Steve Currie (19 May 1947 – 28 April 1981) was an English musician who was best known as the bass player and a long-term member of the English

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

band T. Rex. While working for the local Tax office, Currie played with local Grimsby group "The Rumble Band". He joined T. Rex (recently renamed from Tyrannosaurus Rex) as bass guitarist in November 1970 (although the band were still listed as a duo) and continued to play with them until late 1976. He appeared on all of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

's hit singles from " Hot Love" (1971) to "

Laser Love ''Laser Love'' is the second album released by UK band After the Fire. Released in 1979, the album showcased more of a new wave approach, including much shorter songs than had been featured on the band's more progressive rock Progressive ...

" (1976), as well as the albums ''

Electric Warrior ''Electric Warrior'' is the second studio album by English rock band T. Rex, their sixth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex. The album marked a turning point in the band's sound, moving away from the folk-oriented sound of the group's pr ...

'' (1971) to ''

Dandy in the Underworld ''Dandy in the Underworld'' is the twelfth and final studio album by English rock band T. Rex. It was released on 11 March 1977 by record label EMI. It reached No. 26 in the UK charts, the band's highest-charting album since 1974's ''Zinc Allo ...

'' (1977). His innovative and, for the time, sophisticated bass playing can be seen to good effect in the movie ''

Born to Boogie ''Born to Boogie'' is a 1972 British concert film about a concert at the Empire Pool starring T. Rex, Marc Bolan, Ringo Starr and Elton John. Directed by Starr himself, the movie was released on The Beatles' Apple Films label. Content '' ...

''. After leaving T. Rex, he went into session work, working for

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

. He died in a car crash on 28 April 1981, while returning to his home near Vale de Parra,

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, Portugal. Steve Currie is commemorated with a memorial plaque on the steps at Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine.

References

1947 births 1981 deaths People from Grimsby English male guitarists Male bass guitarists Road incident deaths in Portugal Musicians from Lincolnshire English session musicians 20th-century English musicians 20th-century English bass guitarists T. Rex (band) members 20th-century British male musicians {{UK-bass-guitarist-stub