Steve Walwyn
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Stephen Martin Walwyn (born 8 June 1956 in
Southam Southam () is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Southam is situated on the River Stowe (called 'The Brook' by many locals), which flows from Napton-on-the-Hill and joins Warwickshire's ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
) is an English
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
guitarist, best known for his playing with Dr. Feelgood, but who has also played with Eddie and the Hot Rods,
Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted po ...
and the DTs, the Roger Chapman Band, the Big Town Playboys and his own band Steve Walwyn and Friends. Steve Walwyn (after 32 years in Dr Feelgood) then joined up with
Horace Panter Horace Panter (born Stephen Graham Panter, 30 August 1953) also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the British 2 Tone ska band The Specials. Early life Panter was born in Croydon, Surrey and spent most of his formative years in ...
(42 years in
The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...
) and Ted Duggan from
Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are rec ...
, The Beat and
The Selecter The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...
in The Dirt Road Band, touring from 5th March 2022.


Early career

Walwyn states his inspiration to become a guitarist was
Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...
's album '' Live in Europe''. Although he did not start to learn to play the guitar until he was 17, he formed his first band, Hands Off, whilst still at school. Upon leaving school he worked for the
Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
for four years, whilst still playing with Hands Off. In 1978, he became a professional musician when he was asked to join a band performing under 2 different names.
Cupid's Inspiration Cupid's Inspiration are a British pop group, active with various line up changes since 1968 when they had two hit singles. The band are currently on the road with original drummer Roger Gray re-joining the veteran line up of Paul Shanahan and Bo ...
were a pop-act, who had had a No 4 single with "Yesterday has Gone" and a No 33 with "My World", both in 1968, but subsequent records had failed, and they were tired of the "one hit wonder" tag. The band had moved to
Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
and were also writing their own rock songs, which they performed as '4 Wheel Drive', a name they soon changed to 'Chevy'. As 'Chevy' they toured supporting bands such as
Alvin Lee Alvin Lee (born Graham Anthony Barnes; 19 December 1944 – 6 March 2013) was an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of the blues rock band Ten Years After. Early life He w ...
,
Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
and Gillan. As well as recording one of their two BBC In Concert Programmes, whilst Walwyn was a member, Chevy also issued three singles: "Too much loving"/"See the light", "The Taker"/"Life on the run" and "Just another day"/"Rock on" and one album ''The Taker'' in September 1980. The album received good critical reviews, but did not sell well. In 1982, Walwyn briefly joined The Mosquitos, with
Brian Helicopter Brian Helicopter is the stage name of Gareth Holder (born 27 June 1958, Leamington Spa), an English musician, based in the United States. He is best known for playing bass guitar for the UK punk rock band The Shapes. He also played for many ...
, and recorded their only single, "Somethin' Outta Nothin'", before joining Leicester band The DTs. Whilst with the DTs Walwyn appeared on three albums, ''The DTs'', ''Shakin' and Stirred'' and ''Messing with the Blues''.
Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted po ...
, formerly of the
Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...
and Humble Pie, saw The DTs in 1987, and was so impressed he asked them to join him, forming the band Steve Marriott with the DTs, who also performed as the Steve Marriott Band, until Marriott left to rejoin
Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...
in the US in 1989.


Dr. Feelgood

Both the DTs, and the Steve Marriott Band, had been the support act for Dr. Feelgood on several occasions, and the Feelgoods had admired his guitar playing. On the departure of Feelgood's guitarist, Gordon Russell, in Spring 1989,
Lee Brilleaux Lee Brilleaux (born Lee John Collinson; 10 May 1952 – 7 April 1994) was an English rhythm-and-blues singer and musician with the band Dr. Feelgood. Early life Lee Brilleaux was born in Durban, South Africa, to English parents, was brought up i ...
asked Walwyn to audition. He was accepted at the audition and joined the band almost immediately. Walwyn fitted in with "surprising ease", and after just two warm-up gigs, was thrown in at the deep end, playing
The Town & Country Club The O Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England owned by MAMA & Company, and originally built in 1934. History The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the cinema was close ...
, a gig which was filmed for TV and issued as the LP ''Live in London''. After another European tour, the band recorded their album ''Primo'', during the recording of which, bassist Phil Mitchell left and was replaced by
Dave Bronze Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...
. In 1992 Walwyn and Bronze wrote several tracks for the new album ''The Feelgood Factor'', during the recording of which, in early 1993, Brilleaux was confirmed as having
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
. The band were laid off while Brilleaux received
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
. Walwyn was part of the briefly reformed band, for Brilleaux's last two concerts, in January 1994, which were recorded and issued as ''Down at the Doctors'', shortly after Brilleaux's death, on 7 April 1994. During the hiatus, Walwyn played with Eddie and the Hot Rods, The Roger Chapman Band and the Big Town Playboys. A year after Brilleaux's death, the Feelgood's manager Chris Fenwick was still being asked if the band would reform, so he asked drummer Kevin Morris to consider this. Morris approached Walwyn and Mitchell, who were both up for it, but they had trouble finding a vocalist until they auditioned Pete Gage, who fitted in well. They went back on tour in summer 1995 and recorded ''On the Road Again'' including some more Walwyn and Bronze compositions, which was released in August 1996. In 1999 Robert Kane took over as vocalist, and the band released ''Chess Masters'' in 2000 and ''Repeat Prescription'' in 2006. In 2021 Walwyn quit and Gordon Russell returned to the band.


