Talk:Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

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I really love Harley's music, but there's no doubt that the guy has (or had) a big fat ego, and it's his own worst enemy. If it's true that the lyrics to Make Me Smile are "vindictively directed at former members whom he felt had abandoned him", it's a bit rich considering that he treated them like shit at the time and virtually drove them away! Still, that's not to deny his talent, and I'm sure many people at that age find talent and sudden fame hard to handle. Mind you, I saw him on the '92 tour, and he was still an arrogant tit, high as a kite on stage, and went off on a long self-indulgent tangent doing a Bob Dylan song (Mr Tambourine Man) which I wasn't even sure was rehearsed - the band seemed to reluctantly go along with it. He also harangued the audience repeatedly for shouting out song titles, especially 'Make Me Smile', and told us 'it wasn't a fucking folk club!' (I bootlegged that gig on DAT if anyone's interested). However, on seeing them again in 2001, it seemed as if a little humility had finally caught up with him, and he was in far, far better shape, both musically and in terms of his stage presence. The songs were showcased for what they were without any hype, and the effect was stunning. It was one of the few times in my life I was moved to tears by music of this kind. It seems such a shame that their early promise wasn't allowed to be realised, and I think Harley has paid for it over and over again since. Maybe he finally realises it himself. Anyway, rock on Steve, still love the music anyway. Graham 11:49, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

If I remember rightly the Glam rock era had pretty much run out of steam by the time Harley became big, and it was more the punk era that saw him off for a while. PS if you bootlegged a gig don't let SH find out(!)Britmax 14:02, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

I saw him on stage in the acoustic tent at Glastonbury a few years ago. It's interesting to read Graham's experience at a gig. When I saw him, he certainly seemed a bit distant from the band, and my main thoughts were that the modern songs weren't performed with any passion - it was as though he didn't think much of them himself. But his acoustic version of Psychomodo was absolutely stunning. On the point about his humility, I've read (though I can't remember where) that he's an active member of the community of his local church which, it would be nice to think, suggests that he is one of the good guys, even if he knows it! ;-) – Kieran T ^{(talk | contribs)} 19:02, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Actually now you come to mention it I did see a TV documentary a few years ago where he was banging on about how he'd found religion, etc. I was a bit dismayed as I can't stand godbotherers, but thankfully he doesn't seem to have mentioned it since. Who knows, maybe it has had a positive effect, though for my money he could have done it without bringing god into it. Oh well. Graham 14:03, 4 July 2006 (UTC)