Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice (27 February 1951 – 17 March 2024), known by his stage name Steve Harley, was an English singer-songwriter and frontman of the
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
group
Cockney Rebel
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel were an English rock band who formed in the early 1970s in London. Their music covered a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years, they have had five albums on the UK Albums Chart and twelve s ...
. The band achieved five UK hit albums, including ''
The Psychomodo'' (1974) and ''
The Best Years of Our Lives
''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Ru ...
'' (1975), and six UK hit singles in the mid-1970s, including "
Judy Teen", "
Mr. Soft", and the number one "
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)". Harley later scored a further three UK hit singles as a solo artist, most notably with "
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
", a duet with
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress.
Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...
, in 1986.
Early life
Harley was born on 27 February 1951 in
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
, London,
the second of five children.
His father Ronnie was a
milkman
Milk delivery is a Delivery (commerce), delivery service dedicated to supplying milk, typically in milk bottle, bottles or cartons, to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a Cowman ...
and semi-professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
; his mother Joyce was a semi-professional
jazz singer.
During the summer of 1953, aged two, Harley contracted a severe case of
polio
Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
and the doctors told his father he was going to die.
He survived, but spent four years in hospital between the ages of three and 16. He underwent major surgery in 1963 and 1966. After recovering from the first operation, aged 12, Harley was introduced to the poetry of
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...
and
D. H. Lawrence, the prose of
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...
,
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device.
Vir ...
and
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
, and the music of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, which pointed him to future careers involving words and music.
While in hospital he wrote poetry, finding inspiration in Dylan's ballads.
From the age of nine, Harley took classical violin lessons and he played in his grammar school orchestra. Aged 10, he began learning the guitar after his parents had given him a nylon-string Spanish guitar for Christmas, and he started to write his own songs.
Harley was a pupil at Edmund Waller Primary School in
New Cross
New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...
, London. He attended
Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Boys' Grammar School until the age of 17. Aged 15, he took his
O-level exams in his hospital bed. He left school without completing his
A-level
The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
exams.
Career
In 1968, at the age of 17, Harley began his first full-time job, working as a trainee accountant with the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'', despite having gained only 24% in his mock O-level maths exam. From there he progressed to become a reporter, having wanted to be a journalist since the age of 12.
After being interviewed by several newspaper editors, Harley signed to train with Essex County Newspapers. Over three years, Harley worked at the ''
Essex County Standard
The ''Essex County Standard'' is a weekly newspaper, published in Colchester, Essex. It is currently owned by the Newsquest Media Group, part of the American Gannett Company.
History
The Essex County Standard was founded in January 1831, the ...
'', the ''Braintree and Witham Times'', the ''Maldon and Burnham Standard'' and the ''
Colchester Evening Gazette''. He returned to London to work for the ''
East London Advertiser
The ''East London Advertiser'' is a mostly free weekly local newspaper in east London, England covering primarily the borough of Tower Hamlets. It was formed in late 2011 by Archant's merging of ''The Docklands'' and the ''East London Advertiser ...
'' (''ELA''), where he covered the story of the Kray murder at
The Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel.
At the age of 21, unwilling to write a story about a woman who had taken two tins of food from a shop, Harley determined to get sacked, an objective he achieved by not wearing a tie and growing his hair long.
Among Harley's peers who made successful careers in national journalism were
John Blake and
Richard Madeley, who took over Harley's desk at the ''ELA'' in 1972.
Harley started his musical career in 1971 playing in bars and
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands a ...
, mainly at
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
venues on open-mike nights. He sang at
Les Cousins,
Bunjies and
The Troubadour in London on nights featuring
John Martyn
Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums and received frequent critical acclaim. ...
,
Ralph McTell,
Martin Carthy
Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...
and
Julie Felix, who were popular musicians in the London folk scene. In 1971, he joined the folk band Odin as rhythm guitarist and co-singer and there met Jean-Paul Crocker, who became the first Cockney Rebel violinist.
He also recorded a number of his own songs as demos that year using his classical guitar at Venus Recording Studios in
Whitechapel
Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
. Harley then began
busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...
around London in 1972, including on the
Underground and in
Portobello Road
is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from South to North, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello ...
, while also writing songs. He left the folk scene and formed the band Cockney Rebel in 1972, as a vehicle for his own work.
