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Steve Cradock | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Stephen Cradock |
Also known as | Steve Cradock |
Born | Solihull, West Midlands, England | 22 August 1969
Genres | Britpop, rock, mod revival, ska |
Occupation | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, piano, vocals, bass guitar [1] |
Website | www |
Stephen Cradock (born 22 August 1969) is an English guitarist, most notable for playing in the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. Cradock also plays the guitar in Paul Weller's band, having appeared on all of Weller's solo records following his self-titled debut solo album. [2] Cradock began playing lead guitar for British ska band The Specials in 2014.
Cradock's playing style has been described as having a "distinctive retro sound". [3] Cradock's influences include The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Cradock, also known as Fanny or Chopper, also plays keyboards, bass guitar and drums.
Cradock was born in Solihull, West Midlands; his father Chris Cradock, a police officer, would later become his son's manager. He was educated at Lode Heath School in Solihull.[ citation needed ]
Cradock formed his first band called The Boys in 1988, with schoolfriends from Solihull. The band played at various mod events around the Midlands with a set consisting mainly of cover songs. Whilst gaining popularity on the Birmingham gig circuit, the band was well received by audiences in various other towns, including London and Bournemouth, and the band released their first three-track EP, Happy Days, on their own label, and the band contributed to a compilation album by the London-based label Unicorn with their song "Going Out". This was followed by the peak of the band's career–a support slot for Steve Marriott at the Irish Centre in Digbeth.[ citation needed ]
In the late 1980s Cradock met his idol and future mentor, Paul Weller. Despite catching the attention of Polydor and CBS, the band dissolved and Cradock proceeded to form Ocean Colour Scene with Simon Fowler, Damon Minchella and Oscar Harrison.[ citation needed ]
Cradock formed Ocean Colour Scene in 1989 with Fowler, Minchella and Harrison after the dissolution of both The Boys and The Fanatics. In 1991 Cradock returned to Weller's London studio with Ocean Colour Scene; Cradock and Weller became friends and Ocean Colour Scene were soon invited to tour with Weller. [4] Within two years of being signed, the band released their debut LP, Ocean Colour Scene , on Fontana Records. Whilst they gained some popularity, the band felt their potential had not been reached. Following Cradock's first full tour with Paul Weller, he self-funded the production of the band's second LP Moseley Shoals .
OCS signed to MCA Records in 1995, and Moseley Shoals sold over 3,000,000 copies worldwide.[ citation needed ]
Cradock joined Weller's band in 1992, having supported him with Ocean Colour Scene. Cradock has appeared on all studio albums by Weller, playing the guitar and other instruments. For the album 22 Dreams , Cradock co-wrote the tracks "Night Lights", "111" and "Song for Alice". [5] In 1999, Weller presented Cradock with a Rickenbacker guitar for his 30th birthday. This guitar can be heard on Ocean Colour Scene's "Free My Name" single from A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad . [6] Weller and Cradock still continue their musical partnership, joining forces whenever Weller takes to the road. Cradock is also credited with co-writing the track "Drifters" on the 2012 release Sonik Kicks [ citation needed ] – an album that reached no.1 in the UK albums chart. He also took to the stage with Weller to perform tracks from this album for five nights at London's Roadhouse in March 2012. A version of Cradock's "Lay Down Your Weary Burden" (from his 2011 album Peace City West) featured on Weller's 2012 EP When Your Garden's Overgrown.
Cradock announced on the Ocean Colour Scene website that he had begun work on a solo album in early 2008, the recording of which took place at Black Barn Studios in Surrey. During a phone interview on BBC Radio Tees in April 2008, Cradock discussed his solo album and disclosed that he plays all the instruments on the album. Occasionally, Cradock performed his own songs during his tour with Weller during their acoustic gigs of 2007 and 2008. The album features Paul Weller and wife Sally Cradock.
The album title was confirmed as The Kundalini Target ; it reached No. 114 in the album charts, 34 in Play.com's charts and 30 in iTunes' charts. [7] [8]
Cradock's second solo album Peace City West was released on Kundalini Music (a label founded by Cradock and his wife) on 4 April 2011 and features collaborations with James Buckley, from the cult TV show The Inbetweeners , Paul Weller, Sally Cradock, Andy Crofts of The Moons and PP Arnold.
This September 2013 release by Steve Cradock was his third solo effort, and also featured his wife Sally on co-production and co-writing.
Released in June 2022, Cradock began recording the first tracks in 2020 at his home studio. The instrumental album has jazz, folk, classical and film soundtrack influences. As well as contributions from Sally Cradock, the track Sarcoline features saxophone by the late Brian Travers of UB40.
Cradock married Sally Edwards, a record promoter for Ocean Colour Scene, in 1996. The couple have two children.[ citation needed ]
Ocean Colour Scene are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums, including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to date.
Moseley Shoals is the second album by the British rock group Ocean Colour Scene which was released during the Britpop era. The album reached #2 in the UK charts, and amassed 92 weeks on chart, making it the band's most successful album in terms of weeks on chart, despite a later album reaching #1.
