

and

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

after seeing them in concert at the Sidmouth Folk Festival. In 1970 they formed the trio 'Gawain' and, along with fiddler John 'Bat' Evans, were regulars on the thriving Devon folk scene for three years or so, meeting Phil Beer in the process. Downes then left for Brighton where he formed a professional partnership with Beer, touring for the next seven years. By now, Knightley had moved to Coventry, where he both studied Politics and History at the

Lanchester Polytechnic , mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = , type = Public , endowment = £28 million (2015) , budget = £787.5 million , chancellor = Margaret Casely-Hayford , vice_chancellor = John Latham , students = () , undergr ...

and started and played at a thriving folk club. Downes and Beer were constant visitors to the City and began playing the songs that by now Knightley was beginning to pen. He then completed a postgraduate certificate in education at

Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

near

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. While attending the university, Knightley teamed up with double bass player Warwick Downes, and for two years the duo performed around the Brighton area. From 1979–85, Knightley lived in London, working as a supply teacher and performing regularly on the pub rock circuit with his three bands Short Stories, The Cheats and Total Strangers. On occasions Beer would stand in for absent band members, and Knightley returned the favour by playing bass (under the pseudonym "Gene Vogel") for the Arizona Smoke Revue, the group Beer was in at the time. Knightley left London in 1985 and moved to rural

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, where he opened a

guest house A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use o ...

. He also worked as a supply teacher at

Beaminster School , established = , closed = , type = Voluntary controlled school , religious_affiliation = Christian , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Keith Hales , r_head_label = , r_head ...

, and gave guitar lessons, most notably to

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

. The following year, Knightley met up again with Beer, who was then a member of the

Albion Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the m ...

. When Beer's commitments would allow, the two performed as a duo and began laying the groundwork for what would become the Show of Hands' first recordings. Beer left the Albion Band in 1991, and from then on the two appeared regularly as Show of Hands in pubs, clubs and bars. In 1992, the duo got together with a group of

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d Chilean musicians, and toured and released an album under the name Alianza. Knightley continued working at Beaminster as a part-time teacher of media studies, history and music until 1994, when he left to concentrate on his music career. In 2015, Knightley (alongside his fellow Show of Hands band members Phil Beer and

Miranda Sykes Miranda Sykes (born 1978 in Spalding, Lincolnshire) is an English folk singer, double-bassist and guitarist who performs with Steve Knightley and Phil Beer in the acoustic roots/folk group Show of Hands. As of 2019 she is undertaking solo pe ...

), was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of music from the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

, to commemorate "great distinction in

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

professional lives".

Other

Knightley is Patron of

Shrewsbury Folk Festival Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It takes place over four days on and around the UK Late Summer bank holiday weekend (usually the ...

Sidmouth Folk Week There has been a folk festival in the coastal town of Sidmouth in South West England in the first week of August every year since 1955, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to over 700 diverse events. Sidmouth Folk Festival offers a wide r ...

, St Ives Festival, and the Village Pump folk festival.Shrewsbury Folk Festival official website, accessed 27 August 2013 In 2012, he was named "Songwriter of the Nineties" by

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

for

Discography

*''

Track of Words ''Track of Words'' is a 1999 solo album by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley. A lost album of sorts, which was re-recorded by Knightley and co-producer/engineer Mark Tucker. The re-recorded album was released as ''Track of Words – Retraced'' ...

'' (1999) *''Faith, Folk and Anarchy'' (with

Martyn Joseph Martyn Joseph (born 15 July 1960) is a Welsh singer-songwriter whose music exhibits primarily a brand of Celtic and folk, while his songwriting is often focused on social lament or protest. From independently releasing his first studio release, ...

and

) (2002) *''

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

'' (with

Seth Lakeman Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. Ac ...

and Jenna Witts) (2004) *''Bridgerow Sessions'' (with

) (2005) *''

Cruel River ''Cruel River'' is the second solo studio album by English folk singer-songwriter Steve Knightley. Knightley had spent 2006 with Show of Hands, his duo with Phil Beer, recording, releasing and promoting their twelfth album together, ''Witness'', ...

'' (2007) *''Track of Words – Retraced'' (2009) *''Live in Somerset'' (2011) *''Off the beaten track'' (2014) *''All at Sea'' (2016) *''Roadworks Songs and Stories Part II'' (2019)

Alianza

*'' Alianza (1992)

Show of Hands

*See

References

External links

Show Of Hands Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knightley, Steve 1954 births Living people Musicians from Southampton English male singer-songwriters English folk guitarists English male guitarists English fiddlers British male violinists Alumni of the University of Sussex 21st-century violinists 21st-century British male musicians