The name was taken from an autobiographical poem he had written at school.
Cockney Rebel (1972–1977)
The original Cockney Rebel consisted of Harley, Crocker, drummer
Stuart Elliott, bassist
Paul Jeffreys and guitarist Nick Jones. Jones was replaced by Pete Newnham, but with the arrival of keyboardist Milton Reame-James, Harley felt the band did not need electric guitar and settled on the combination of Crocker's electric violin and Reame-James' Fender
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...
.
In 1972,
Mickie Most
Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...
discovered the band at a London nightclub,
The Speakeasy Club
The Speakeasy Club, also known as The Speak, was a club situated at 48 Margaret Street, London, Margaret Street, London, England, and was a popular late-night meeting place for the music industry from 1966 to June 1978. The club took its name and ...
, and offered them their first contract with his RAK Publishing. This influenced the
A&R department at
EMI Records
EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...
to offer the band a three-album deal. Cockney Rebel recorded their debut album, ''
The Human Menagerie'', with producer Neil Harrison in June and July 1973. Their debut single, "
Sebastian", became a hit across Europe but failed to chart in the UK. When released in November 1973, ''The Human Menagerie'' also failed to chart, although the album was well-received critically and gained cult status.
The lack of UK success caused EMI to feel that the band had yet to record a potential hit single. In response, Harley re-worked the unrecorded song "
Judy Teen", which was released in March 1974 and peaked at number 5 on the
UK singles chart.
In February and March 1974 the band recorded their second album, ''
The Psychomodo'', which was produced by Harley and
Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician, and record producer.
Parsons was the sound engineer on albums including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and '' Let It Be'' (1970), Pink Floyd's ''The ...
. It was released in June and peaked at number 8 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
.
Between May and July 1974, the band toured the UK to promote the album, but tensions developed as the tour progressed. They received a 'Gold Award' on 18 July for outstanding new act of 1974, but a week later, with the tour finished, several members left.
Crocker, Reame-James and Jeffreys chose to quit after Harley refused their demands to write material for the group, despite the initial understanding that Harley was the band's sole songwriter. Following the band's split, "
Mr. Soft", taken from ''The Psychomodo'', reached number 8 in the UK as a single.
Left without a permanent band, Harley soon began auditioning new musicians. Meanwhile, Harley and Parsons did some studio work with Dutch singer
Yvonne Keeley
Yvonne Keeley (born Yvonne Paaij, 6 September 1952) is a Dutch pop music singer. She is the sister of Patricia Paay.
She began her career as a session singer in the music industry in London, working with Madeline Bell and Vicki Brown. She ...
, with whom Harley began a relationship, and EMI released her version of "
Tumbling Down" as a single in August 1974, backed by another Cockney Rebel cover, "Loretta's Tale". Harley's debut solo single "
Big Big Deal" was released in November 1974. The song failed to enter the UK top 50; however, it did enter the unnumbered BMRB's UK Breakers chart.
By this time, a new line-up of Cockney Rebel had been finalised. With original drummer Stuart Elliott remaining in the band, the new line-up included guitarist
Jim Cregan
James Cregan (born 9 March 1946) is an English rock guitarist and bassist, best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her a ...
, keyboard player
Duncan Mackay and bassist George Ford. Renamed Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, they recorded the album ''
The Best Years of Our Lives
''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Ru ...
'' in November and December 1974, with Harley and Parsons again producing.
The lead single from the forthcoming album, "
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)", was released in January 1975. It became the band's biggest hit, reaching the number one spot on the UK Chart and receiving a UK Silver certification in February. It was also Harley's only ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' chart entry in the US, reaching number 96 on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
in 1976. In a 2002 television interview, Harley described how the song's lyrics were directed at his former band members who, he felt, had abandoned him. As of 2015, the song has sold around 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Performing Rights Society have confirmed the song as one of the most played records in British broadcasting and over 120 cover versions of the song have been recorded by other artists.
''The Best Years of Our Lives'' was released in March 1975 and reached number 5 in the UK. A second single from the album, "
Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)", was also a success, peaked at number 13.
