Stephen Louis Nardelli (born 10 April 1948 in London) founded

the Syn The Syn are an England, English band that were active from 1965 to 1967, and then reunited as a progressive rock band in 2004. The band was founded by Steve Nardelli, Chris Squire, Andrew Pryce Jackman, Martyn Adelman and John Painter. Chris We ...

in 1966 with

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

, Martyn Adelman and others. In 1968, Nardelli left the band for a business career in the fashion and sports industries before reforming the band in 2003 with Adelman and

Peter Banks Peter William Brockbanks (15 July 1947 – 7 March 2013), known professionally as Peter Banks, was an English guitarist. He was the original guitarist in the rock bands Yes (band), Yes, Flash (band), Flash, and Empire; he was also a guitarist f ...

. Banks left the reunited band, but Squire joined and the band recorded a new album, ''Syndestructible''.

As a musician and song writer

Nardelli began playing the guitar at 12.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, and

the Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

were early influences. Inspired by the scene at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...

, at fourteen Nardelli formed his first group called High Court, an R&B band. Not long after, High Court changed its name and amalgamated into

with Nardelli,

Andrew Pryce Jackman Andrew Pryce Jackman (13 July 1946 – 16 August 2003) was an English keyboardist, arranger and composer who worked with many leading figures in British popular music. His most successful project was as the arranger and conductor of the Classic ...

, Martyn Adelman and John Painter. The Syn are considered a significant part of the pre-history of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

. Nardelli's first composition was "Grounded", a freakbeat song that he wrote when 14. He co-wrote "14 Hour Technicolour Dream" in 1967, which was reviewed as "one of the best British psychedelic singles by any band", and voted by ''Time Out'' magazine one of the best ever top 100 songs written about London. Both were singles performed by the Syn. Nardelli continued to write music after The Syn of the 1960s and had a solo recording contract with Decca. Nardelli reformed the Syn with

and Martyn Adelman in 2004. The line-up changed, re-uniting Nardelli with

, and together they wrote ''Syndestructible'' (2005) with contributions from Gerard Johnson and

Paul Stacey Paul Stacey (born 27 September 1963) is a British guitarist and producer, best known for his work with Oasis, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Steven Wilson, and the Black Crowes. Biography Stacey's early work included the 1990s band, the ...

. This was followed by the album ''Armistice Day'', the title track being written by Nardelli and Johnson. Squire, Johnson and Stacey all left the band, and Nardelli formed a new line-up with

Francis Dunnery Francis Dunnery (born 25 December 1962) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. Dunnery was the lead singer and guitarist for British prog- pop band It Bites between 1982 and 1990. Since 1990 he has ...

and

Tom Brislin Tom Brislin (born October 5, 1973) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, producer, and author. In December 2018, American progressive rock band Kansas announced Brislin as the group’s keyboardist; his playing, vocals, and prominent song ...

. They released ''Big Sky'' in 2009. Nardelli started working in collaboration with Swedish band Moon Safari on a new album in 2010 from the Syn called ''Trustworks''. In an interview for Progzilla radio in October, Nardelli announced that ''The Syn Live at Rosfest'' album was being released early in 2015, together with a newly commissioned film ''The Syn in the 21st Century'', as a prelude to the release of the new studio album ''Trustworks''. In January 2016 Umbrello Records, announced that the ''Trustworks'' album would finally be released worldwide on 25 March 2016, having been five years in the making.

In business

After the Syn disbanded, Nardelli, along with his partner Ian Ross, a member of the Ross Foods family and a founder of Radio Caroline, opened a chain of fashion shops in Chelsea and Kensington. Continuing a connection with the music industry, Nardelli teamed with Tommy Roberts, known for his fashion shop Mr. Freedom. and launched a record label, Fresh Records through WEA. In 1997, Nardelli acquired from the government of Belgium's Walloon region the Donnay sports brand. He also worked with

Mike Ashley (businessman) Michael James Wallace Ashley (born 9 September 1964) is a British retail entrepreneur who is the founder and former chief executive of Frasers Group plc (formerly Sports Direct International). He owned Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United Foot ...

to successfully purchase the Disport retail chain in Belgium and the Longoni Sports retail chain in Italy. Nardelli also founded

Umbrello Records Umbrello Records Limited launched in 2005 at the Cafe Royal in London. The company was formed by Steve Nardelli and Chris Squire of the psychedelic prog band The Syn. The Umbrello logo and covers for The Syn albums ''Syndestructible'' and ''Origi ...

with

, and the IPTV music station theONE.tv. In 2009, Nardelli formed P3 Eco Group (Portfolio Property Partners) with Graham Johnson and Brigadier Ian Inshaw, a Deputy Lord Lieutenant to the Queen and former High Sheriff of Oxfordshire. The company is one of the new eco developers and their site at NW Bicester was selected by Government to be one of four new eco towns. The eco town was master planned by Terry Farrell. In June 2018, Nardelli was appointed a Rudolph Steiner School charity trustee. In March 2020, Nardelli was elected Chairman of the Coolhurst Tennis & Squash Club in London, with one of his first actions being to have to close the club following the government pandemic shut-down.

Discography

With The Syn Solo singles *"I'll Never Find Another You"/"Mile End Road" -

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

/1978 *"Don't Ever Change"/"Dance Little Rita" - Decca/1978 With 14 Hour Technicolour Dream V-band *"Reasons & Rituals" - download/2008

References

External links

The Syn official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nardelli, Steve 1948 births Living people English rock guitarists English rock singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English male guitarists