Cockney Rebel

A former journalist, Steve Harley took Cockney Rebel to the top of the charts all over the world with the infectiously seductive Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) in 1975, although there were plenty more where that came from to make Cockney Rebel one of the biggest British bands of the 1970s. They were closely aligned to the glam rock era, although Harley himself - who suffered from polio and spent four years in hospital as a child - pursued a defiantly individual approach, often irritating the music press with an attitude widely perceived as arrogance. His music career began busking in a duo with violinist John Crocker, going on to play folk clubs and bars, before the two of them formed Cockney Rebel together in 1972. Advertising for other musicians, they were joined by Stuart Elliott (drums), Paul Jeffreys (bass) and Nick Jones (guitar), playing their first gig at The Roundhouse supporting the Jeff Beck Group. Abandoning electric guitar, they achieved some success in Europe (though not the UK) with their first single Sebastian and debut album The Human Menagerie the following year cemented their growing following and reputation. Second single Judy Teen was a major hit, followed by a best-selling album The Psychomodo and another hit with Mr Soft. Crocker quit to concentrate on bluegrass music and Harley and Elliott were the only remaining originals when Harley wrote the upbeat Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) as a riposte to the band members he thought had abandoned him. From the album The Best Years Of Our Lives, it was a smash all over the world. Other hits followed, including Mr Raffles, Black Or White and (I Believe) Love's A Prima Donna, but - by now virtually a solo project - they were re-branded as Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel. However, they never replicated the huge success of the mid-1970s, although Make Me Smile remains popular having been featured in TV ads. Harley went on to a long-lasting solo career, occasionally re-forming Cockney Rebel for occasional tours.

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