The band embarked on a UK and European tour to promote the album, and then recorded their fourth studio album, ''
Timeless Flight'', in the summer. During the same period Harley also produced Dutch singer
Patricia Paay's album ''
Beam of Light'', with members of Cockney Rebel performing on many of the tracks. Later in the year, Harley and the band went on tour in the US as a support act to
the Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
. As the band had not achieved commercial success there, the compilation ''
A Closer Look'' was released exclusively for the US market.
''Timeless Flight'' was released in February 1976 and peaked at number 18 in the UK. Two singles from the album, "
Black or White
"Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced the track with rec ...
" and "
White, White Dove", both failed to enter the charts, although they did reach number 2 and number 6 respectively on the BMRB's UK Breakers chart.
Another UK and European tour followed the album's release, then the band recorded their fifth album ''
Love's a Prima Donna
Love's Travel Stops, doing business as Love's (or stylized as Loves), is an American family-owned and -operated chain of more than 650 truck stops in 42 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma ...
'' between June and September 1976. In July they released a cover of George Harrison's "
Here Comes the Sun", which reached number 10 in the UK and became the band's last top 40 single, discounting a later re-release of "Make Me Smile". ''Love's a Prima Donna'' was released in October 1976 and peaked at number 28, with a second single, "
(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna", reaching number 41.
In the US, "
(Love) Compared with You" was released as a single. For Mackay's second solo album ''
Score'', recorded in August and September 1976, and released in 1977, Harley wrote the lyrics to four tracks and provided lead vocals on "Time is No Healer".
In November 1976, Harley provided backing vocals on
T. Rex's song "
Dandy in the Underworld
''Dandy in the Underworld'' is the twelfth and final studio album by England, English Rock (music), rock band T.Rex (band), T. Rex. It was released on 11 March 1977 by record label EMI Records, EMI. It reached number 26 in the UK charts, the ba ...
", which was released as a single from
the album of the same name in 1977. In December 1976, the band embarked on an eight-date UK tour to promote ''Love's a Prima Donna''. During the early part of 1977, Harley provided lead vocals on
The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock music, rock duo formed in London in 1975. Its core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons, and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They shared w ...
's song "The Voice" for their album ''
I Robot''. In July, Harley disbanded Cockney Rebel, the announcement of which was followed by the release of a live album, ''
Face to Face: A Live Recording'', which reached number 40 and spawned a single, "
The Best Years of Our Lives
''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Ru ...
".
Beginnings of solo career (1977–1979)
After Cockney Rebel's split, Harley signed to EMI for a further three years. He began recording his debut solo album in London and then flew to Los Angeles in February 1978 to complete it. He subsequently decided to emigrate to the US and rented a house in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
. Harley stayed there for nearly a year to gain new experience and inspirations, but later admitted that during his time in America he was not inspired to write a single song. The album ''
Hobo with a Grin'' was released in July 1978, but was not a commercial success, nor were its two singles, "
Roll the Dice" and "
Someone's Coming", although "Roll the Dice" was a radio hit. On the album, the tracks "Amerika the Brave" and "Someone's Coming" featured
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...
's last studio performances, recorded shortly before his fatal car accident in September 1977.
Harley returned to London at the end of 1978 and recorded his second solo album, ''
The Candidate'', in February 1979. On 12 May, Harley and
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
appeared as guest stars at one of
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
's
Hammersmith Odeon
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...
concerts during her
Tour of Life. The show was staged as a benefit concert for the family of lighting technician Bill Duffield, who had died after a tragic fall earlier on Bush's tour. Duffield had previously worked for Harley and Gabriel. The concert was Harley's first performance on stage in over two years. ''The Candidate'' was released in October 1979 and was another commercial failure, although its single "
Freedom's Prisoner" was moderately successful, peaking at number 58.
In October, Harley performed a one-off show at the Hammersmith Odeon.
Following the disappointing sales of ''The Candidate'', EMI dropped Harley from their label.
1980–1989
During the 1980s, which he later described as his "wilderness years", Harley took time off from the music business while his two children were growing up. In July 1980, he undertook a short UK tour with a new line-up of Cockney Rebel and this was followed by a UK Christmas tour. The latter tour followed the release of the EMI compilation ''
The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel'' in November. During the same year, "
Somebody Special" and "
Gi' Me Wings", two songs co-written by Harley, were released by
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
on his album ''
Foolish Behaviour''. "Somebody Special", as the album's third single in 1981, reached number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and "Gi' Me Wings" reached number 45 on the ''Billboard''
Top Rock Tracks chart.
