www.hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire_collection
2011 Begins offering:
• "I Love Songwriting" talks and group sessions for Colleges, Universities and Performing Art Schools
• 1 to 1 Songwriting Tuition
• "Song Surgery" with the Song Doctor
Email steve@stevecoe.com
2004-2009 Steve writes, evolves and directs “By The Way” a film/ art installation/ book project: “A little story about nature, our inner nature, and the nature of change and transformation”
2002 Jakatta (Ministry of Sound) cover Steve’s “Ever So Lonely” – it’s back in the Top 10 (and a No1 dance hit) exactly 20 years after Monsoon.
1991-2001 Steve produces and co-writes Sheila Chandra’s 4 solo voice and drone albums on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label – all of which are Top 10 Billboard World music chart hits in America.
1983-1990 Steve’s fiercely independent Indipop label release Sheila Chandra’s first 5 solo albums (and the compilASIANs). Sheila’s albums enjoy considerable success worldwide – particularly in Scandinavia via the co-operatively run MNW label.
1980-1982 Introduced to the “Golden Age” of Hindi film music (and later Indian classical music) Steve writes and co-produces influential Top 10 band Monsoon. He is one of the first to see the long term potential of the World Music genre.
1969-1979 Co-writes/ arranges/ records over 250 songs in a wide range of styles – ballads, rock, show tunes, disco, concept albums etc. During the 1970’s, Steve studies music composition at college in London, obtains his teaching qualifications, then is contracted as a songwriter to a West End music publisher (Tin Pan Alley style). Learns how to craft and structure a song, how to tailor it to a singer’s requirements, discovering what does and doesn’t sell – and why. This earns Steve the somewhat playful nickname: the “Song Doctor”
Songwriting Credits: Laura Branigan (Stock Aitken Waterman), Jakatta, Puff Daddy, Monsoon, Sheila Chandra, RMB, Francis Rossi (Status Quo), Ganges Orchestra, Colin Blunstone(Zombies), Pan’s People, Dan McCafferty (Nazareth),Sylvia Love, Imagined Village, Complex, Iris Williams, Lesley Duncan, East West, Ellie Warren, Dario G.
Listen to Sheila Chandra song clips at: www.amazon.co.uk
For background information on the albums go to: www.sheilachandra.com
STEVE COE BACKGROUND OVERVIEW
Over the last 30+ years, Steve has worn many hats on his journey through the music business – songwriter, keyboard player in a gigging band, record producer, small label boss, music publisher (Occasionally wearing all of these hats at the same time!)
He has worked with the major multinational labels as well as the independents and has achieved many chart successes in the UK, Europe and USA – the world’s toughest and most lucrative market.
Throughout the ups and downs of these 30+ years, Steve’s songwriting has underpinned every musical venture.
As someone once said: “There is no music business without songwriters!
1970’s
Steve wrote and produced records in a wide variety of styles throughout this period – ballads, disco, M.O.R., film music, pop/rock, show songs etc.
As part of a contracted songwriting team he was always working – fortunate to have so many opportunities to hone his songwriting skills and develop his ‘musical apprenticeship’. Throughout the 1970’s he had pushed himself hard, but major chart success still eluded him.
1980’s
Steve took a sabbatical in 1979, during which time he was by chance introduced to some beguilingly beautiful Hindi film music. It was love at first listen!
He soon became passionate about the potential for Indian influenced pop music (Asian fusion or Indipop) and guided his group, Monsoon, into the mainstream charts in 1982 with singer Sheila Chandra.
It was a distinctive sound with social significance. For a time, Sheila and Steve became unofficial cultural ambassadors for India – appearing on Top of the Pops one evening, the next attending a function at the Indian High commission!
Throughout the 1980’s, Steve’s Indipop label released 5 Sheila Chandra solo albums and also put together 4 CompilASIAN albums representing other groups and artists now emerging in this embryonic musical genre. Steve visited India’s music recording centres. Mumbai and Chennai – as a guest several times.
The Indipop label and music publishing company quickly evolved into a fiercely independent cottage – industry style outfit to protect their artistic vision (they even had their own in-house recording studio set-up, until 1985)
In the mid 1980’s Steve and Sheila then took a sabbatical (which ended up taking 4 years!) leaving their Scandinavian license, MNW Records, to continue pressing and distributing.
During this ‘downtime’, Laura Branigan had a worldwide hit with one of Steve’s songs “Shattered Glass” from the 1970’s.
1990’s
The main audience for Sheila Chandra’s albums was America (75% of sales) Peter Gabriel’s New Real World label releases were also strongest in America and they had Virgin/EMI’s pressing, distribution and marketing.
So, throughout the 1990’s, Sheila licensed her 4 solo voice and drone albums to Real World (Steve co-wrote and produced.) It was an enormously successful time – both artistically, critically and financially for all concerned.
“World Music” was expanding exponentially. Also Virgin/EMI licensed Sheila’s 5 Indipop albums from the 1980’s.
Working under the prestigious auspices of Peter Gabriel and his Real World label was a great experience – an influential, pioneering, wealthy superstar known throughout the world for his music integrity and artistic vision. In many ways it was an echo of the early 1970’s Progressive Rock era where (generally) the artist/group were allowed to pursue their musical vision in the studio without interference. Then the label concentrated on the business side – pressing, distributing and marketing. By and large peter Gabriel was able to offer his signed artists win-win!
As a bonus for Sheila and Steve, in 1997 RMB – an established dance outfit – sampled one of Sheila and Steve’s songs and had a trans-European chart hit with the track.
It was time for another sabbatical!
2000’s
The dawning of a new Millennium brought with it many surprises, changes and new challenges for Steve.In 2001 Sheila signed her 6th and last album to Indipop (recorded with Steve’s enigmatic, occasional band The Ganges Orchestra.) Then Puff Daddy surreally chose to use one of Sheila and Steve’s non-lyric ethereal compositions on his multi-platinum album “Forever.”
In 2002, the pop/dance outfit Jakatta had a Top 10 hit with a new version of Steve’s “Ever so lonely”, back in the Top 10 bizarrely 20 years after Monsoon’s 1982 hit. Later that year there was a tremendous boost for the back catalogue when Sheila’s beautiful vocals were featured on Lord of the Rings “Two Towers.”
In 2003 Steve went to live in Berlin for a year – a new landscape of artistic possibility – and spent big chunks of the next 4 years on a beautiful, somewhat eccentric, highly autobiographical art film called
“By The Way.”...
“A little film about nature, our inner nature and the nature of change and transformation.” (Steve is delighted with the result!)
After a few years (2008/9) spent chilling out by the seaside in N.W. England, Steve will begin 2010’s writing a book called “I Love Songwriting” and preparing to give talks on the same topic to schools, colleges and universities in N.W. England.
He is still writing lyrics and enjoying his role as a Song Doctor.
See below for some useful links: