Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel was a British glam rock band from the early 1970s from London. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years they have had five albums in the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles in the UK Singles Chart.
Steve Harley grew up in London's New Cross area and attended Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Boys' School. His musical career began in the late 1960s when he was busking (with John Crocker aka Jean-Paul Crocker) and performing his own songs, some of which were later recorded by him and the band. After an initial stint as a music journalist, the original Cockney Rebel was formed when Harley hooked up with his former folk music partner, Crocker (fiddle / mandolin / guitar) in 1972. Crocker had just finished a short stint with Trees and they advertised and auditioned drummer Stuart Elliott, bassist Paul Jeffreys, and guitarist Nick Jones.
This line-up played one of the band's first gigs at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London on 23 July 1972, supporting The Jeff Beck Group. Nick was soon replaced by guitarist Pete Newnham but Steve felt that the Cockney Rebel sound did not need an electric guitar and they settled on the combination of Crocker's electric violin and the Fender Rhodes piano of keyboardist Milton Reame-James to share the lead. The band was signed to EMI after playing five gigs. Their first single, "Sebastian", was an immediate success in Europe, although it failed to score in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album, The Human Menagerie, was released in 1973. Although the album was not a commercial success, the band attracted a growing following in London.
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Links to Peel[]
Peel was enthusiastic about the band in the early/mid 70's and invited them to do a session for his show in 1974, where they performed four tracks. In 1975, he reviewed their single, 'Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)', in Singles Reviews, which he gave 3 stars meaning a good record. The song later became a UK number 1 hit single in that year.
In the 90's Stave Harley was interviewed on Peel's show broadcast on 14 July 1995 and his big hit, 'Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)', was a chosen play of Supergrass during a Peel Acres visit by the band on the 14 September 1999 programme. After Peel's death in 2004, Steve Harley paid tribute to the DJ on the BBC Look East programme.
Sessions[]
1. Recorded: 1974-05-28. First Broadcast: 11 June 1974. Repeated: 23 July 1974
- Bed In The Corner/Sling It / Mr. Soft / Sweet Dreams/Psychomodo
Other Shows Played[]
- 07 June 1975: Judy Teen (Paul Gambaccini segment) (Paul refers to Cockney Rebel performing later tonight at the Crystal Palace Garden Party. This was on 7th June 1975. Tammy Wynette is playing at Hammersmith tonight.)
- 1999
- 14 September 1999: Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) (single, 1975) EMI
Covered[]
- Wedding Present: Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) 17 April 1990
See Also[]
- UK Singles Chart Number Ones
- John Peel's Record Box: Jennifer Sharp & Steve Harley & John Peel talking to Stevie Dixon, 1977 (Pye Records) 1978
- Sounds