Birmingham born Steve Gibbons' first notable group was the Dominettes, which he joined around 1960. Their edgy R & B set, & uncompromising rock & roll attitude (they were sometimes hired to back strippers at some of the seedier joints, and posted advertisements which read "anything considered") gained them a devoted fanbase and a place at the forefront of the city's burgeoning 1960's music scene.

Sometime around 1963 The Dominettes were re-invented as The Uglys, and signed with Polydor, releasing their first original song, 'Wake Up My Mind' in 1965. Before the band's demise in 1968 there were other releases, including a cover of Ray Davies' 'End Of The Season', live appearances on Ready Steady Go!, and a constantly fluctuating line-up, which included Jimmy O'Neill from The Mindbenders and Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg.

In 1969 Gibbons teamed up with guitarist Trevor Burton from The Move, and former Moody Blues singer/guitarist Denny Laine to form a new, but relatively short-lived band, 'Balls'. Following the break up of 'Balls', in 1971 Gibbons returned from London and joined Birmingham's 'Idle Race' - which very soon evolved into The Steve Gibbons Band.


The hard work The Steve Gibbons Band put in touring the pubs & clubs over the next few years paid off in 1975, when a deal with The Who's management company led to their first Polydor album, 'Any Road Up', and an international tour supporting The Who. They went on to share stages with the likes of Little Feat, Lynryd Skynyrd, Nils Lofgren and ELO, and in the early 1980s The Steve Gibbons Band became the first Western rock'n'roll act to be invited to tour in East Germany. A UK Top 10 hit with "Tulane" from their 1977 album 'Rollin' On'" led to more albums in the 80s & 90s, with Polydor and later RCA.

These days Steve continues as ever to tour with his band, as a solo artist, or with pianist Phil Bond, guitarist P.J Wright and Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg and Gerry Conway as 'The Dylan Project', which Gibbons formed at the end of the 1990s to perform classic Bob Dylan songs alongside his own material.

Here's how Steve's live work is summed up by The Musician, Leicester's website:

"If you appreciate really hard, loud rock and roll Steve Gibbons is still your man. A guy who's kept his faith through thick and thin. Having reached his commercial peak in '78 when Tulane reached the Top 10, Steve is still rockin' as hard today. It's hard to define his approach, it's not country, nor blues, nor soul. He builds things consistently throughout his set, reaching high points that are all the more effective and satisfying for that. Virtually every other band on the planet could learn a lesson from his approach. His group specialises in slow burn rather flash fire and can put a pitbull sized bite onto a groove like say, Little Feat, The Meters or going back even further, The Coasters."
Gibbon's most recent work, 'Chasing Tales' (RGF/SGCD 067), recorded in Bob Lamb's Birmingham studio, was released by RGF Records in 2008.

http://www.stevegibbonsband.com