Steve Gibbons (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Steve Gibbons | |
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 The Steve Gibbons Band
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1942 |
| Origin | Birmingham, England |
| Genre(s) | Rock music |
| Years active | 1960s- present |
| Associated acts | Balls, The Uglys, Idle Race |
| Website | stevegibbonsband.com / www.brumrocks.co.uk |
Steve Gibbons is a rock vocalist, from Birmingham, UK.
Contents |
[edit] The Dominettes
Steve Gibbons started his professional life as a plumbers’ apprentice in Harbourne. He joined the Dominettes by 1960 to replace Colin Smith who had left to join Jimmy Powell’s backing group. Colin Smith later changed his name to Carl Barron and became the singer with The Cheetahs. An Elvis Presley fan, Steve Gibbons' first performance with The Dominettes was at The California Pub near Weoley Castle.
Regular venues for The Dominettes in the early 1960s was the Grotto Club on Bromsgove Street and The Cecilia Coffee Bar in Edgbaston with the group by this time including many R&B numbers into their set and this style of music suited Steve Gibbons’ gritty vocals perfectly. Although the Dominettes had a rougher image than most groups at that time and were sometimes hired to back strippers at some of the more seedy establishments, they attracted quite a following. Another regular venue for the Dominettes was the Firebird Jazz Club on Carrs Lane in central Birmingham and the group posted advertisements which read "anything considered",
[edit] The Uglys
By 1963 The Dominettes were re-named The Uglys. Eventually, the Uglys were able to secure a recording contract with the Pye Records company and the first release from the group in 1965 was an original song entitled Wake Up My Mind, composed by Burnet/Holden/Gibbons. The single was advanced for its time and featured some socially conscious lyrics - very unlike the kind of material produced by most other pop groups of the period. Surprisingly, the record did not sell well in Britain but was a big hit in the Australian charts. John Gordon left in 1965 and was replaced by Jimmy O'Neil from a local band called The Yamps (he had also spent some time with The Walker Brothers). A second Uglys single released the same year was of another great original song called It's Alright. This one featured prominent use of a harpsichord as played by Jimmy O'Neil who was becoming a major attraction on-stage to a growing following of female fans. The record fell short of the British charts - possibly due to a record company strike - even though the group made an appearance on the popular television program "Ready Steady Go!" to promote it.
Other Uglys singles were released between 1965 and 1967 including a great version of End Of The Season, a song composed by Ray Davies of the Kinks. This represented a departure from the Uglys' previous records as they had all been group compositions up to that point.
During this period, there were many personnel changes in the Uglys line-up which included the departure of Bob Burnett and John Hustwayte. Bass guitarist Dave Pegg joined for a year before leaving to join the Ian Campbell Group. He was replaced by Dave Morgan from a local band called Blaises and had also been a former member of Danny King's Mayfair Set. Dave Pegg was later in a local group called The Exception and from there, he joined Fairport Convention. Dave Morgan also composed the song Something which ended up as the b-side of the Move’s chart-topping Blackberry Way single. Jimmy O'Neil left the Uglys in 1968 to join The Mindbenders and founding member Jim Holden also departed later that year[1]. .
Former Brumbeats guitarist Roger Hill joined the Uglys and stayed for almost a year before leaving to join previously-departed Dave Pegg in forming a new band called The Exception. Roger Hill was replaced by Will Hammond (from The Yamps) who stayed in the Uglys line-up until the end. Jim Holden was replaced by drummer Keith Smart from Danny King's Mayfair Set. Keyboard player Richard Tandy, who also played on the Move’s Blackberry Way, joined in 1968 and eventually joined the Electric Light Orchestra.
By the end of 1968, Steve Gibbons was the only remaining original member of The Uglys. This final line-up also included Will Hammond, Dave Morgan, Keith Smart, and Richard Tandy. They recorded a projected single I've Seen The Light which was never released officially[2]. .
[edit] Balls
Steve Gibbons teamed up with guitarist Trevor Burton from The Move in 1969 and by April of that year they had formed a new group called Balls along with singer/guitarist Denny Laine (formerly of the Moody Blues), and Uglys drummer Keith Smart. The project was relatively short lived and after recording a solo album, Steve Gibbons left the band.
[edit] Idle Race
After the break up of Balls, Steve returned to Birmingham from London to join Idle Race for three months in 1971. This band rapidly evolved into the Steve Gibbons Band.
[edit] Steve Gibbons Band
Steve's new band worked the pub and club circuits until 1975 when they were spotted by Pete Townshend of The Who. This led to The Steve Gibbons Band joining The Who's management stable, recording their first Polydor album "Any Road Up" and touring with The Who in Britain, Europe and the USA. Playing the concert arenas, they shared the stage with acts like Little Feat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Electric Light Orchestra., J. Geils Band and Nils Lofgren. The UK Top 10 hit "Tulane" led to three more albums with Polydor.
In 1981, after a change in personnel, The Steve Gibbons Band recorded "Saints & Sinners" for RCA and later responded to an invitation from the German Democratic Republic to become the first western rock band to tour the major cities of East Germany.
Nine more albums were released in the 1980s and 90's and the touring continues
[edit] The Dylan Project
The Dylan Project was a trio Gibbons formed at the end of the 1990s, innovatively using fretless bass, guitars, accordion and piano to perform classic Dylan songs as well as Gibbons' own material.
[edit] Brum Rocks
As of 2006 Gibbons continues to tour with his band, and is also a member of the hit UK show 'Brum Rocks Live', along with Bev Bevan (The Move, ELO), Trevor Burton (The Move), Danny King, and writer Laurie Hornsby. The show tours the UK, and is produced and promoted by Brian Yeates Associates.
Gibbons lives with his wife Suzie in Edgbaston, Birmingham. They have two sons and a daughter.[1]
