David "Shuffle" Steele (born 8 September 1960) is an English
musician who was a member of
the Beat and
Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled 1985 ...
.
Career
He was born in
Cowes,
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
.
From 1978 to 1983, Steele was
bassist in the
2 Tone
Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to:
Audio and sound
* Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement
* Two-tone attention signal
* Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell
* Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
revival band
the Beat, (known in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
as
the English Beat
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
). After
Ranking Roger
Roger Charlery (21 February 1963 – 26 March 2019), known professionally as Ranking Roger,Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th Edition'', Canongate, , p. 72Huey, Steve " Ranking Roger Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 17 Febru ...
and
Dave Wakeling
David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public.
Career
Wakeling began his professional career ...
left the Beat to form
General Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlic ...
, Steele and guitarist
Andy Cox recruited singer
Roland Gift to form
Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled 1985 ...
, whose career lasted into the early 1990s. In 1988, while FYC were on hiatus, Cox and Steele released the instrumental
house music single, "Tired of Getting Pushed Around", under the name of Two Men, a Drum Machine and a Trumpet. It reached No. 18 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. That same year, they also collaborated with
Wee Papa Girl Rappers
Wee Papa Girl Rappers were a British female rap duo, that found chart success in the late 1980s. They were twin sisters Sandra and Samantha Lawrence.
Overview
Before being signed to Jive Records, the two sisters were backing singers for Fear ...
on the single "Heat It Up" which reached No. 21.
Steele's bass lines in the Beat took the
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n style of ska and added a harder,
punk rock-influenced style. The Beat song, "
Mirror in the Bathroom
"Mirror in the Bathroom" is a single by British ska band the Beat released as a single in 1980 from their debut album '' I Just Can't Stop It''. It reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and consequently was their highest charting release i ...
", is largely built on top of the driving, eighth-note bass line that runs through the entire song.
Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled 1985 ...
had a more soulful, and sometimes electronic sound, and Steele's bass lines were less prominent in the outfit.
Steele has
co-written songs for both the Beat and Fine Young Cannibals, most notably "
She Drives Me Crazy
"She Drives Me Crazy" is a song by English group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 as the first single from their second and final album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989). Peaking at No. 5 on the British singles chart in January 1989, it ...
", "
Good Thing" and "
I'm Not the Man I Used to Be
"I'm Not the Man I Used to Be" is a song by British pop- rock band Fine Young Cannibals. It was released as the fourth single from the band's 1988 album '' The Raw & the Cooked''. The song reached the top 40 charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, A ...
".
After the end of his work with Fine Young Cannibals, Steele went on to play a variety of other roles in the
music industry. He co-produced two tracks on
Gabrielle's album ''
Find Your Way
''Find Your Way'' is the debut album by English R&B singer Gabrielle. It was released in 1993 and features her UK number one single, "Dreams", along with three further UK Top 40 singles; " Going Nowhere", I Wish" and " Because of You". The al ...
'', which reached No. 8 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
in 1993,
as well as the soundtrack to the film ''
The Truth About Cats & Dogs'' in 1996. He has appeared on more than two dozen other albums, most commonly as a backing vocalist, but also as a guitarist, drummer and
mixer.
In summer 2004, he released the album ''
Fried'', on which he collaborated with the
vocalist, Jonte Short. The album was a mix of
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
,
funk and
R&B. Fried signed to
Sony BMG and their album was re-packaged and re-released with a modified tracklisting and running order, including some 3 new tracks replacing the last 2 of the original tracks, as the album ''Things Change'', released in 2007.
Steele spent some time living in the
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...
of
, but now resides in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
See also
*
List of bass guitarists
The following is a list of notable electric bass guitar players. The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. Since the 1950s, the electric bas ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, David
1960 births
Living people
English record producers
English session musicians
English songwriters
20th-century English bass guitarists
English rock bass guitarists
Male bass guitarists
The Beat (British band) members
Fine Young Cannibals members
People from Cowes
Musicians from the Isle of Wight
English ska bass guitarists
English new wave musicians