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Stephen Jacob Rowland (born September 3, 1932, inLos Angeles, California)[1] is an Americansinger,columnist,record producer andactor. He grew up inBeverly Hills and now lives inPalm Springs, California.[2] His father isfilm directorRoy Rowland, his mother Ruth was a writer, andLouis B. Mayer was his great-uncle.
In 1950s,Hollywood, he acted in thirty fiveTV shows such asThe Rifleman,Bonanza,Wanted: Dead or Alive and a two-year role inThe Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.Film appearances included co-starring roles inGun Glory withStewart Granger;Crime in the Streets withJohn Cassavetes andSal Mineo, the originalThe Thin Red Line withKeir Dullea andJack Warden,Gunfighters of Casa Grande withAlex Nicol as well asBattle of the Bulge withHenry Fonda; the latter three films shot in Spain.
During the making of five films inSpain, Rowland enjoyed Spanishchart success with the group, Los Flaps. The lure of the excitingBritishmusic scene of theSwinging Sixties brought him toLondon, where he produced thirteenTop Tenhits forDave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. Among those worldwide hits were "Hold Tight", "Zabadak", "Bend It" and "The Legend of Xanadu" (a million sellingUKNumber One).
He also discoveredPeter Frampton andThe Herd, and with "A Way Of Life" had a No. 6UK Singles Charthit with his owngroup,The Family Dogg. He produced hits forP.J. Proby andThe Pretty Things, being responsible for two singles and theEmotions album. In 1970, he produced the albumComing From Reality forRodriguez. Also in 1970, under the name 'Steve & Albert', Rowland joined forces withAlbert Hammond for the single "Follow The Bouncing Ball", which they heavily promoted, particularly in the UK, where they appeared onTop of the Pops andThe Basil Brush Show, but the single failed to chart.[3] In the 1970s, he was awarded agoldalbum andASCAP award for producingJerry Lee Lewis - The Session...Recorded in London with Great Artists. He was also the producer on theThunderthighs U.K. hit single "Central Park Arrest", written byLynsey De Paul[4] and he co-wrote their follow up single "Dracula's Daughter".[5] In the late 1970s, he was creativemanager/A&R forHansa/Ariola, where he discovered and signedThe Cure and signed TheThompson Twins, and handledBoney M andJapan.
In 1988, he ran his owndancelabel Dr. Beat, and later became creative director of Wham Records. Rowland has also written, produced and collated music for the TWI TV seriesHi Five broadcast in thirty eight countries. At the end of 1993 Rowland became a director ofPavilion Studios forming aproduction company working with a number of youngDJs, producers, artistes and programmers. During this time he auditioned and tried to sign the then unknownSpice Girl,Geri Halliwell. In 1995 he becamemanaging director ofMedia Bank UK, aHong Kong–based international production company.
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