[1] Steadman was born in Chiswick, London, and brought up in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
He was a pupil at Richard Aldworth School, before studying on the Pre-Professional Music Course at Cricklade College, Andover.
He read music at Keble College, Oxford, graduating in 1986.
While much of his output has been written for amateurs and young musicians he has also written several pieces of music for the percussionist Evelyn Glennie,[2] for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, for the London Brass Virtuosi, for saxophonist Sarah Field and for the East of England Orchestra (now Sinfonia ViVA).
[3] He has also written many chamber music pieces, including those for the Holywell Ensemble.