Stephen John "Steve" Byrd (25 September 1955 – 2 October 2016) was an English

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and session musician who has worked with artists including

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...

(from 1982–95),

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, ZZebra and many others. Initially a self-taught guitarist born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England, Byrd joined the band Zzebra for their second album ''Panic'', after his old friend

Tommy Eyre Tommy Eyre (5 June 1949 – 23 May 2001) was an English session keyboardist from Sheffield, England, who appeared on records by Joe Cocker, John Martyn, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Greg Lake, B.B. King, John ...

had recommended him for the job. With Zzebra he played the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

in 1975 and recorded another album, ''Take It or Leave It'' In 1978 he replaced Paul Simon in Ian North's band Neo, a new wave band formed in 1977. Neo recorded an album in

's studio, and after Gillan had heard them he hired Byrd and bassist John McCoy for his own band, which was also called Gillan. The band recorded their first album ''Gillan'' in September 1978. It was not released in the UK but sold well as an import. In 1982, Byrd auditioned for pop singer

and became a long-term member of Kim's backing band. With Kim, he co-wrote "

Another Step (Closer to You) "Another Step (Closer to You)" is a song from the Kim Wilde album ''Another Step'', performed as a duet with Junior Giscombe. It was released as the third single from the album. Wilde co-wrote the song with Steve Byrd, who originally sang the mal ...

", "

Hey Mister Heartache "Hey Mister Heartache" is a song by English pop singer Kim Wilde, released as the first single from her sixth studio album ''Close'' (1988). Although a minor hit in Wilde's native UK, it was a top 20 entry throughout Europe. "Hey Mister Heartache ...

" and many other songs as well as played on some of her albums. He toured with Kim Wilde until the mid-1990s In the 1990s, he was also a member of 4 Bills And A Ben, a band with flexible line-up formed by

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which also included

Jeff Rich Jeffrey Dennis Rich (born 8 June 1953) is an English rock drummer, best known for playing with Status Quo between 1985 and 2000. Early life Born in Hackney, London, Rich attended Upton House Comprehensive School, and whilst there he a ...

and

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

from

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. In 2001, he played in 'The Mods' at the

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted po ...

tribute. Other acts Byrd toured with were

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, Alec Mansion,

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, Heartbeat UK and

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. He was the MD of the Byrdsongs record label. In 2014 he formed "Steve Byrds Ethnic Soup" along with drummer Dave Layton and singer Rosanna J Eastman. Steve Byrd died of a

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Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

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on 2 October 2016 aged 61. Both remaining members of Steve Byrds Ethnic Soup, Dave Layton and Rosanna J Eastman carried on with the band in his honour shortening the name to "Ethnic Soup" (the name came from an instrumental of the same name which is the accompanying music on the Far Cry 4 game.) The pair also named the band's first album "Byrdsongs Jukebox" as a tribute to Steve, "Byrdsongs" being his record label. Two tracks "Legacy" and "Broken" from the album feature Steve on instruments and backing vocals.

References

External links

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Steve Byrd Biography
at Kimwildetv.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Steve 1955 births 2016 deaths Musicians from Sheffield English rock guitarists English male guitarists English session musicians Gillan (band) members