Steve Gibbons began his professional career as a musician in 1960 when he gave up his job as a plumber’s apprentice to join a band called The Dominettes, later rebranded, The Ugly’s in 1963. The band had some success, regularly filling Birmingham’s bars and coffee shops with their inimitable style.
The band had a rugged appearance and a rebellious attitude, reminiscent of the changing times in the 60s. Their laissez-faire approach was underlined by their band posters, which read - 'anything considered'.
Some time into the name-change The Ugly’s secured their first recording contract and released an original single, ‘Wake Up My Mind’ which was considered ‘before its time’ but made significant headway in Australia, turning up at number 14 in the charts.
Many band changes later, Steve decided to change direction and join the band, Balls for a short time before he became the lead singer of Idle Race, a band that soon became The Steve Gibbons Band.
The band was lauded for their prowess as a live band and their cover of Chuck Berry’s Tulane brought them chart success, reaching number 12 in the UK charts and spending 8 weeks in the Top 40. This brought further attention to the band and they toured some of the leading UK venues.
Gibbons has shared the stage with some of the greatest names in rock history, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Feat, George Harrison, Nils Lofgren and the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). He memorably performed Tulane on the popular MARC TV show, hosted by the late Marc Bolan in 1977.
For some years Steve Gibbons headed up the incredibly well-received Dylan Project which toured the world performing faithful renditions of Bob Dylan’s repertoire in such a way as to make them seem like originals. The concept sounded like a huge tribute act but in fact, it was anything but.
The Dylan Project not only showcased Steve Gibbons’ superb musical talents – as a guitarist and vocalist – but it also illustrated how his appeal to audiences from any era remains undiminished.
Gibbons has increasingly appeared as a solo artist in recent times and has proved popular with a range of audiences, but can appear with a band too.
He appeared on stage in the Brum Rocks Live Show which also featured The Move’s drummer Bev Bevan and the band’s guitarist Trevor Burton. He has become a leading light on the corporate events and wedding entertainment circuits.
