Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel were a UK rock band from the early 1970s. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock, and while they were contemporary with the glam rock period, their music is not truly classifiable a

Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel were a UK rock band from the early 1970s. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock, and while they were contemporary with the glam rock period, their music is not truly classifiable as such.

Steve Harley was born as Steve Nice in February 1951 in London, growing up in New Cross. His musical career began in the late 1960s when he was busking, performing his own songs, some of which were later recorded by him and the band. The original Cockney Rebel were put together in 1972, consisting of drummer Stuart Elliot, bassist Paul Jefferies, violinist Jean Paul Croker, and keyboardist Milton Reames James. They were signed to EMI after playing just 5 gigs. Their first single Sebastian, a soaring rock epic, was an immediate success in Europe, though failed to chart in the UK. Their first album, The Human Menagerie, was released in 1973.