Side projects

Walwyn has played numerous sessions for other artists, such as
Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...
, appearing on his ''
Denim on Ice ''Denim on Ice'' is the second album by Denim. It was released in 1996. The band went on their first tour supporting Pulp on their stadium tour. The song "The Great Pub Rock Revival" jokingly namechecks musician Wreckless Eric, who in retaliat ...
'' album. In the 1990s Walwyn formed a side project, known variously as 'The GBs' or 'The Steve Walwyn Band', with Craig Rhind (bass) and Chas Chaplin (drums) both former members of the DTs, and now also plays as Steve Walwyn and Friends, "a band dedicated to getting back to the roots of Rhythm and Blues." In 2013 Walwyn restarted a music venue in Leamington Spa, 'Kelly's', which used to be in Court Street but is now held monthly at St.Patrick's Club, usually on the first Wednesday of the month. In the first year, Walwyn appeared there with The Friends band, The Mosquitos, The DTs, Chevy, Mike Sanchez and others. Steve Walwyn's debut solo album ''Instinct To Survive'' was released on 8 June 2015 on Baby Grand Records, the album contains a selection of self-written songs and instrumentals, and included the musicians Martin Cure (backing vocals), Craig Rhind (bass), Ted Duggan and Chas Chaplin (both drums).


Personal life

Walwyn is married with three children, and still lives in Warwickshire. His interests include cricket, photography and woodworking. He is also a keen cyclist, undertaking charity rides, such as
Land's End to John o' Groats Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain between two extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The traditional distance by road is and takes most cyclists 10 to 14 days; the record ...
, once on behalf of the
Down's Syndrome Association The Down's Syndrome Association (DSA) is a British charity which describes itself as being the only organisation in the United Kingdom that focuses solely on all aspects of living successfully with Down's syndrome. The Association states its mis ...
. and again for
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known colloquially as Guide Dogs, is a British charitable organization founded in 1934. The Association uses guide dogs to help blind and partially blind people. The organization also participates in ...
. in 1986


Album discography

; With Chevy: * ''The Taker'' (1980) ;With The DTs: * ''The DTs'' ? * ''Shakin' and Stirred'' (1983) * ''Live at JB's'' (1986) * ''Messing with the Blues'' (1983) ? ;With Steve Marriott and The DTs * ''Sing The Blues Live'' CD 1988 * ''Live in Lindau 1988'' (US Bootleg) ;With Steve Marriott: * ''30 Seconds to Midnite'' (1989) ;With Steve Marriott and the Official Receivers: * ''Steve Marriott and the Official Receivers'' (2000) (2 Tracks with The DTs) ;With Big Town Playboys: * ''Hip Joint'' (1994) ;With Denim * ''Denim on Ice'' (1999) ;With The GBs: * ''Kelly's Heroes'' (1994) ;With Dr Feelgood * ''Live In London'' (1990) * ''Stupidity Plus (Live 1976–1990)'' (1991) Compilation * ''Primo'' (1991) * ''The Feelgood Factor'' (1993) * ''Down At The Doctors'' (1994) * ''On The Road Again'' (1996) * ''Twenty Five Years of Dr. Feelgood'' (1997) Compilation * ''Chess Masters'' (2000) * ''Speeding Thru Europe'' (2003) * ''Repeat Prescription'' (2006) ;Solo * ''Instinct To Survive'' (release date 8 June 2015)


References


External links


Kellys venue website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walwyn, Steve 1956 births Living people People from Warwickshire English rock guitarists English blues guitarists English male guitarists English songwriters Dr. Feelgood (band) members British male songwriters Eddie and the Hot Rods members