BIOGRAPHY

The Early Years

Steve began his musical career in 1979 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire as lead singer and bass player of three-piece new wave band Studio 10, formed out of the ashes of local punk band The Aborted.

After recording some early demo tapes at a Mansfield 4-track studio, the band were taken under the wing of a local miner and ex-Mod John ‘Yank’ Fritchley, who tried to encourage the band to wear parkas and pose for photos on a Vespa. Steve and fellow band members Paul Statham (guitar) and Graham Boffey (drums) had other ideas favouring glittery ties and eyeliner, taking their cues from futuristic synth rock bands like Tubeway Army, early Simple Minds and John Foxx era Ultravox.

The band changed their name to B-Movie after Steve spotted an Andy Warhol painting called Blue Movie in an art book at school. Thinking it a bit controversial to name the band after a sex film, it was shortened to B-Movie.

Thanks to their manager acquiring a trailer on his car, the band were able to play further away from the local swimming baths and miners galas. They survived a support slot for the Angelic Upstarts at legendary Sandpipers in Nottingham, then after a gig at Lincoln Vaults, they were approached by an independent record label to appear on a compilation of local bands from the East of England. They contributed two tracks, ‘Refugee’ and ‘Man on a Threshold’ which were recorded at Studio Playground in Wragby, Lincolnshire. Refugee was raw and punky with trademark alienated lyrics, whilst Man On A Threshold was more sparse and early Cure like hinting at the more ambitious, expansive sound to come. 

The East compilation album, featuring bands like Vick Sinex and the Nasal Sprays, The Whizz Kids and The Cigarettes, received generally positive reviews in the music press. The band were pleased but there was something missing. The bands that they listened to all used synthesisers. In order to achieve the bigger sound they wanted they need a keyboard player. They put an ad in the local paper and received one reply. The next Chapter in the B-Movie story was about to begin.