Steve Alexander (born 20 November 1962) is a Welsh drummer. Starting out with the Irish band ''Shook Up!'', he earned a living as a session drummer, working regularly in London's recording studios on film, TV and commercial sessions and playing with the BBC Radio Orchestra. He became a permanent member of

Brother Beyond Brother Beyond were a British pop band who had success in the pop rock genre in the late 1980s. Biography Early singles and first album The group's first four singles, "I Should Have Lied", "How Many Times", "Chain-Gang Smile" (produced by Don ...

following the departure of

Eg White Francis Anthony "Eg" White (born 22 November 1966) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He started his career in the cowpunk band Yip Yip Coyote in the 1980s and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late ...

in 1986.

Biography

In 1995, Alexander was hired by

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

"Steve Alexander on DrummerWorld"
Drummerworld. Retrieved on June 16, 2011. and continued to work with them for 6 years following the departure of their previous drummers Roger Taylor,

Steve Ferrone Stephen A. Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Aver ...

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons, U.K., and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missi ...

and

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drumme ...

. During these years he contributed to the ''Thank You'', ''Medazzaland'' and ''Pop Trash'' albums, also working with

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel or simply Melle Mel (), is an American rapper who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Career Glover began per ...

and

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...

on the track "White Lines" which led to live work with these founders of rap. Alexander resumed his freelance career, working with a wide variety of artists from

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''Prototype'' ...

Warren Cuccurullo Warren Bruce Cuccurullo (born December 8, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, restaurant owner, and former bodybuilder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s. In 1 ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

and recording the award winning Voyegeur album with Zaire's

Papa Wemba Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba (14 June 1949 – 24 April 2016), known professionally as Papa Wemba (), was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of ...

. in 1997 he ventured into

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

with solo releases on Cavendish Music and

Reinforced Records Reinforced Records is a British breakbeat hardcore, jungle, and drum and bass record label, first founded in 1989 by 4hero and based in Dollis Hill, London. Reinforced is one of the groundbreaking record labels of the genre.Reynolds, S. (1998) ...

. In 1998, Alexander started working with

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

, recording the Who Else album and toured for 18 months in the USA, Japan, South America and Europe. He also continued recording for his solo ''Flashman'' projects. In May 2011, a film called ''

Killing Bono ''Killing Bono'' is a 2011 comedy film directed by Nick Hamm, based on Neil McCormick's memoir ''Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelgänger'' (2003). The film stars Ben Barnes as Neil McCormick, Robert Sheehan as Ivan McCormick and Martin McCa ...

'' saw a major cinematic release, based around the story of Alexander's first band and their rivalry with U2. It featured archive footage of ''Shook Up!''"Shook Up! Original Footage"
The Official Killing Bono Blog. Retrieved on June 16, 2011. performing live in Ireland, and Alexander was invited to attend the London premiere. As of June 2011, Alexander has played with The Fabulous Lampshades, who regularly perform charity gigs in London in aid of the

Teenage Cancer Trust Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. It ...

. Since 2012 he has taught on the Music and Sound Design BA (Hons) degree course at

Ravensbourne University London Ravensbourne University London is a public university on the Greenwich Peninsula in London, England. It is classified as a digital media and design university, with vocational courses in fashion, television and broadcasting, interactive produc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Steve 1962 births Living people Academics of Ravensbourne University London People from Brecknockshire Welsh drummers Brother Beyond members