Hairway To Steven: Musicians Called Steve Quiz

Answer: Small Faces

Steve Marriott was the archetypal cheeky chappy of 1960s British pop, but beyond that he was also an incredibly talented songwriter and top-notch performer, whether it be in huge arenas or in a pub rock band. He had a voice on him that few have matched for power and feeling. He also possessed great charm and charisma, just watch a clip of the Small Faces performing and you can't help but like the man, and above all recognize the innate talent.

Although a massive star with the Small Faces in the UK, he found fame in the US with Humble Pie. Unfortunately, he veered into the sidelines due to dodgy contracts, not helped by hefty drinking and drug use. He died in a house fire in 1991. It's thought the fire was started by a cigarette he had lit when inebriated.

Answer: Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler is a founding member and lead vocalist of the enormously famous Aerosmith. His flamboyant dress sense and larger than life antics are a big part of the band's notoriety.

Although they had huge success in the 1970s and have rediscovered fame and fortune, the band went through a period of relative obscurity in the early 1980s, and their albums were even hard to find (in the UK at least) until the comeback in the mid-1980s, undoubtedly helped by the new breed of hair metal bands citing them as a huge influence.

Whilst other key member Joe Perry left for a period in the late 1970s, Tyler has been a constant.

Answer: The Magnetic Fields

Merritt is the main driving force behind the The Magnetic Fields, although in the early days Susan Anway's vocals were also part of their trademark sound.

They've flitted quite gracefully between synth pop and noise rock, having a stab at a plethora of un-rock n roll instruments, such as the ukulele, accordion and mandolin along the way to create something that nobody else really comes close to.
Merritt's bleak yet amusing lyrics also set The Magnetic Fields apart from the pack.

Answer: Helicopter crash

Stevie Ray Vaughan was born in Texas, and often referred to Texas in his songs. He got signed in 1983 and his career with his backing band, Double Trouble, flourished, despite alcohol and drug problems. He cleaned himself up and it seemed he was about to really break into the mainstream when he died in a helicopter crash after a gig in Wisconsin.

Anyone who saw him perform will remember what an extraordinary talent he was, backed by an incredible powerhouse rhythm section. What isn't often remembered is what a great songwriter he was, and his deeply moving voice is also overshadowed by his guitar antics.

Answer: Steve Cropper

Steve Cropper, aka "The Colonel" isn't the household name he should be, although his guitar playing is on some of the most widely known songs in music history such as "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and "Soul Man". He often also worked as producer at Stax records.

Most people probably know him through the homage to blues and soul music, The Blues Brothers, in which he plays himself.

The rest of Booker T and the M.G.'s were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Lewie Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson, Jr. (drums), although Steinberg was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn quite early on.

Answer: Crass

Steve Ignorant was born Steve Williams in Stoke on Trent, although he ended up in London. He started Crass in 1977 when he had moved to Dial House, a kind of anarcho commune in Epping set up by Jeremy Ratter, aka Penny Rimbaud. Although Crass started off as a very loose, angry yet fun combo, they soon turned into the most revolutionary of all the punk bands, before or since.

The band stopped (as they had planned) in 1984, and Steve Ignorant went on to work with Conflict (with whom he was already involved), Schwarzenegger, and The Stratford Mercenaries.

He has performed Punch and Judy shows under the guise of Professor Ignorant.
His autobiography, "The Rest Is Propaganda", is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the punk rock era.

Answer: Genesis

GTR only made one eponymous album and packed it in. The album was a (brief) commercial success, but a critical flop, and it hasn't won a place in many music fans' hearts. The "super group" tag only had any sway with fans of prog rock, but the music was radio friendly AOR pap. Furthermore, the rest of the band were hardly "superstars": Jonathan Mover, Phil Spalding and Max Bacon.

The band toured the album, but were playing a lot of Genesis and Yes material, much to the delight of the hardcore prog rock fans who'd trudged out to see them based on an inkling that exactly that would happen.

Answer: Iron Maiden

Bassist Steve Harris formed Iron Maiden in 1975 and he's been the linchpin ever since, appearing on every release and performing every single gig, as well as writing a lot of the music and lyrics.

Iron Maiden were part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and are arguably the most successful band to have come from the movement and stuck to their guns (unlike Def Leppard). The band might be criticized for their lack of scope, but thundering heavy metal is what they do, and they do it extremely well.

Answer: The Dead Boys

Stiv Bators was 100% rock n roll, as any clip of him with The Dead Boys proves. The Dead Boys only recorded two albums before it all went askew, but they were enough to keep the band members' names alive. Bators's career turned out to be rather haphazard; unreleased solo tracks, a one-off album with The Wanderers (who were actually UK punk band Sham 69 sans Jimmy Pursey), followed by a quasi-stable gig in The Lords Of The New Church with ex-Damned guitarist Brian James, and ex-Sham 69 bassist Dave Tregunna.

Bators survived drug and alcohol abuse, wild stage antics (including an almost-getting-hung mishap), but had the most ignoble of deaths: he was hit by a taxi.

Answer: Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey, known as Morrissey, is an English icon to many, but a pain in the neck to many others. What can't be denied however is his brilliance as a lyricist, possibly the greatest wordsmith popular music has ever spawned.

Although he's still inexorably linked to The Smiths, from whence his fame came, he's actually been a solo artist for much longer than the band were together, and has produced a plethora of quality records.

Morrissey is also known for his outspoken views and pithy wit. He's not afraid of anything, having touched upon politics, race, sexuality and the monarchy, sometimes all in the same sound bite.