Steve Payne

About This Project

Steve Payne, considered one of the UK’s most unique and versatile guitarists, is also considered one of the UK’s most extraordinary and versatile guitarists, Steve Payne is also a talented and unpredictable singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, blacksmith and storyteller whose compositions cross musical boundaries from Blues, Folk and Contemporary Roots.

He first appeared on the stage in 1972, appearing in several university folk clubs. His first performance – for the sum of £10 – was in the unfavorable setting of the Printers Devil Tavern in Slough in 1974. But her emerging talents were soon in demand and she began playing guitar with Joanna Carling, who had signed with Dick James. He played in Fancy That, produced by Hugh Murphy (from Gerry Rafferty’s fame) and went on to play with Gerry Donaghue, Gary Herd, Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention) and Gary Taylor (Peter Frampton).

In 1976, he was touring Europe with Loudon Wainwright III, and also found time to team up with comedian Jasper Carrott on his memorable Funky Moped tour. In 1978, he recorded with several other artists of the time, recording with Rosie Hardman on the album Eagle Over Blue Mountain, produced by Nigel Pegrum of Steeleye Span. While punk was sweeping the nation, Payne briefly followed suit, his new band Brent Ford and the Nylons deviated from R’ n’ B to punk and back again. In the early 1980s Paynekillers was born, a band that became the favorite of regional rock & blues, The Parole Brothers. His debut album,”When’s your album coming out?” found favorable reviews. During this time Payne continued to work with other artists, including Dr. John and the blues legend B. B. B. B. King.

In 1986, he moved to Los Angeles and played on the West Coast scene for three years before returning to the UK to form The Candy Run. The band’s debut album of the same name took three years to complete, punctuated by Payne’s visit to L. A. Back in the UK in 1989, he teamed up with the well-known musician Steve Tilston and together they played at the Glastonbury Festival and recorded the album “In For a Penny, In For a Pound”. Candy Run toured for a year or so, before Steve started working with harmonica fan Keith Warmington.

They played at the Glastonbury Festival in 1993 and soon afterwards a new band – Payne and Friends – was formed that toured Europe until 1994. This year he also saw Steve begin to move more strongly in the styles of sliding guitar and jazz, in conjunction with his (non related!) partners! guitarist Rick Payne. The two played together regularly for the next two years, a period that also saw Steve’s early collaborations with blues singer-songwriter Maggie Thomas. They recorded an acoustic album at the Hope Centre in Bristol – rightly called “Hope”- and carried out a successful tour televised on the East Coast of the United States in 1998. During this period, Payne returned to Toronto where he built a group of followers, appearing with Paul Brady in 1997.

Steve began to focus more on his Roots inclinations in the late 1990s, leaving the electrical side of his music in peace, and releasing a succession of acoustic albums. “Six” was released in 2000, followed by “The Kiss” one year later, and “Outlines” in October 2002. With a long list of appearances at festivals and clubs not only in the UK, but also regularly in continental Europe and North America, a musical life full of troubadour troubadours around the world has led Steve to perfect his special sense of the word and, sometimes, a live “concert” experience.