Steve Harley (check!)or rather Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nicewas professionally active from 1972 until the end of last year – then he revealed that he was fighting cancer and had to concentrate on treatment.
“We are devastated to announce that our wonderful husband and father passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side,” a statement on social media read. “The birds from his forest, which he loved so much, sang for him. His house was filled with the sounds and laughter of his four grandchildren,” write his loved ones.
“Whoever he was, his heart exuded only the basic elements. Passion, kindness, generosity. And much more, in abundance. We know that people around the world will miss him desperately and we ask that you respect our privacy in mourning,” they conclude the post.
Steve Harley was a member of the band Cockney Rebel, important on the British rock scene in the years 1972-1977. They were especially popular in the early 1970s, they performed music on the border between pop and progressive rock. As many as five of their albums landed on the British charts – as many as 12 of the singles were also listed on the charts.
The group returned to the stage permanently in 1996, as Harley’s solo project, and toured again. In 2005 she released an album “The Quality of Mercy”.
They had hits including: “JudyTeen”, “Mr. Soft”, as well as the famous cover of “Here Comes The Sun”. “I was in the hospital from February ’63 to December, and that year the Beatles exploded, the Stones exploded, and Dylan imploded,” he once told Songwriter magazine. Just because of creativity Bob Dylan he realized that what counts in music is not only catchy lyrics, but above all the entire verbal setting. “(He didn’t) destroy the place with his image and rock music, but he proved (something) to all of us who cared about words, not just lyrics.”
He also recalled the special feeling when in 1975 he played the then unreleased song “Make Me Smile” for Dylan. “(…) The then managing director of EMI, Bob Mercer, came to Abbey Road… I said to Bob, ‘Listen to this,’ and he said, ‘Number one.’ I joked, ‘Is that a promise?'” He just repeated it. ‘number one’, so we knew it was something special,” he recalled.