[3] Steve Harley grew up in London's New Cross area and attended Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Boys' School.
[4] After an initial stint as a journalist,[4] Harley hooked up with his former folk music partner, Crocker (fiddle / mandolin / guitar) in 1972 to form the original Cockney Rebel.
[5][6] Crocker had just finished a short stint with Trees and they advertised and auditioned drummer Stuart Elliott, bassist Paul Jeffreys, and guitarist Nick Jones.
This line-up played one of the band's first gigs at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London on 23 July 1973, supporting the Jeff Beck Group.
[5] Harley himself was much written about in the musical press, and the other members began to consider themselves regarded and treated as sidemen rather than co-equals, so there was tension in the band even as they were having a big hit with their second single, "Judy Teen".
[8] Harley's next appearance on BBC Television's Top of the Pops, under his own name, was supported by session musicians including Francis Monkman, and B.
This included the track "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" which became a UK number one single in February 1975, and was the band's biggest selling hit.
[13] After 1975, Harley struggled to match the success of "Make Me Smile" and faded from fame, and Cockney Rebel eventually disbanded.
Harley released two failed solo albums in the late 1970s; 1978's Hobo with a Grin which featured the two singles "Roll the Dice" and "Someone's Coming", and 1979's The Candidate.
[5] After a brief appearance in the 1980s with a song from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera,[7] the 1982 single "I Can't Even Touch You" was released by Harley under the band name, whilst the 1983 minor hit single "Ballerina (Prima Donna)" was also credited to the band on both sides of the vinyl release, although not on the sleeve, where Harley was solely credited.
These concerts were essentially used as Pop Idol style auditions for new band members, in particular a new bassist, lead guitarist, drummer, and violinist.
[16] In 2016, the newly reestablished Chrysalis Records, now owned by Blue Raincoat Music, announced that it had acquired the Cockney Rebel catalogue.
The line-up for the full rock band shows consisted of Harley, Wickens, Lascelles, Gladwell, Elliott, and Harada.
The 2021 shows marked the first time this line-up toured together (having only previously played festivals in 2016), as well as Gladwell's full-time return to the band, having stood in sporadically for Paul Cuddeford on a handful of occasions between 2017 and 2020.
(A Live Set) album was put together, featuring Lascelles on percussion, Gladwell on lead guitar, Wickens on violin/guitar, and Anderson on double bass.
Between 2010 and 2019 these concerts were revived as a 3-man line-up, with Harley alongside Wickens and Lascelles (this time on keyboards and percussion, as per his role in the full rock band shows).
In 2007, the song "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" was used by the Norwegian national lottery Norsk Tipping in a popular TV commercial in Norway.
Original keyboardist, Reame-James, had since joined with James Staddon, Phil Beer and Robbie Johnson to create 'Banana Rebel', who have released a CD Top Banana, available from their website.