Hamilton was born on 24 February 1950 in Dumfries but grew up in Ayr owing to his father's operation of a motor car dealership there.
A later job as a props man at BBC TV in Glasgow brought his voice to the attention of the place's broadcasters who gave him his job at Radio Forth, which he began on 22 January 1975; at this point he changed his name to Steve from Roland James on the grounds that Roland didn't suit a DJ.
In 1977, he joined STV as a newscaster and continuity announcer, remaining with both until 1988, the year in which he took a job narrating Wheel of Fortune.
[3] His final years were spent doing voice-overs for television and radio adverts – at the time of his death he was the voice advertising King Robert II whisky in Mauritius – as an occasional actor (including bit parts Taggart, Take the High Road, and Monarch of the Glen), and training students for broadcasting jobs at a voice-coaching school.
Hamilton was married three times; first to Maggie, his second wife Joan died of breast cancer in 1985, then to Jilly from 1988 until his death on 1 August 2009.