You'll be opening up for Eric Clapton, The Police and Sheryl Crow etc.... so... no pressure then! That is certainly a 'dream' gig! Tell us about One Last Dream. What was the competition and what did you have to do to win it? Sleep with the produ... NO. We presented a 29 year old demo mastered from a hissy cassette and it flew through the initial rounds. In the later stages, we had to come up with a 20 second jingle for the breakfast show (which they are still using!), next, the vocal competition. All the singers had to sing a segment of "Summer of 69" unaccompanied in front of David Grant and his missus at 8 in the morning. I won that and the jingle thing. We came a little unstuck when asked to record a 45 second segment of "Valerie" by the Zutons. It was judged by the Zutons themselves as being a little too serious. I thought ours was pretty good personally. Next was a recording of "Born To Be Wild" at the Virgin studios. I think this pretty much clinched it for us. Lastly, we were installed in Gibson Stdios in the West End of London to record one of our own songs. We chose "No Entry" because of its power... it's our opening number. Then the public voted.

How did you feel when Virgin Radio's Christian O'Connell read out your name as the winners? Numb, like it was happening to somebody else. I just sat there and stared at Christian O'Connell. The room seemed to explode around me and all I could do was sit there in disbelief. I seem to have trouble accepting good things happening to me.

Now tell us a bit about the history of the band. We formed in 1977 after I quit Evil Weasel, and were originally a three piece with Rick and Jerry Wickings (drums). Ronnie was my replacement in Evil Weasel and he jumped ship to join us two months later. Soon after we added Kevin McCrea on lead vocals. We gigged solidly throughout 1978 amassing quite a loyal following in the south. Jerry quit to go to university in the April and was replaced by Trevor McBride. This has been seen as the classic line up.

We then acquired new mangement at the end of '78 who dismissed McCrea as unsuitable and brought in Diz Nelson as a replacement singer.The band was then persuaded to "commercialise" their sound which probably lost us a good portion of our audience but made us a a more palatable proposition for the record companies. WEA took the bait and put us in a studio in London to record some tracks for a forthcoming album. They didn't like what they heard, we didn't like toeing the line and selling our beliefs for a record deal (in other words, we saw ourselves as hairy-arsed rockers, not a pop group). We were dropped by WEA and our management soon lost interest in us. We broke up in 1980, very disillusioned by the whole experience.

So... where have you been till now? Rick works in publishing. Ronnie and Trevor were both electricians. After a stint in publishing, I went back to music professionally in 1990. My duo, Brightwhite, works constantly on the club and function circuit. It's a living along with doing private guitar tuition.

How natural did it feel to get back up there for the memorial gig for Trevor McBride, with Gary on drums?
Strange at first, but Gary is now one of the boys.

Over the years you've seen quite a few changes to the way the business works. What do you think about the influence the internet has had on bands and their fans, e.g. YouTube, MySpace, iTunes etc?
Very healthy. If a band has enough willpower and energy they can do it themselves instead of going cap-in-hand to record companies. It's about time that the power axis was shifted.

Who are your own musical heroes and whose influences have you drawn from? Too many to list. I've been listening to music for nearly 50 years but my favourite period is 1966 - 1976 when I believe rock music developed quicker than at any previous time.

What do you think of the current music scene in the UK? How easy or difficult is it for a band that were established in the 70s to get gigs now? The live scene at grass roots level is dying because of the goverment legislating it out of existence. Why must you have a piece of paper to say you are able to stage a small gig in a pub? When you destroy the foundation, the whole house crumbles.

What up'n'coming bands do you rate as being a force to be reckoned with in the future? Very few. I don't hear the Robert Plants, Freddy Mercurys and Jimis coming through as the industry has stifled that avenue. I don't listen to many new bands, my son does that. I'm a bit stuck in my own time period as there's so much stuff still to listen to. In the last 20 years I can only think of Radiohead and Soundgarden whom I like. Beyond that I'm quite fond of Wolfmother and Muse. There's another outfit called Heavens Basement (previously know as Hurricane party) It's 'back to basics no nonsense hard rock. These guys are happy playing a small pub or on stage at The Hammersmith Apollo'.

If you could pick one song to cover, that you've never played before, what would it be, and why? "Starless" by King Crimson because of its grace and power. I want it played at my funeral.

Is there anyone that you'd like to thank or give a special mention to? Yes, Paul Newcomb who has been a good friend and mentor to this band. And of course a huge thank you to Virgin Radio and all the listeners who voted for us!

Check out the official website of

The Steve Boyce Band

© Get Ready To Roll - 12th June 2008