Being a singer/songwriter often conjures up images of a lonely often solitary existence beavering away at your art with very little human contact apart from the odd foray into a venue to perform in front of an unsympathetic crowd. 

Steve Larkman might be a singer/songwriter but his past experiences within various branches of the music business means he is quite the opposite of the hermitlike stereotype often wrongly attributed to songwriters. After being captivated at an early age by the music of The Beatles and John Lennon he soon fell in love with rock and roll which quickly led him at the tender age of 12, with the encouragement of a music teacher, to take up the opportunity to play a drum solo in front of his fellow students. 

After this initial instrumental foray Steve soon moved onto the guitar and started writing his own material, by 14 he was playing gigs as well as working on sound and light for other bands which meant his experience of varied styles and types of music continued to fire his imagination and took him onto his first release on J.S.O. Records with the band The Crack. 

The next branch of the music business Steve delved into was recording where he set up his own studio Angel Music, a massive success resulting in work with Mick Ronson from David Bowie's Spiders From Mars and U2 producer Howard Gray as well as production and producer duties for many record labels.

After several successful years running the recording studio helping others achieve quality recordings, Steve began to put more emphasis back on his own material culminating in the release of his first solo album Tearjerker in 2015 and then quickly a second album The Start Of The End Of The World in mid 2016.

From these two critically well received and popular albums and the singles Chasing Rainbows (released April 2016) and Saved By Rain (released January 2005) Steve came to the notice of Jeffrey Kruger MBE (CEO at TKO Records) who is now working with Steve on the production of his third album. 

Leading up to this new album, planned for release in early 2006, Steve has re arranged a selection of his material to enable him to perform it live with just the aid of his acoustic guitar. Stripping down the previously only studio recorded material has allowed Steve to get to the essence of the songs and create a set of powerful and timeless tracks that echo the great British songwriters and bands of yesteryear like The Who, David Bowie, The Kinks and even Pink Floyd as well as being firmly rooted in the here and now of U2 or James Blunt. 

Steve is embarking on a selection of acoustic gigs to road test his material and further improve his musical profile before the release of the next album which promises to catapult him to another level. Now is the time to catch Steve Larkman live before the intimate setting of a local acoustic show becomes a distant memory as worldwide tours beckon. 

Thursday 8 December 2005