Steve Stevens first made a splash in the music market as lead guitarist for Billy Idol's band. His wild on-stage presence and playing style complimented Idol's hard rock lyrics and image. Before he'd even joined up with Idol, however, Stevens was in the mix. He'd already written and recorded a full album titled "Fine Malibus", but this album was never released. He had, however, cut an entire album with Kiss's Peter Criss, titled "Let Me Rock You".
Stevens also played on Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana" and has also collaborated with Ric Ocasek of the Cars, Steve Lukather of Toto and the Thompson Twins. In 1986 he recieved a Grammy award for "Best Instrumental Performance" for the Top Gun anthem, which he wrote and performed. In 1988 he played with Joni Mitchell on her 15th album, "Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm". He split with Idol later in 1988 to form Steve Steven's Atomic Playboys with vocalist Perry McCarty, drummer Thommy Price and keyboard player Phil Ashley. Their self-titled debut was a major disappointment when it was released in 1989. After a largely unsuccessful US tour in 1990, the band split.
In 1993, Stevens recorded and toured with the Vince Neil Band on their album "Exposed". In 1994, Stevens and Idol once again collaborated, this time of the "Speed" soundtrack. In 1997, Stevens, Tony Levin, and Terry Bozzio formed the imaginatively named "Bozzio Levin Stevens" trio, and released their first album, "Black Light Syndrome". In 2000 Stevens released the solo masterwork "Flamenco A-Go-Go", and later in the year, Bozzio Levin Stevens released Situation Dangerous. Since 2000, Stevens and Idol have been working together more, writing new pieces, and going on short tours, largely in the Southwest United States. Following VH1's Behind The Music on Billy Idol, Idol and Stevens played a two-hour acoustic show for Storytellers. They plan to release an album of new material within the next year.
http://www.billyidol.com/Steve%20Stevens/opening%20page.htm
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/stevens_steve/bio |
