Stevie Shears | |
---|---|
Also known as | Steve Shears, Steven Shears [1] |
Born | 1954 or 1955 (sources vary) |
Origin | Dagenham, Essex, England |
Genres | New wave, synthpop, glam rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums |
Years active | 1973–present |
Associated acts | John Foxx, Tiger Lily, Ultravox!, New Men, Cowboys International, Ken Lockie, Faith Global |
Stevie Shears (born 1954/1955) [2] is an English musician known for playing in the rock bands Tiger Lily and Ultravox! (later Ultravox), as well as being part of the bands Faith Global and Cowboys International.
Working in a paint factory [3] and playing in different bands [4] in Dagenham, Essex, he made contact with John Foxx and formed Tiger Lily in 1973 (together with bassist Chris Cross). Later, Tiger Lily changed its name to Ultravox! (later known simply as Ultravox). Between February and March 1978, [5] [6] after releasing with this band the Ultravox! (early 1977) and Ha! Ha! Ha! (1977) albums Shears was replaced by Robin Simon.
After Ultravox!, Shears formed a band with his friend Ice, real name Roland Oxland, bassist of Gloria Mundi. Gloria Mundi and Ultravox! were friends from the UK live music scene. Gloria Mundi featured Eddie Maelov and Sunshine Patterson who, as Eddie & Sunshine, would support Ultravox on their 1981 Rage in Eden tour. Gloria Mundi's saxophonist CC also played on 'Hiroshima Mon Amour' from Ultravox's second album Ha! Ha! Ha! (1977). Later Shears and Jason Guy formed a duo called New Men. This was short-lived, as Shears left to join Cowboys International, in early 1980, replacing Adam Ant's guitarist Marco Pirroni. In 1981 and with Cowboys International dissolved, he collaborated with the band's singer, Ken Lockie, on his solo album, The Impossible.
Shears never having lost contact with Guy, collaborated under the name of Faith Global, and released an EP called Earth Report (1982) and an album called The Same Mistakes (1983) both on Survival Records. Faith Global was short-lived, and these two records remain their only recordings.
As of 2000, he was still playing guitar. [7]
When Ultravox! was Tiger Lily, he used a Gibson SG guitar. [8]
Also while with Ultravox, he played a white Fender Telecaster and a Fender Stratocaster. [9]
With Tiger Lily:
With Ultravox!:
With Cowboys International:
With Ken Lockie:
With Faith Global:
Ultravox were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".
Chris Cross is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the new wave band Ultravox.
John Foxx is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a solo career. Primarily associated with electronic synthesizer music, he has also pursued a parallel career in graphic design and education.
Ha!-Ha!-Ha! is the second album by British pop group Ultravox, at that time known as "Ultravox!", with an exclamation mark, as a nod to Neu!. Although the group would later achieve fame and commercial success with lead singer Midge Ure the band was, in 1977, led by singer/songwriter John Foxx who was accompanied by guitarist Stevie Shears, drummer Warren Cann, bassist Chris Cross and keyboard/violist Billy Currie.
Warren Reginald Cann is a Canadian drummer and drum machine programmer, best known as a member of the British new wave band Ultravox.
Ultravox! is the eponymous debut studio album by British new wave band Ultravox!. It was recorded at Island Studios in Hammersmith, London in the autumn of 1976 and produced by Ultravox! and Steve Lillywhite with studio assistance from Brian Eno. It was released on 25 February 1977 by Island.
Systems of Romance, released on 8 September 1978, is the third album by British new wave band Ultravox. It was the final recording for the group with original lead singer, lyricist and co-composer John Foxx, and their first album without guitarist Stevie Shears, who had left the band. Shears was replaced by Robin Simon, making his first and only appearance on an Ultravox album. Though not a commercial success, Systems of Romance had a significant influence on the electropop music that came after it.
Cowboys International were a new wave and synthpop band formed by vocalist and songwriter Ken Lockie that put out one album in 1979, the influential The Original Sin, and a handful of 45s before dissolving in 1980.
Ken Lockie is an English singer-songwriter and producer, best known as the creative force behind English new wave band Cowboys International and as a sometime collaborator with John Lydon in Public Image Ltd.
Eddie and Sunshine were an electronic synthpop cabaret duo of the early eighties, comprising Eddie Maelov and Sunshine Patteson, both previously founder members of the punk rock band Gloria Mundi. They released a number of singles and one album, Perfect Strangers, on Human Records and Survival Records and toured in Britain and Europe. They also had their own residency at Raymond's Revue Bar with a show called Living TV, and were special guests on BBC 2's Riverside. Long-term friends of members of the band Ultravox, they supported them on the 1981 Rage in Eden UK and European tours. Their label offered opportunities to Faith Global, Maelov and Gray's friend Steve Shears' (ex-Ultravox) band, and Hard Corps to record some material.
Three into One is the first compilation album from the band Ultravox, released in 1979 in the USA and in June 1980 in the UK. The album is a compilation of songs from their first three albums, Ultravox!, Ha!-Ha!-Ha! and Systems of Romance, and therefore concentrates on the earlier incarnation of the band from the 1970s featuring John Foxx, as opposed to the more recognisable 1980s line-up which featured Midge Ure.
Robin Simon is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage.
Tiger Lily was a short-lived glam rock band and the seed of Ultravox!. It was founded in London in April 1974 by Royal College of Art student Dennis Leigh (vocals), who left his northern industrial environment in Lancashire, Chris St. John (bass), another college student who previously played with Stoned Rose, and Stevie Shears (guitar), a Dagenham based musician. The following month, British-Canadian drummer Warren Cann (drums), who was recently rejected as a band member by Sparks, joined the band, followed by William Currie, named Billy Currie, who was in a theatre band, later in the year.
Faith Global was a synthpop and new wave band composed of Stevie Shears, original Ultravox! guitarist and Jason Guy.
"Young Savage" is the second single by Ultravox!. It was released as a single by Island Records on 28 May 1977, during a time of experimentation to define a new sound for the band, in advance of their second album.
"ROckWrok" is a single by the post-punk band Ultravox!, released on 7 October 1977 by Island Records. It was the last British non-free single released from the Ha! Ha! Ha! album and featuring Stevie Shears as guitarist. The next non-free single was Frozen Ones, released only in Germany shortly afterwards.
Retro was the only EP (7") by Ultravox, then Ultravox!, released on 10 February 1978. It was the last recording released by the band as Ultravox!. Also this was the last disc featuring original guitarist Stevie Shears, who left the band after its release.
The Island Years is a compilation by Ultravox, released in 1999 by PolyGram and Spectrum labels. It contains songs from their three first albums, when John Foxx was the group's vocalist and frontman, and another two guitarists, Stevie Shears and Robin Simon were with them. The album is a compilation of the band's early years, before Midge Ure became a member, and the band scored a number of hits in the 1980s.
Revisited was a compilation by new wave band Cowboys International. It was released in 2003 by Pnuma Records, in USA.
Earth Report is a 12" EP released by new wave band Faith Global on Survival Records in 1982. This was the first disc the band, comprised by multinstrumentalist Stevie Shears and singer Jason Guy, released.