In 1981, Harley provided vocals on the song "No Name" for
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...
's album ''
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
''. He also made an appearance to perform the song at Wakeman's concert at the Hammersmith Odeon. Harley and his band embarked on another small UK tour during Christmas 1981. In March 1982, the
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...
-produced single "
I Can't Even Touch You" was released under the band's name. Despite expectations that it would become a hit,
the single failed to reach the UK Singles Chart. In August 1982, Harley made his acting debut as the 16th-century playwright
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...
in the rock musical ''Marlowe'' at the John Crawford Adams Playhouse at
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...
,
Hempstead, New York
The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census.
It occupies the s ...
. In June 1983, Cockney Rebel played a one-off concert in London and Harley released the single "
Ballerina (Prima Donna)", which was written and produced by
Mike Batt. It was one of Harley's most successful singles of the decade, peaking at number 51 in the UK.
In July, the band performed at the Reading Festival, followed by a one-off concert at London's
Camden Palace in December 1984. It was filmed for TV broadcast and VHS release as ''
Live from London'' in 1985 and proved to be the band's last show until 1989.
In 1985, Harley signed a five-album recording contract with
RAK Records. "
Irresistible", recorded with Mickie Most as producer, was released as his debut single for the label in June 1985 and reached number 81 in the UK.
Harley originally offered the song to Rod Stewart, who encouraged Harley to record it in the hope that it would put him back in the charts. Later that year, Mike Batt recommended Harley to
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
for the recording of the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
of the upcoming ''
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
'' musical, which Webber intended to release as a single to promote it. Harley's audition was successful and the song was recorded as a duet with
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress.
Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...
. It was released in January 1986 and reached number 7 in the UK charts. Harley then successfully auditioned to play the title role on stage and spent five months working on the part, including rehearsal with producer
Hal Prince
Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre.
One of the foremost figures in 20th-century theatr ...
. He was later surprised to be replaced by
Michael Crawford
Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer.
Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...
.
While rehearsing for the musical, Harley released the non-album single "
Heartbeat Like Thunder" in April 1986, though it was a commercial failure. In June 1986, a newly remixed version of "Irresistible" was issued as the lead single from Harley's forthcoming solo album ''El Gran Senor'', but it failed to chart. When RAK folded and was sold to EMI shortly after, the album was shelved. Later that year, Harley starred again as Marlowe when the musical of the same name ran in London and his performance was described by one leading critic as "a major and moving performance."
During the same period, Harley undertook an English 'A' level course, to which he devoted three hours of study each day. He passed in June 1987 with a 'B' grade.
In 1988, Harley provided vocals on Mike Batt's song "
Whatever You Believe
"Whatever You Believe" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Mike Batt, which was originally recorded and released as a collaboration charity single featuring Batt with Jon Anderson of Yes (band), Yes and Steve Harley of Steve Harley & Cockney ...
", alongside
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...
. On 3 May 1988, the trio performed the song at a live TV broadcast at
Battersea Park
Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea, London, Chelsea and was opened in 1858.
The park occupies ...
in London as part of the Thames/LWT charity fundraising effort for the
ITV Telethon. Later in November, a studio version was released as a charity TV tie-in single under the name Anderson, Harley & Batt. Following its use in a TV advert for
Trebor Softmints, "Mr. Soft" was re-issued as a single in 1988.
In 1989, Harley assembled a new line-up of Cockney Rebel and returned to touring in the UK and Europe.
He would continue performing as both a solo artist and with various incarnations of Cockney Rebel until his death. To promote the band's 1989 summer tour, Harley released the solo single "
When I'm with You", which was recorded in early 1989 with ex-Cockney Rebel members Duncan Mackay and Jim Cregan at London's Point Studios.
In October 1989, concert footage from the tour was released on VHS as ''
The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live''. In late 1989, Harley was scheduled to play the title role in a feature film based on the true story of
John 'Babbacombe' Lee, an Englishman famous for surviving three attempts to hang him for murder. The film never raised the necessary funding and the project was cancelled in the early 1990s.
1990–1999
Throughout 1989 and 1990, Harley continued touring and recording material for a new album. During 1990, he also contributed lead vocals on "Harrow on the Hill", a track from the album ''Poetry in Motion'' featuring the words of
Sir John Betjeman and music by
Mike Read
Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter.
Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for mus ...
. In October 1991, Harley was invited to play the
Night of the Proms
Night of the Proms is a series of concerts held annually in Belgium (since 1985), the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. Regularly there are also shows in France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, the United States and Sweden. The c ...
, where he performed "Sebastian" and "Make Me Smile".
By the early 1990s, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel had re-established themselves as a major live act across Europe. In 1992, EMI released a new compilation album, ''
Make Me Smile – The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel'', along with a re-issue of "Make Me Smile" as a single, which reached number 46 in the UK.
Harley's solo album ''
Yes You Can'' was released in Europe in 1992 and the UK in 1993. It featured older songs dating from the ''El Gran Senor'' period and some new tracks. "Irresistible" was released as a single from the album in Europe and "
Star for a Week (Dino)" was released as a promotional single in the UK.
In 1995, the compilation ''
Live at the BBC'' was released; it included some early Cockney Rebel sessions from 1974, and a 1992 session. The same year saw another re-issue of "Make Me Smile", which reached number 33 in the UK.
Harley released a new studio album, ''
Poetic Justice
Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...
'', in 1996, which was a critical success. In 1997, Harley participated in the Granada
Men & Motors TV music quiz show ''Elvis Has Just Left the Building'', hosted by
Mike Sweeney, with
Noddy Holder
Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician, songwriter and actor. He was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the English rock band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s.
Known for his disti ...
and
Clint Boon as team captains.
In 1998, Harley embarked on his first acoustic tour "Stripped to the Bare Bones" with Cockney Rebel's violinist and guitarist
Nick Pynn accompanying him. The pair played over a hundred dates, including fifty-four concerts in the UK, and coincided with the release of a new compilation album, ''
More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley'', which reached number 82 in the charts.
The live album ''
Stripped to the Bare Bones'', with tracks recorded at
the Jazz Café in London during March 1998, was released in April 1999. In 1999, the new compilation ''
The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel'' was released, Harley formed his own label "Comeuppance", and he began presenting the
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
programme ''
Sounds of the 70s'', with the first series featuring eight editions.
2000–2009
In 2000, Harley re-issued his first two solo albums, ''Hobo with a Grin'' and ''The Candidate'', on CD through Comeuppance, and between March and May he embarked on the acoustic tour "Stripped Again", accompanied by Cockney Rebel guitarist
Robbie Gladwell.
The twelve editions of the second series of ''Sounds of the 70s'' aired across 2000 and, with high listening figures for the first two series, Harley accepted the BBC's offer to present the show all year round. To accommodate his touring schedule, he began the new deal by pre-recording three shows at a time. The show continued for the next eight years and the last programme aired on 27 March 2008. It reached an audience of over 400,000 weekly.
In 2000, Harley began working on a new studio album and opened talks with various record labels.
Although no album materialised for a few years, the single "
A Friend for Life" was released in April 2001 and reached number 125 in the UK.
The song, co-written with Jim Cregan, was originally offered to Rod Stewart, who would record his own version for his 2015 album ''
Another Country''. In 2001, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel embarked on their first tour in four years, "Back with the Band".
Harley was involved with the charity
Mines Advisory Group
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a non-governmental organization that assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance, and small arms and light weapons.
MAG takes a humanitarian approach to landmine action. They focus on the impact o ...
from 2002. He became an ambassador for the charity and led two fundraising treks, one around Cambodia in 2002 and the other across Death Valley in 2007.
In 2002, Harley was awarded a Gold Badge of Merit by the
British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. In 2003, he released the live album ''
Acoustic and Pure: Live'', featuring recordings from various UK concerts played during the previous autumn with Cregan. Towards the end of the year, Harley travelled to Cologne to collaborate with German artist Guido Dossche on the song "Ich Bin Gott", which was issued as a single in Germany in 2004.
In 2004, the live album ''
Anytime! (A Live Set)'' was released under the name The Steve Harley Band. During June of that year, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel played at the
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
Th ...
and the full performance was released on DVD in 2005 as ''
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival''. In June 2005, a newly recorded version of "Make Me Smile" was released, dubbed the "30th Anniversary Re-mix", and reached number 55 in the UK.
