| Steve Priest | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Norman Priest |
| Born | 23 February 1948 |
| Origin | Hayes, Middlesex, England |
| Genres | Glam rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, keyboard, harmonica, singing |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Website | www.thesweetband.com |
Steve Priest (born Stephen Norman Priest, 23 February 1948,[1] Hayes, Middlesex, England[2]) is a founding member and bass player of the glam rock band Sweet.
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Biography
Priest crafted his own homemade bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists such as Jet Harris of The Shadows, The Rolling Stones and The Who.[2]
In January 1968, Priest was invited to form a four piece band with vocalist Brian Connolly, drummer Mick Tucker, and guitarist Frank Torpey — the band that was to become the Sweet.[2]
The Sweet was a band that went through many up and downs. Initially success for the Sweet came from 1971 onwards, after the band teamed up with songwriters Chinn and Chapman. However the Sweet would pen a number of their own hits, with Steve Priest often directly backing up Brian Connollys vocals. After Brian Connolly left the Sweet in early 1979, it was Steve Priest that took over the majority of vocal duties for the band. This continued until 1982, when the original Sweet disbanded. After this, Steve Priest moved to New York and then remarried, after divorcing his first British wife of the 70's.
He then married his current wife Maureen, who was then a publicist for Capitol Records. In New York City, he then formed a band called The Allies, with guitarist Marco Delmar and drummer Steve Missal. Success was elusive, although their composition "Talk To Me" was featured in a movie called "Fast Food."
Invited in 1985, by former bandmate, Andy Scott to reform the Sweet, Steve Priest declined, citing the financial returns as being poor and the need to be near his family in the USA. It was during this time that Steve Priest moved from New York City, to Los Angeles.
During this period, Steve had largely reverted to private life, but made occasional forays into production and session work, as well as collaborations with other artists such as David Arkenstone and future band mate, Stuart Smith.
Steve Priest did however go into a demo session with the other members of the original Sweet in 1988, with record producer Mike Chapman producing, to see if a studio album and reformation could take place. This ended up taking place in Los Angeles. It is rumoured that the US record company MCA were interested at the time. However the band members were unable to come to any agreement and the project failed.
However, despite the difficulties of the late 70's, Steve Priest would still continue to be a friend to former Sweet lead singer Brian Connolly, who was by now,in bad health.
In 1994, Priest published his autobiography, Are You Ready Steve?, and in 2006, he released a CD entitled Priest's Precious Poems.[2] In January 2008, Priest re-formed the Sweet.[2]
The reformed Sweet band has played mainly venues in the US and they have continued to play right across America during 2009, due to the bands ongoing popularity. The band has also released a live CD, which was released during late 2008. Steve Priest has invisaged in the possible near future, a DVD release also.
Priest lives with his family in La Canada Flintridge, California.[2]
Steve Priest Lead Vocals in Sweet
- Chop-Chop, 1971
- Restless,1974
- No You Don't,1974
- Miss Demeanour,1974
- My Generation,1974
- Hard Times,1977
- California Nights,1978
- Call Me, 1979
- Stay With Me, 1979
- Why Don't You, 1979
- Big Apple Waltz,1979
- Diskofony, 1979
- Yesterday's Hero, 1979
- Why Don't You Do It To Me, 1979
- Oh Yeah,1980
- Give The Lady Some Respect, 1980
- Tall Girls, 1980
- Getting In The Mood For Love,1980
- Water's Edge,1980
- Sixties Man,1980
- Hot Shot Gambler,1980
- Identity Crisis,1982
- New Shoes,1982
- Two Into One, 1982
- Love Is The Cure, 1982
- Hey Mama,1982
- Falling In Love,1982
- I Wish You Would, 1982
- Strange Girl, 1982
- Stairway to the Stars , 1974
- She Gimme Lovin , 1977
- Mother Earth , 1979
- Tell the Truth , 1980
- Tank You for Loving Me , 1980
- Hard Times , 1977
References
- ^ "Steve Priest". TheSweet.com. 2008. http://www.thesweet.com/steve.html. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ a b c d e f "Steve Priest". Steve Priest's SweetBand. 2008. http://www.thesweetband.com/steve.html. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
External links
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