Ste McCabe (from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England) is an English DIY,

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

singer-songwriter, previously based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and later

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland.

Career

McCabe started performing solo in 2006, using only a drum machine and electric guitar as an alternative to a full band. (Previous band Stephen Nancy had existed between 1999 and 2002.) In 2008 he signed to Cherryade Records with whom he released his first official solo EP "Pink Bomb" as a limited-edition CD. His first album, ''Hate Mail'' followed later that year and received favourable reviews from underground/alternative press and mainstream gay media such as ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'', who described McCabe as "armed with a mean, lean, bedroom Disco drum machine, a cheap guitar and his biggest asset; a mind and a loud mouth to speak it." Over the following year McCabe became known as an LGBT rights activist as well as a popular underground musician, performing at events such as London Literature Festival at

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

and

Indietracks Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, UK. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variety of locations, including a restored church, in a train shed, and on ...

Festival in Derbyshire. The same year he joined

Dandelion Radio Dandelion Radio is an internet radio station founded in June 2006 with the aim of pursuing the musical legacy of the popular and influential BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel. The station takes its name from the record label Dandelion Records found ...

as a DJ, playing "leftist, feminist,

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

positive" underground music. McCabe's second album, ''Murder Music'', was released in 2009, and featured a duet with avant-garde performer

David Hoyle David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. He was subsequently featured in ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'', ''

'' and ''

Artrocker Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Machine. Having started life with an online newsletter and eve ...

'' magazine, which in September 2010 featured his open letter to

The Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

protesting against

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

's visit to the UK. He has performed at LGBT rights festivals across Europe such as Noc Walpurgii in Warsaw, Poland and

Gay Pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

2010 in Bristol, England. Ste has received national UK radio play on stations such as BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 1. With the release of his third album, ''Bad Kitty'', he toured Europe again in October and November 2012. McCabe performed onstage with English leftist singer

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in 2013. His final album, ''Brains of Britain'', was released in October 2014 and included a collaboration with Bragg. He promoted the album with a final tour of the US.

Discography

Singles

* "Accessorise" (2011) (Bubblegum Records) * "Ste McCabe/Mayr" split vinyl (2013) (Unrecords)

EPs

* ''Detect and Abort'' (2000) s/with Stephen Nancy* ''No Apologies'' (2002) s/with Stephen Nancy* ''Pink Bomb'' (2008) (Cherryade Records) * ''Harrowing Breakdown'' (2010) (Cherryade Records)

Albums

* ''Hate Mail'' (2008) (Cherryade Records) * ''Murder Music'' (2009) (Cherryade Records) * ''Bad Kitty'' (2012) (Cherryade Records) * ''Brains of Britain'' (2014) (Manekineko Music)

References

External links

Official website

Bandcamp

BBC music

The F Word, 2013 review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccabe, Ste Queercore musicians British indie rock musicians English rock guitarists English punk rock guitarists English punk rock singers English radio DJs English people of Scottish descent English LGBT singers Living people English socialists Political music artists Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Liverpool