All songs written by Steve Stapley (Stapley Songs BMI), except for Bar Life - Steve Stapley & Terry Disley (Bug Music BMI)
Performed by:
Steve Stapley – Guitars, Keyboard, Vocals
Lynda Hayes – Vocals
Jody Linscott – Percussion
Produced by Steve Stapley and Steve Stewart
Recorded at The Farm, Cambridge and
The Old Vicarage, Huntingdonshire, England
Artwork & Design – Jamie Ambler
Photography – Jamie Ambler
*For my very best friend, Jamie Thomson.
Agent: www.hobsons-international.com
Influences
James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Nick Drake, Paul Simon, Ry Cooder, The Band, Bob Marley, Brian Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones, Little Feat, Albert Collins, JJ Cale, Dr John, The Neville Brothers, The Chieftains, Paul Brady, Ricky Skaggs.
"Steve Stapley's gravelly, soulful vocals swell emotively over understated, clean acoustic guitar. His lyrics address the hopeful and the wistful, striking a captivating balance that is somehow both soothing and stimulating." BMI.
Steve made his first professional recording at Abbey Road in 1968. A few years later, Steve and his then music partner, Richard Markstein, formed what must have been one of the first experimental world music bands in the UK. The band consisted of two Nigerian drummers and a South African guitarist, with Richard on bass and Steve playing acoustic guitar and singing. Soon afterwards, Steve and Richard got signed as a duo by DJM records - around the time when Elton John was becoming huge - where they remained, recording an album, a series of singles and touring the UK. Pete Brown, poet and author of many of the Cream’s classic hits, joined them on percussion and scrabble.
Departing the relatively safe but, for him, increasingly unproductive confines of DJM, Steve played clubs and bars in and around London for the following six or seven sleepless years.
Moving to LA, where he married and became a house-writer for LEM America, and fronted a couple of rock bands, Steve had some success writing songs for movies and writing English lyrics for French legend, Johnny Halladay’s, Gold Album, En VQ, and for the French No.1 single, ‘Casualty of Love’.
After five years in California, he and his wife, returned to England, where he started writing jingles and singing for TV commercials. After the sudden loss of his first wife, Steve was introduced by Mike Finesilver – co-writer of Arthur Brown’s iconic, ‘I am the God of Hellfire’ - to American singer, Lynda Hayes. Steve and Lynda sang a duet on one of Mike’s songs, in his well known, Pathway Studio, and fell in love. They now have two sons and live in Northamptonshire. Steve, as well as writing and performing, co-directs multimedia video production company, ‘Paydirt Productions Ltd’.
Together with his wife, singer Lynda Hayes, Steve has also written, co-produced and performed on Sleepy Old Town, an award winning CD of lullabies and songs of childhood.
Michael Brunnock's in depth interview with journalist Suzanne Connolly is uploaded and available to watch. It can be seen either on Michael's front page www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock or on Fairplay Collective's video page http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=64241695
Thanks for being a friend! Do you know about the Electric Ball in London on Wednesday November 18? JEFFERSON STARSHIP + QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE + TOM CONSTANTEN (original Grateful Dead pianist) + more! Please try and make it. It’ll be a ball! Details and tickets from: http://www.rhythmgigs.com
Stopping by to wish you a fantastic week!!! Hope all is going great with you!!! Check out my newest single Whipping Post on Texas radio NOW!!! I also hope to see you out at Armadillo Palace Wednesday November 11th @ 12:00pm for my interview and acoustic performance with 740 KTRH's Michael Berry (Texas Music Show) And later that night I will be at Dosey Doe in the Woodlands (9:15pm) See you there!!! Love, ~Susan Hickman www.susanhickman.com www.reverbnation.com/susanhickman www.twitter.com/susanhickman
Ruby Jane Article in New York Times!! http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/who-do-these-guys-think-they-are/ AND Check out the new pictures and video! Let me know what you think! Ruby Jane
Hey Steve. Thank you. How are you? Have you had a chance to visit my latest blog? It's something I am involved in and I've been getting hundreds of my friends going as well since I was allowed to invite others over the last few days. My personal goal with it is to financially support my entire music career by June of 2010 without the backing of a major label. I'm totally on track to as well and really want to share with others. Matt
Thanx 4 Da Add Steve Stapley. Appreciate ur friendship. The writing on the Wall is a lovely song I like what I heard on my tube. keep doing what u do best is singing those great songs. Stay and keep in touch. ur friend: **DELICIOUS**!.
Hey what's up? I just wanted to come by and let you know that we have a brand new song up on our page called "Torn". Come by, check it out, and let us know what you think! Hope to hear from you soon! :)
