‘He toured until he could tour no more’
SINGER Steve Harley has died at 73 just a month after he cancelled his tour to get cancer treatment.
He fronted 70s glam rockers Cockney Rebel, best-known for their 1975 smash Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me). Harley died at his Suffolk home yesterday surrounded by his family. His daughter Greta said: “The birdsong from his woodland that he loved so much was singing for him. “His home has been filled with the sounds and laughter of his four grandchildren. “He will be desperately missed by people all over the world.”
In February Steve’s social media said: “Due to treatment for cancer, Steve cannot commit to any concerts in 2024.”
He was forced late last year to cancel the Steve Harley Acoustic Band shows. At Christmas he said: “I’m fighting a nasty cancer. My oncologist is pleased with the treatment’s effects so far. “It’s tiresome, and tiring. But the fight is on. And thankfully the cursed intruder is not affecting the voice. I sing and play most evenings.” Sir Rod Stewart said: “Absolutely devastated, words fail me. The Cockney Rebel has left us.
“Loved you and admired you Steve and always will.”
Band Aid and Ultravox star Midge Ure said: “Steve Harley was a true ‘working musician’. He toured until he could tour no more, playing his songs for fans old and new. Our songs live on longer than we ever can.”
Boxer Frank Bruno posted a video of Harley’s Make Me Smile, writing: “RIP Steve Harley – loved this song and the feel-good factor to it.”
Steve’s early work was in folk music performing alongside John Martyn and Ralph McTell before Cockney Rebel, which formed in 1972.
The release of 1974’s Mr Soft boosted their popularity before the chart-topping Make Me Smile the following year sold more than a million copies. He returned to the charts in 1986 with Sarah Brightman on the title track of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom Of The Opera.
From 1999 to 2008 he presented the BBC Radio 2 show Sounds of the 70s and in 2009 was recognised for his charity work.
He is survived by wife Dorothy and children Kerr and Greta.