A new studio album, ''
The Quality of Mercy'', was released in 2005; it was Harley's first studio album to be released under the Cockney Rebel name since 1976. The band embarked on their biggest UK and European tour since the 1970s to promote it, with over 50 dates set between September and December 2005. The album was a critical success and also charted at number 40 in Norway in early 2006. "
The Last Goodbye", released as a single from the album in 2006, peaked at number 186 in the UK Singles Chart and number 21 in the UK Independent Singles Chart.
In 2006, EMI released ''
The Cockney Rebel - A Steve Harley Anthology'', a CD box-set compilation album spanning the recording career of Cockney Rebel and Harley's solo work.
In 2007, Harley starred with Mike Bennett in the West End premiere of the
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
plays ''
Rough for Theatre I'' and ''
Rough for Theatre II''. The plays ran for a week in July at London's
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It opened on April 20, 1927.
History
It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...
.
In 2008, Harley released a book, ''The Impression of Being Relaxed'', which is a collection of diary entries he had published on his website between 2000 and 2008. In 2009, Harley received a Special Award from
Childline Rocks for his charity work at ''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
'' magazine's award ceremony in London's
Park Lane Hotel. His efforts raising money for the Mines Advisory group and several schools for Disabled Children were cited in a speech delivered by blues guitarist
Joe Bonamassa
Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his inde ...
.
2010–2024

In May 2010, Harley released a new album, ''
Stranger Comes to Town'', which he described as a "protest album". It reached number 187 in the UK and spawned two digital singles, "
Faith & Virtue" and "
For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn". Earlier that year in February, Harley, a self-confessed technophobe, attributed poor literacy rates and the moral corrosion of British society to modern technology.
['' The Daily Politics'', BBC, 24 February 2010]
In April 2012, Harley embarked on a promotional tour of Australia, with Australian guitarist
Joe Matera accompanying him. The pair made a number of appearances on radio and TV and performed live acoustic sessions. In October 2012, EMI released the remastered four-disc box-set anthology compilation ''
Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973-1974'', which chronicled the recording career of the original Cockney Rebel line-up.
On 24 November 2012, Harley and his band, along with the
Orchestra of the Swan and their Chamber Choir, performed the first two Cockney Rebel albums, ''The Human Menagerie'' and ''The Psychomodo'', in their entirety for the first time at the
Birmingham Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall is a 2,262-seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...
. The performance was released as a double-CD and DVD in October 2013, titled ''
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
''. The album reached number 158 in the UK Albums Chart and number 36 in the UK Independent Albums Chart. The same show was performed live four more times in 2014 at Manchester's
Bridgewater Hall,
Sage Gateshead
The Glasshouse is an international centre for musical education and concerts on the Gateshead bank of Quayside in northern England. Opened in 2004 as Sage Gateshead and occupied by North Music Trust, the venue's original name honours a patron ...
, London's
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, and again at the
Birmingham Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall is a 2,262-seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...
.
In January 2015, "Make Me Smile" re-charted at number 72 in the UK, after ''
Top Gear'' presenters
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
,
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...
and
James May
James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
urged viewers to download the song, as part of their discussion that Harley had recently received a speeding fine. Later in September, Harley's first new song of five years, "
Ordinary People
''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American Tragedy, tragedy film directed by Robert Redford in his List of directorial debuts, feature directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the Ordinary People (Guest novel), 1976 novel by ...
", was released as a digital single. In November, Harley and the surviving members of the original second line-up of Cockney Rebel reunited for a 16-date UK tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' album. The band were also accompanied by the
MonaLisa Twins.
In 2015, Harley pledged to help raise funds for a new memorial to his late friend
Mick Ronson
Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...
. He played for free at the
Hull City Hall
Hull City Hall is a civic building located in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Located in Queen Victoria Square in the city centre, it is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The hall, which was designed by Hull's City ar ...
in April 2016 to help kick-start the appeal. In November 2016, Harley was one of a number of musicians who teamed up with British Members of Parliament and the Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Chorus to record a charity version of the Rolling Stones song "
You Can't Always Get What You Want
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Sto ...
" in memory of Labour MP
Jo Cox. The song was released as a single in December 2016, with all proceedings going to the Jo Cox Foundation, and reached number 136 in the UK Singles Chart, number 24 in the Singles Sales Chart and number 9 in the Independent Singles Chart.
