He was the man who urged us to come up and see him sometime in the 70s, and he’s rocking Newark next week.
Steve Harley talks to Patrick Astill about professional musicians and self-confidence.
The Steve Harley tour promises an intimate and atmospheric performance, so there’s probably no better venue than the plush surroundings of Newark Palace Theatre.
He’s fresh from a massive tour with full entourage this time last year, a clutch of festivals and some television work, and he’s ready stay on the road a little longer.
Steve told What’s On: “This is a big acoustic tour. Touring is my life blood – it’s a great life.
“My karma would be severely crushed if I thought I could not have an audience. I’ve never stopped working. There’s a great feeling out there.”
Best known for his Cockney Rebel days, with Make Me Smile, Mr Soft, Judy Teen and Mr Raffles, the new raft of gigs showcases some of his old favourites together with some of his new writing.
Stranger Comes to Town was the new album, out last year.
“The album has nine new tracks and a cover,” he says. “I write all the time but it doesn’t get easier as you get older.”
“The contradiction is that there’s more to talk about but it’s harder to put it down as a tune – and what if no on wants to hear about it?
“You can lose a bit of self-confidence.”
But he’s supported by some talented musicians who take their profession seriously. They have to – it’s their living.
Steve says: “All the guys around me are of a certain age and have decided they are professional musicians.
“A lot of people are into music in their 20s when they leave university.
“They start a rock band and then fall by the wayside, finding it’s not going to be easy and it might be a struggle. They’ve got to get out and get back to normality.
“This is what I’ve been doing since I was 21. They guys around me are virtuosos who will play either with or without me.”
As for the style of the music, compared with what we know best, Steve admits he “paints a broad canvas”.
“It rocks on – I’m not a folky. It’s a pretty big featured set, we go and play for the first 25 minutes without stopping! But there are some intimate moments too.
“People will get what they put into it at a concert, I’m, very relaxed on stage, it’s my second home. It’s a three-man acoustic set, ‘a closer look’.
“The audience is a bit of a mix after 30-odd years. You do get some people who were fans in their 20s, then drop out to raise their families, then when their families are older they get more chilled and starting going again.
“They find that we’re still playing. We spent New Year’s Eve at Holmfirth, then in January we were in Oslo to sing three songs for their national television with a symphony orchestra!”
