Stevie Shears (born 1954/1955) is an English musician known for playing in the rock bands Tiger Lily and

Ultravox! Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British New wave music, new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most success ...

(later Ultravox), as well as being part of the bands Faith Global and

Cowboys International Cowboys International (also stylised as Cowboys International®) were a new wave and synthpop band formed by vocalist and songwriter Ken Lockie that put out one album in 1979, '' The Original Sin'', and a few singles before dissolving in 1980 ...

Biography

Tiger Lily and Ultravox!

Working in a paint factory and playing in different bands in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

, Essex, he made contact with John Foxx and formed Tiger Lily in April 1974 (together with bassist

Chris Cross Christopher Thomas Allen (14 July 1952 – 25 March 2024), known professionally as Chris Cross, was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the new wave band Ultravox. After starting his music career with Stoned Rose, a ban ...

). Later, Tiger Lily changed its name to Ultravox! (later known simply as Ultravox). Between February and March 1978, after releasing with this band the ''

'' (early 1977) and ''

Ha! Ha! Ha! ''Ha! Ha! Ha!'' is the second album by British pop group Ultravox, at that time known as "Ultravox!", with an exclamation mark, as a nod to Neu!. Although the group would later achieve fame and commercial success with lead singer Midge Ure the ...

'' (1977) albums Shears was replaced by

Robin Simon Robert "Robin" Simon (born 12 July 1956) is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage. Biography Early career Simon began playing guitar in a Halifax-based band, Kandahar, in the early to mid-1970s. He also met an ...

Post-Ultravox! bands

After Ultravox!, Shears formed a band with his friend Ice, real name Roland Oxland, bassist of Gloria Mundi. Gloria Mundi and Ultravox! were friends from the UK live music scene. Gloria Mundi featured Eddie Maelov and Sunshine Patterson who, as Eddie & Sunshine, would support Ultravox on their 1981 Rage in Eden tour. Gloria Mundi's saxophonist CC also played on 'Hiroshima Mon Amour' from Ultravox's second album ''

'' (1977). Later Shears and Jason Guy formed a duo called New Men. This was short-lived, as Shears left to join

, in early 1980, replacing

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard (born 3 November 1954), known professionally as Adam Ant, is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK ...

's guitarist

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the la ...

. In 1981 and with Cowboys International dissolved, he collaborated with the band's singer,

Ken Lockie Kenneth Lockie (born 1956) is an English people, English singer-songwriter and producer, best known as the principle songwriter and vocalist of English New wave music, new wave band Cowboys International, as well as a collaborator with synth-po ...

, on his solo album, ''The Impossible''. Shears, never having lost contact with Guy, collaborated under the name of Faith Global, and released an EP called ''Earth Report'' (1982) and an album called ''The Same Mistakes'' (1983) both on

Survival Records Survival Records is an independent record label that focuses on free jazz. It was founded in 1972 by American drummer Rashied Ali. History Ali co-founded Survival with saxophonist Frank Lowe in 1972, after experiencing frustration with being una ...

. Faith Global was short-lived, and these two records remain their only recordings. As of 2000, he was still playing guitar.

Equipment

When Ultravox! was Tiger Lily, he used a Gibson SG guitar. Also while with Ultravox, he played a white

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...

and a

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...

Discography

With Tiger Lily: * " Ain't Misbehavin' (song)#Tiger Lily version, Ain't Misbehavin'" single (Gull, 1975) With Ultravox!: * ''

'' album (Island, 1977) * '' Ha!-Ha-!Ha!'' album (Island, 1977) * ''

Retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...

'' EP (Island, 1978) With Cowboys International: * '' Revisited'' compilation (Pnuma, 2003) With Ken Lockie: * '' The Impossible'' album (Virgin, 1981) * ''Dance House'' single With Faith Global: * ''Earth Report'' EP (Survival, 1982) * '' The Same Mistakes'' album (Survival, 1983)

References

External links

Ultravox official webCowboys International official web
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shears, Stevie 1950s births English rock guitarists English male guitarists English new wave musicians People from Dagenham Living people Ultravox members British multi-instrumentalists Musicians from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Year of birth missing (living people)