This created space for him to embellish the songs with volume swells, pickup changes, the tremolo arm on his guitar as well as reverb and delay to add dynamics.
[4] Connolly was briefly a member of successive bands, Rare Things (1981–1982), Sex Flintstones (1982) and Yo Rinnie (1983) before he joined rock and country music group, the Zimmermen in July 1983.
[7] They had been formed a month earlier by Tim Brosnan on guitar (ex-Millionaires, True Wheels, Romantics, Paul Kelly and the Dots), John Dowler on lead vocals (ex-Spare Change, Young Modern, Glory Boys, Talk Show), Mick Holmes on guitar and backing vocals (ex-Negatives, Eric Gradman: Man & Machine, Romantics, Paul Kelly and the Dots, Fatal Attraction), Peter "Pedro" Steele on bass guitar (ex-Fatal Attraction), and Trevor Upton on drums (ex-Lipservice, Fatal Attraction).
[5][10][12] Connolly and Barclay were founding members of Kelly's new backing group, the Coloured Girls alongside Michael Armiger on bass guitar, Peter Bull on keyboards and Chris Coyne on saxophone.
Returning to Sydney they asked Jon Schofield (The Chinless Elite, The Stepfords, The Wetsuits, The Bum Steers, Grooveyard, Hell to Pay) to join the band as bassist (originally a guitarist) and [5][10][11] from March to May 1986 the now four piece Coloured Girls and Paul Kelly recorded Gossip (September 1986), which provided the second single, "Darling It Hurts" (September), and is co-written by Connolly and Kelly.
[10][11] Music journalist, Richard Guilliatt, joined the group's tour of the United States, where they performed as Paul Kelly & the Messengers and promoted the US version of Gossip.
[5][18] Connolly received another song writing credit on Paul Kelly & the Messengers' track, "Leaving Her for the Last Time",[19] which appears on Comedy (1991).
Later groups Connolly joined were Love and Squalor (1991) with John Edwards on drums, Archie Larizza on bass guitar, Steve Lucas and Xanthe (both on vocals).
Steve also formed The Troubles, a folk/rock band which included Deirdre (Dee), Mairead and Shelagh Hannan, Nick Rischbieth and Tom McEwan.
Steve was also seen gigging around Melbourne with Mark Wallace's band Squeezebox Wally (1992) with Arch Cuthbertson on drums and Peter Lawler on bass guitar.
Sherry Valier, ex-Girl Monstar) backing group the Grievous Angels, a "feisty country-rock" band, with Matt Heydon on keyboards (ex-Nick Barker and the Reptiles), Steve Morrison on drums and Doug Lee Robertson on bass guitar (ex-Icecream Hands).
Kelly listed Connolly's influences as, Hubert Sumlin, Brian Wilson, George Jones, the Ramones, Neil Young and Marvin Gaye, he was "soaking up all these opposites to form his own direct, melodic style.
"[23] Kelly praised the album, , "You'll hear a guitar player who didn't like solos, a songwriter who paid attention to details and a singer both innocent and cynical.