Harley released ''
Uncovered'' in February 2020, an album made up of two Harley originals and nine interpretations of songs he said he wished he had written. The planned UK and European tour to promote the album was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, with only the first nine shows played as planned. Two shows were, however, played in September 2020, both in the acoustic trio format, though bassist Oli Hayhurst accompanied the trio on the second of these shows. In addition, Harley held an online question and answer session via
Zoom in mid-December 2020. The success of this event led to further Zoom Q and A events: two in November 2021 and one in November 2022.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, Harley's live shows resumed in August 2021, and the rescheduled 2020 tour took place between May and July 2022. In October 2023, after touring earlier in the year, Harley was forced to cancel all upcoming late 2023 and early 2024 shows, citing "a medical procedure followed by a period of recuperation". Harley later revealed that he had cancer, and was forced to cancel or postpone all shows scheduled for 2024.
This included the "Come Up and See Me... And Other Stories" tour, on which Harley was due to perform acoustic versions of his songs with his bandmate Barry Wickens, tell anecdotes and take part in Q&A sessions.
Personal life
Harley was in a relationship with Dutch singer
Yvonne Keeley
Yvonne Keeley (born Yvonne Paaij, 6 September 1952) is a Dutch pop music singer. She is the sister of Patricia Paay.
She began her career as a session singer in the music industry in London, working with Madeline Bell and Vicki Brown. She ...
from 1973. They primarily lived together at Harley's flat in the
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
area of London, except for a period in 1978 when they lived in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
. The pair contemplated marriage in 1977, but those plans did not materialise and they split up in 1979.
Harley met air stewardess Dorothy Crombie in October 1979 on a flight to Newcastle and they married at
Marylebone Register Office in February 1981. They had two children and lived in
Clare, Suffolk
Clare is a market town and civil parish on the north bank of the River River Stour, Suffolk, Stour in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. Clare is in southwest Suffolk, from Bury St Edmunds and ...
, near the
North Essex border.
In 1991, the pair celebrated their tenth anniversary with a wedding blessing ceremony at their church in
Belchamp Otten.
During the 1980s, Harley became involved with his local Anglican church. He frequently read the lesson during Sunday services and was a member of the
parochial church council
A parochial church council (PCC) is the executive committee of a Church of England parish and consists of clergy and churchwardens of the parish, together with representatives of the laity. It has its origins in the vestry committee, which looke ...
from 1989. He also later served as a councillor for Belchamp St Paul and Belchamp Otten Parish Council until 2023.
Harley was involved in racehorse ownership from 1984, and racing became his main pastime until his death in 2024.
Illness and death
In December 2023, Harley announced on his website that he had cancer.
He died at his home in Suffolk on 17 March 2024, aged 73.
Partial discography
Studio albums
* ''
The Human Menagerie'' (1973) (as Cockney Rebel)
* ''
The Psychomodo'' (1974) (as Cockney Rebel)
* ''
The Best Years of Our Lives
''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Ru ...
'' (1975) (as Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
* ''
Timeless Flight'' (1976) (as Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
* ''
Love's a Prima Donna
Love's Travel Stops, doing business as Love's (or stylized as Loves), is an American family-owned and -operated chain of more than 650 truck stops in 42 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma ...
'' (1976) (as Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
* ''
Hobo with a Grin'' (1978)
* ''
The Candidate'' (1979)
* ''
Yes You Can'' (1992)
* ''
Poetic Justice
Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...
'' (1996)
* ''
The Quality of Mercy'' (2005) (as Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
* ''
Stranger Comes to Town'' (2010)
* ''
Uncovered'' (2020)
References
External links
Steve Harley– Official website
– interview at International Songwriter's Association's ''Songwriter Magazine'' (non-secure site)
*
*
Steve Harley Discographyat 45cat.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, Steve
1951 births
2024 deaths
20th-century English male singers
21st-century English male singers
20th-century English singer-songwriters
21st-century English singer-songwriters
BBC Radio 2 presenters
Deaths from cancer in England
EMI Records artists
English male singer-songwriters
English people with disabilities
English pop singers
English radio presenters
English rock guitarists
English rock singers
Glam rock musicians
Musicians from Kent
People from Deptford
Polio survivors
Rak Records artists
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel members