Steve Mackey

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Steve Mackey (born Stephen Patrick Mackey, 10 November 1966) is a British musician and record producer, best known for playing bass guitar in the band Pulp.

Personal life

Mackey was born in in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. In his early years he attended Hucklow First and Middle Schools with friend Richard Hawley. They would later play together as members of Pulp. He studied at Hinde House Comprehensive in Sheffield before moving to London in 1988 to pursue an interest in filmaking. He graduated from London's Royal College of Art, in 1992, MA Film.

Pulp

Joining Pulp in 1988, he played on Separations, released on Fire Records. He continued to write, record and tour with the band as they found success in the 1990s. He performed on all subsequent albums recorded including Intro, His 'n' Hers, Different Class, This Is Hardcore and We Love Life.

Further career

Forming a songwriting / production partnership with Ross Orton (known as Cavemen) he met Maya Arulpragasam (M.I.A.) and co-wrote and produced "Galang" and "Sunshowers" which led to MIA securing a deal with Interscope Records and releasing "Arular". They worked together again on "Bird Flu" from her subsequent album Kala. Mackey and Orton continued to produce and remix for artists including Kelis, Arcade Fire, Cornershop, The Kills and The Horrors. Mackey also produced The Long Blondes debut album Someone to Drive you Home and the first release of Florence and the Machine, "Kiss With a Fist". During this period he continued to record and tour with Jarvis Cocker in 2006 for his debut solo album for Rough Trade Records (Jarvis) and in 2008 began work on the follow up release.

Other projects

In 2005 Mackey played a cameo role as one of The Weird Sisters, rock band in the film of Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. The fictitious group also featured Johnny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. In 2006, Mackey and Cocker curated an acclaimed 2 CD Compilation called The Trip featuring music from various eras including Moondog, Carl Orff, The Birthday Party, The Fall and the theme to Radio 4's Shipping Forecast. Mackey co-curated the music program of London's annual Frieze International Art Fair from 2003 to 2008 which included performances from Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sunn O))), Glenn Branca, and Rodney Graham. Working together with his girlfriend Katie Grand he also collaborated during this period on many fashion related projects with designers including Miuccia Prada and Marc Jacobs.

He lives in London with his son, Marley (born 1996) and girlfriend, Katie Grand.

Discography

With Pulp

Studio albums

• Separations (1991)
• His 'n' Hers (1994) (#9 UK, Gold)
• Different Class (1995) (#1 UK, 4x Platinum)
• This Is Hardcore (1998) (#1 UK, #114 US, Gold)
• We Love Life (2001) (#6 UK, Silver)

Compilations

• Intro - non-album singles compilation (1993)
• Countdown 1992-1983 - compilation of tracks from the Fire/Red Rhino era (1996) #10 UK
• Pulp Goes to the Disco (1998)
• Freshly Squeezed... the Early Years - North-American release (1998)
• Primal: The Best of the Fire Years 1983-1992 (1998)
• Pulped 1983-1992 - four-CD box set, featuring the first three albums, plus Masters of the Universe (2000)
• Hits - official greatest hits compilation (2002) #71 UK
• The Peel Sessions (2006) - compilation of all the Peel sessions from Pulp

UK singles

Singles

Steve Mackey has also appeared on the following albums as a musician:

• Various Artists - See You Later Agitator (compilation, 1987)

• Trolley Dog Shag, : "(This is) The Business Boys" 1987

• Marianne Faithfull - Kissin' Time (2002)

• Track: "Sliding through Life on Charm"

• Various Artists - The Last Great Wilderness Soundtrack (2003)

• With band The Nu Forest, track: "I Picked a Flower" (also released as a single)

• Various Artists - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Soundtrack (2005)

• With band The Weird Sisters, tracks: "Do the Hippogriff", "This is the Night", "Magic Works"

• Various Artists - Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys (compilation, 2006)

• With artist Jarvis Cocker, track: "A Drop of Nelson's Blood"

• Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis (2006)
• Jarvis Cocker' - Further Complications (2009)

As songwriter/producer

Steve Mackey has appeared on the following albums as a Producer:

• Marianne Faithfull - Kissin' Time (2002)

• Track: - "Sliding Through Life on Charm" (with Jarvis Cocker)

• M.I.A. - Arular (2005)

• Tracks: "Sunshowers" and "Galang" (both with Ross Orton and Maya Arulpragasam)

• M.I.A. - Kala (2007)

• Tracks: "Bird Flu" (with Ross Orton )

• Bromheads Jacket""- Dits from the Commuter Belt (2006)

With Ross Orton

• Ultra Brain - Neo Punk (2006)

With Ross Orton

• The Long Blondes"" - Someone to Drive You Home (2006)
• Florence and the Machine - "Kiss With a Fist"

As remixer

Steve Mackey has remixed the following tracks (among others):

• Looper - Up a Tree Again (The Chocolate Layers' St John's Ambulance mix)

Appears on: Looper - Who's Afraid of Y2K? / Up a Tree Again single (1999)

• Black Box Recorder - The Facts Of Life (The Chocolate Layers' Remix)

Appears on: Black Box Recorder - The Art Of Driving single (2000) and The Worst of Black Box Recorder (compilation, 2001)

• Death in Vegas - Dirge (Cossack apocalypse mix by the Chocolate Layers)

Appears on: Death in Vegas - Dirge promo single (2000)

• The White Sport - Complete Control (King Precare Mix by Two Desperate People) (Jarvis Cocker)

Appears on: The White Sport - Complete Control single (2002)

• Cornershop - Topknot (Cavemen Remix)

Appears on: Cornershop - Topknot single (2004)

• M.I.A. - Galang (Cavemen Remix)

Appears on: M.I.A. - Galang single (2004)

• M.I.A. - Bird Flu (Cavemen Remix)

Appears on: M.I.A. - Kala album (bonus track) (2007)

• Budnubac - Indestructible (Cavemen's 'Insecure' Mix)

Appears on: Budnubac - Indestructible single (2004)

• Dark Globe - Break My World (Break My Bones Mix - Steve Mackey and The Fat Truckers)

Appears on: Dark Globe - Break My World single (2004)

• The Kills - Love is a Deserter (Cavemen Remix)

Appears on: The Kills - Love Is A Deserter single (2005)

• Death from Above 1979 - Romantic Rights (Cavemen's Death From The Inside Remix)

Appears on: Death from Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm A Machine album (2005)

• The Perceptionists' - Party Hard (Cavemen Remix)

Appears on: The Perceptionists - Party Hard promo single (2005)

• Archie Bronson Outfit - Dead Funny (Cavemen Remix)

Appears on: Archie Bronson Outfit - Dead Funny single (2006)

• Kelis - Bossy (Cavemen Remix)

Appears on: Kelis - Bossy single (2006)

• ""The Horrors"" - "She is The New Thing"

Notes:

• The Chocolate Layers remixes are by Steve Mackey and Jarvis Cocker
• The Cavemen remixes are by Steve Mackey and Ross Orton

References