Steve Nieve ( "naïve"; born Stephen John Nason, 21 February 1958) is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

's backing bands the Attractions, the Imposters and

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

. He has also experienced success as a prolific

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, featured on a wide array of other artists' recordings. In 2003, he was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

as a member of Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

Early years

Nieve was born in

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated popu ...

, England, and attended the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...

, but dropped out in 1977 to join Costello's backing band the Attractions. Nason received his musical moniker "Nieve" (pronounced "

naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

") while on the Attractions' first tour for

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

. It was bestowed by tourmate

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...

who had been astonished by Nason's innocent query, "What's a

groupie The term groupie is a slang word that refers to a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is us ...

?" Before that, at least briefly, he had been using the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

"Steve A'dore" (a pun on

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

Career

Nieve played piano, organ and other keyboard instruments on most of Costello's projects over the next ten years, including the albums '' This Year's Model'' (1978), ''

Imperial Bedroom ''Imperial Bedroom'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his sixth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation). It was released on 2July 198 ...

'' (1982) and '' Blood & Chocolate'' (1986). On the 1984 Costello album '' Goodbye Cruel World'' and its accompanying tour, he was credited as "Maurice Worm." His instrument credit on the album was not for playing keyboards, but for providing "random racket". He wrote some material on The Attractions' Costello-less album, ''Mad About the Wrong Boy'' under the name Norman Brain, in collaboration with his then girlfriend, Fay Hart. (He also wrote other songs on the album as Steve Nieve.) In the mid-1980s, Costello began to work less frequently with the Attractions and stopped working with them entirely between 1987 and 1993. During this period, Nieve focused on session work for other artists (

the Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1 ...

, Hothouse Flowers,

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

, Squeeze,

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including " There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears H ...

, Nick Heyward and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

). Also in 1986, Nieve formed the group the Perils of Plastic with ex-

Deaf School Deaf School is an English art rock/ new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974. Overview Between 1976 and 1978, the year in which they split up, Deaf School recorded three albums for the Warner Brothers label. The first a ...

vocalist Steve Allen, releasing three non-charting singles in the UK in 1986 and 1987. Around the same time, he led the house band (billed as Steve Nieve and The Playboys) on the UK TV series ''

The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on B ...

''. Costello reunited the Attractions for 1994's album ''

Brutal Youth ''Brutal Youth'' is an album by Elvis Costello, released in 1994. This album contains the first recordings Costello made with his band the Attractions since '' Blood and Chocolate'' (1986). About half the album features a band consisting of C ...

''. Although the reunion was relatively short-lived (they split again in 1996), the Costello/Nieve collaborations never stopped. They have toured as a duo, and Nieve has contributed keyboards to all of Costello's albums since the mid-1990s, including 1998's

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gr ...

collaboration ''

Painted From Memory ''Painted from Memory'' is a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. It was released 29 September 1998 on Mercury Records, a division of Universal Music Group. The collaboration commenced with "God Give Me Strength", a commissi ...

'', 2001's Anne Sofie von Otter collaboration ''

For the Stars ''For the Stars'' is a 2001 album by classically trained Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and Elvis Costello. Track listing # "No Wonder" (3:37) (Elvis Costello) # "Baby Plays Around" (3:13) (Cait O'Riordan, Declan MacManus) # "Go Le ...

'' and 2003's ''

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

''. In 2001 Costello formed a new backing band consisting of Nieve, Attractions drummer Pete Thomas, and bassist Davey Faragher. The band was subsequently dubbed the Imposters. Elvis Costello & the Imposters have toured extensively and released the albums ''

When I Was Cruel ''When I Was Cruel'' is Elvis Costello's 19th album, recorded in 2001 and 2002 and released in the US by Island Records on 23 April 2002. Although formally credited as solo Costello album, this was the first album to feature his new band, The ...

'' (2002), ''

'' (2003), ''

The Delivery Man ''The Delivery Man'' is the 21st studio album by Elvis Costello, released on Lost Highway Records, B0002593-02. It was recorded with the Imposters at Sweet Tea Studio in Oxford, Mississippi. It peaked at No. 40 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Cont ...

'' (2004), ''

The River in Reverse ''The River in Reverse'' is a 2006 collaboration between Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint. It received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. Track listing All songs written by Allen Toussaint unless otherwise indicated. #"On Your Way ...

'' (2006) with

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

, '' Momofuku'' (2008), '' National Ransom'' (2010), '' Look Now'' (2018) and '' The Boy Named If'' (2022). In 2020 Nieve won a Grammy for his work with Elvis Costello and the Imposters on '' Look Now''. Nieve (sans Imposters) accompanied Elvis Costello again on '' Hey Clockface'' (2020).

Solo career

In addition to his work with Costello, Nieve has released several solo albums. ''Keyboard Jungle'' (1983) was his first, a combination of classical and ersatz film scores delivered from his beloved

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

piano. His second album, ''Playboy'' (1987), consisted of solo acoustic piano renditions of rock songs by

10cc 10cc are an English rock music, rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The grou ...

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynv ...

, X and others, as well as original compositions. Though both albums were released only in the UK by the independent label

Demon Music Group Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

, they were critically well received and noted for their "display fthe artist's wit, compositional talent and abundant instrumental agility." Nieve followed these with the albums ''It's Raining Somewhere'' (1996), ''Mumu'' (2001) and ''Windows'' (2004). His classical opera, ''

Welcome to the Voice ''Welcome to the Voice'' is a bilingual opera (French and English) based on an original story and libretto by Muriel Téodori with music composed by Steve Nieve. A first draft was given a workshop performance at the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival ...

'', a collaboration with Muriel Téodori, was released on

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

in May 2007. The

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

was interpreted by Barbara Bonney,

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming pa ...

, Amanda Roocroft, Nathalie Manfrino and

Sara Fulgoni Sara Fulgoni is a British mezzo-soprano. She graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music where she studied under Barbara Robotham. Kennedy, Michael (October 2013)"Obituary: Barbara Robotham" ''Opera''. Retrieved 16 March 2015. She made h ...

for the voices. For the music the

Brodsky Quartet The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet". Only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas remain as original members. In addition to performing classical music, and in par ...

interpreted a written score, while

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wai ...

Ned Rothenberg Ned Rothenberg (born September 15, 1956) is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). He is known ...

and Nieve improvised. Nieve also composed the score to Téodori's film ''Sans Plomb''. In 2008 ''

'' was premiered at the ''Theatre du Châtelet'' Paris with ''

'', ''

'', and ''Sylvia Schwartz'' in the role of Lily. In 2014, he released ''ToGetHer''.

Personal life

In recent years, Nieve has lived in France with his wife Muriel Téodori.

References

External links

*
Official website
* *
Steve Nieve and The Love Band performing on ''Tonight with Jonathan Ross''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nieve, Steve 1958 births Living people Elvis Costello & the Attractions members English rock keyboardists English session musicians Alumni of the Royal College of Music Musicians from London English punk rock musicians English new wave musicians Alternative rock keyboardists British alternative rock musicians Power pop musicians British pop rock musicians British post-punk musicians English classical musicians English film score composers English male film score composers