Who Was Steve Harley? Know More About The Cockney Rebel Frontman As He Passes Away At 73

Who was Steve Harley?

According to his official biography, Steve Harley was the second of five children born in London on February 27, 1951. Mr. Harley was first exposed to music by his mother, a jazz and swing singer, in the 1940s. In a 2022 interview for the Tim Quinn YouTube channel, he compared his mother’s voice to that of British singer Anne Shelton, saying, “She sang around the house when we were kids.” According to what he mentioned in an interview when he was a kid, Harley’s mother used to sing along to Buddy Holly and other 1950s pop performers that would play on the radio.

As a child, Mr. Harley was frequently hospitalized due to health concerns. Mr. Harley developed a love for Bob Dylan’s music at the age of twelve when he was recovering from surgery and discovered a connection with the writings of D.H. Lawrence, Ernest Hemingway, and other authors. These musicians made a young Mr. Harley realize that he would probably be “preoccupied with words and music” in his lifetime. He developed a fixation on words during his pursuit of a journalism profession in the late 1960s and early 1970s while working for several U.K. daily newspapers.

His career as a singer began during this same period in London nightclubs, where he would do free performances and eventually met the members of the Cockney Rebels, with whom he would go on to sign the group’s first record contract in 1972. Harley is well recognized for the 1975 U.K. chart-topping single song “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” by Cockney Rebel. In 1972, the musician from London became a member of Cockney Rebel, and the glam rock group published their first album, The Human Menagerie, the following year. After changing the roster, the group released The Psychomodo in 1974 and changed their name to Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

Following their breakup in 1977, Steve Harley began a successful solo career. In 2020, they released the covers album Uncovered, which included interpretations of songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, and others.

Tributes pour on Twitter in honor of Harley

Harley and his spouse, Dorothy, had two children, Kerr and Greta, and they resided on the boundary between Essex and Suffolk. When he passed away, his family was by his side. In a statement, Dorothy, Kerr, and Greta wrote, “Whatever you knew him as, there were just essential qualities emanating from his heart—love, charity, and kindness. And plenty and many more.”

“He could hear the birdsong from his beloved woodland singing for him. The noises and laughter of his four grandkids have filled his home.” Throughout the music industry, tributes have been given to Harley. Harley was called a “lovely guy” and a “dear pal” by singer-songwriter Mike Batt, with whom he collaborated on several songs. “What brilliance. What a guy,” he commented on X, the former Twitter platform. “To Dorothy and everyone else, my condolences. Cheers, buddy.” The 1983 single Ballerina (Prima Donna) and the 1988 charity single Whatever You Believe, which included Yes lead singer Jon Anderson, were among the songs the pair collaborated on.

Harley was described as a “true ‘working musician’” by Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, who also produced the song I Can’t Even Touch You by Harley in 1982. Ure posted on social media, “He toured until he could no longer tour, playing his songs for fans old and new. Our songs live on longer than we ever can.”

Who Was Steve Harley? Know More About The Cockney Rebel Frontman As He Passes Away At 73