Thursday 15th October

There can rarely have been a ‘pop-star’ so sure of his ability, his talent and his brilliance than Steve Harley.  He wrote his own songs and taught himself guitar as a teenager and then when he had enough material for an album he hooked up with a friend who played electric violin and tried to recruit a band.  The band became Cockney Rebel, but it was Steve who was the star, he wrote the songs and he sung them and the band simply accompanied him.  His first album had great production and orchestral arrangements too, and a star was born.  Or not quite.  Despite a fair share of music press hype, not that many people bought the record.  But I did, and loved it.  It was sort-of prog-rock but with that orchestral and violin edge, and Steve’s voice and mannerisms were certainly distinctive.  There were two epic songs, “Sebastian” and “Death Trip” and a few rockier numbers and even a couple of very short little songs.  The second single “Judy Teen” was a minor hit and Cockney Rebel were on TV.  They wore very flash, satin-collared outfits, which chimed with Bowie’s just emerging Ziggy style and T. Rex and the beginnings of Glam Rock.  But Steve was no simple follower of fashion at all.  His second album “The Psychomodo” soon followed and had the hit “Mr. Soft.” (which incidentally has probably earned him more from the Andrex adverts than the charts).

Then Steve’s ego started to break up the band, and he wrote a vindictive song and sacked them all except the drummer.  He recruited more mainstream replacements and recorded “The Best Years of our Lives” where that nasty little song morphed into his only No. 1 single “Come up and See Me (Make me Smile)”, which is always being played at Disco’s and on the radio.  The band was now known as ‘Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel’ made three more records before he dropped them completely and went solo.

Well, he has had a pretty long if uneventful career.  He still makes the occasional new record, and often performs under the Cockney Rebel name where he plays lots of his old stuff.  I find him, just like the title of one of his songs “Irresistible.”  He is still pretty obnoxious and puts lots of people’s backs up, but he has a great voice, great songs and a devoted following – me included.