"The Riverboat Song" is a song by British band Ocean Colour Scene. It is heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin's "Four Sticks", from which it takes its main riff and a number of lyrics. The song is written in 6
4 time.
Simon Geoffrey Fowler is an English singer and acoustic guitarist, best known as the frontman of Ocean Colour Scene.
Steven Douglas White is an English drummer who has worked extensively with Paul Weller and the Style Council among others.
Stanley Road is the third solo studio album by Paul Weller, released by Go! Discs in 1995. The album took its name from the street in Woking where Weller grew up. Weller's cover version of the song "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" was featured in the series ending montage of The Wire's fourth series end, Final Grades.
Michael Talbot is an English keyboardist. He was a co-founder of the Style Council with Paul Weller, and has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and the Bureau.
"The Day We Caught the Train" is a song by British rock band Ocean Colour Scene. The song was released on 3 June 1996 as the third single from their second studio album, Moseley Shoals (1996), and reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, achieving platinum status for sales and streams exceeding 600,000. The single was also released as an acoustic alternative on a second CD, with additional B-sides, one of which "Justine" is a re-recording and had originally appeared on their self-titled debut album, plus Travellers Tune which was on their second album Marchin' Already.
Oscar Lloyd Harrison is a British musician who currently plays drums with Birmingham-based Ocean Colour Scene and the British ska band The Beat. He also plays piano and bass guitar, and occasionally sings lead vocals.
A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad is the seventh studio album by English rock band Ocean Colour Scene. It was originally due to be released in September 2004 but Sanctuary Records requested the band record a live album instead and it was eventually released on 21 March 2005. The album was produced by Dave Eringa and recorded at a hunting lodge near Kirriemuir, Scotland. The album's unusual title was a phrase the band heard on BBC Radio 4 and decided they liked. Critical reception to the album generally agreed that the album would please Ocean Colour Scene fans, although the album charted lower than previous albums at number 30 in the UK album chart compared to number 14 for the previous album North Atlantic Drift.
On the Leyline is the eighth studio album by Ocean Colour Scene. It was released on 30 April 2007 and entered the UK album charts on 6 May 2007, peaking at No.37, lasting only a single week in the top 75.
"The Circle" is a song by English rock band Ocean Colour Scene, released on 16 September 1996 as the fourth single form their second studio album, Moseley Shoals (1996). The song reached number six on the UK Singles Chart the same month. Like the previous single, this single was also released as an acoustic alternative on a second CD with additional B-sides.
"You've Got It Bad" is a song by English rock band Ocean Colour Scene. The song was released as the second single from their second album, Moseley Shoals (1996), on 25 March 1996 and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The single was also released as a demo alternative on a second CD with additional B-sides. In the United States, the song was serviced to alternative radio in August 1996.
"Hundred Mile High City" is a song by British rock band Ocean Colour Scene, taken as the first single from their third studio album, Marchin' Already (1997). The song was released in 1997 and reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's joint most-successful single on the UK Singles Chart and their second-most successful in terms of number of weeks spent in the top 75, staying in for seven weeks. It was also their first single to chart in Ireland and the Netherlands, peaking at numbers 15 and 98, respectively.
"Travellers Tune" is a song by English rock band Ocean Colour Scene. American soul singer P. P. Arnold provides additional vocals on the track. The song was released on 25 August 1997 as the second single from the band's third studio album, Marchin' Already (1997), and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.
"Better Day" is a song by English rock band Ocean Colour Scene. The song was released as the third single from their third studio album, Marchin' Already, on 10 November 1997 and reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.
Dan Sealey is the former session bass guitarist for the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. He was drafted in by the band after Damon Minchella left the band in 2003. Sealey is also in Merrymouth, a folk band with Ocean Colour Scene bandmate Simon Fowler and Adam Barry. Before joining Ocean Colour Scene Sealey was a member of the band Late.
22 Dreams is the ninth solo studio album by Paul Weller. It was released on 2 June 2008.
The Kundalini Target is the debut solo album from Ocean Colour Scene member and Paul Weller collaborator Steve Cradock released in February 2009. The album was recorded by Cradock at Paul Weller's Black Barn recording studio in Surrey with Cradock playing most of the instrumentation on the album with contributions from Paul Weller, backing vocals from Cradock's wife Sally together with additional production by former Talk Talk Bass player Paul Webb. Steve Cradock recently described the genesis of the album as thus: It started with me trying to write a song for my two kids. I wanted to write something that wasn’t too sweet or saccharine and I think I managed that. The album just kind of grew from there The art work was designed by Sally Cradock who also runs the record label and Kundalini Music
Saturday is the ninth studio album by Ocean Colour Scene and first album by the band to be released on the Cooking Vinyl independent record label. The album was produced by Gavin Monaghan, who is also known for his work with Editors, Scott Matthews, Nizlopi and The Twang and engineered by Gazz Rogers. Saturday previously had the working title of 'Blue Sky Drinking' which was changed to 'Rockfield' and again shortly before its release to its eventual name of 'Saturday'. The first single to be released from the album was 'Magic Carpet Days' as a digital download only single, the single failed to chart. Upon its release Saturday débuted and peaked at #35 in the Official UK Album Chart.