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Steve Swindells | |
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| Born | (1952-11-21)21 November 1952 (age 73) Ipswich, Suffolk, England |
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| Years active | 1973–present |
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Steve Swindells (born 21 November 1952) is an English singer-songwriter, keyboardist,party organizer,club promoter and journalist.
Swindells grew up in the Bath and Bristol area,dropping out of art college to play keyboards with the rock bandSquidd (which was put together by drummer and fantasy artist,Rodney Matthews[1]). Relocating to London in 1973 and living in squats, he recorded his debut solo album,Messages forRCA in 1974. Produced by his manager Mark Edwards, Swindells felt the production quality to be poor, despite the presence of quality musicians.[2] A follow-up albumSwindells' Swallow was recorded, mastered and test pressings manufactured, but the deal fell through.[2]
Departed from his manager, Swindells joinedPilot, recording the 1977 albumTwo's a Crowd. In 1978, he joined a reformedHawkwind, renamed asHawklords, for the25 Years On album and tour.
In 1980, he recorded another solo album,Fresh Blood, released byATCO, but was dropped when it failed to hit sufficient sales,[3] despite reaching No. 3 in the US airplay charts.[citation needed] Swindells would go on contribute songs toRoger Daltrey on "Martyrs and Madmen" and "Treachery" for Daltrey's 1982 compilation albumBest Bits, before temporarily turning his attention away from the music business. In 1983, Swindells switched careers to club promoting and party organising.
In the early 1990s, he decided to re-invent himself as a journalist, writing the internet column forTime Out under the name Spyder for many years, as well as a gadget/lifestyle colourmn forAttitude, before becoming the editor of the magazine's website. Throughout his career changes, Swindells continued to compose and perform music.[citation needed]
In 2003, Swindells played keyboards and sang lead vocals in the band Danmingo together with Jerry Richards,Jon Moss and Winston Blissett. Swindells wrote all of the songs, apart from two band collaborations and one co-write with Stephen Meade (aka Shanks) and the late Kent Brainerd. As of 10 December 2013, Swindells had been number 1 on the Reverb Nation Singer-songwriter Chart For London for several days.[citation needed] He then released the double downloadDanMingo album under his own name.
In 2009, Swindells was instrumental in the formation (or reformation) of theHawklords, a musical collective of ex-Hawkwind members, playing a special show in memory of artistBarney Bubbles. The show was advertised as a benefit concert 'with a view to setting up a foundation/annual award for innovative album cover design, and a memorial plaque for him'.[4] However, there is no evidence that the proceeds of the concert were used for any of these purposes.
In 2010, Hawklords performed a mini tour of the UK. In 2011, the group were active in several appearances across the UK, and a touring line-up underwent a full national tour in October 2011. In 2012, they announced they were working on an album, titledWe Are One. In May 2012, via the band's Facebook page, it was announced that, for health reasons, Swindells would not be participating in the planned 2012 tour and he subsequently terminated his involvement with the band.[citation needed]
Swindells re-discovered two 'lost' albums from 1980:The Invisible Man, andTreachery. They were released on Flicknife Records on 27 February 2012. His 1980 albumFresh Blood was released on CD for the first time with the label Atomhenge/Cherry Red in August 2009.[5] His 1974 albumMessages, along with a bonus CD of the hitherto unreleasedSwindells' Swallow, was re-released by Esoteric Recordings/Atomhenge on 26 November 2009.[6]
Early in 2012, Swindells put together an ad-hoc, 'all star' jamming band called The Plastic Sturgeons. Special guest musicians have includedGuy Pratt and Dale Davis. There have only been two gigs to date which were recorded by Roy Weard. As of 10 December 2013, The Plastic Sturgeons have been number 1 in The Reverb Nation London Jam Chart for several weeks.[citation needed]
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