BIOGRAPHY
Stu
was born in Annesley Woodhouse, Kirkby-in-Ashfield,
Nottinghamshire, England under the name Wilfrid Pearce
on 25th September 1936. He died aged 79 following an
illness on 13th June 2016.
He drove tractors on the farm at
the age of eight but his ambition to be a farmer was
never realised. When he was 13 his father, a miner,
died.
Before
embarking on his wonderful musical journey Stu went down
the mines at the age of 15, and was involved in the
agriculture industry at 16. One day on the farm,
rain stopped him working and his brother encouraged him
to enter a talent contest. First prize was a trial with
EMI in London and yes, he won it! If it hadn't rained
that day who knows what would have happened?
After a lot
of hard work building up his music career he got his big
break in 1969 when he was
signed to Columbia Records.
His debut single, "Soft Is The Night," was released
under the name Stuart Stevens, and being part of a high
profile label, a subsidiary of EMI, it opened up many
doors for him. This single was recorded at Abbey Road
Studios produced by Ronnie Hilton's producer Wally
Ridgely and featured the Nori Paramor Orchestra.
He appeared
on the Lonnie Donegan TV Show and also at a prestigious
event to entertain the country stars in London who were
over here to perform at the Wembley Country Festival. He
was so good that he was invited to play the main stage
the next day - and became the first British singer to
appear at the world famous festival.
His career
took off worldwide in the mid 1970s with appearances in
the States at the Grand Ole Opry, and meetings with
Elvis Presley and John Wayne inspired him to greater
things.
He did more
TV in 1972 when he appeared on "Opportunity Knocks" but
was beaten by a child playing drums! What do they say?
Never work with animals or children - particularly on a
talent show!!
He was getting plenty of airplay in the
States when he was signed to Granite Records and his
version of Marty Robbins' "My Woman My Woman My Wife"
drew praise from Marty himself, but it was when he released (on his own Eagle
label) the single "The Man From Outer Space" that things
really started to happen.
The single was picked up by
BBC Radio 2's legendary DJ Terry Wogan who played it to
death and MCA Records heard it and got in touch with him
to bring the single and an album out on their label.
The little song written by Even Stevens (no relation)
and the great Shel Silverstein was recorded in a small
studio in Huddersfield, England, and suddenly had taken
off in a big way. Theatres were suddenly packed
and Stu Stevens was big news. Country radio
accepted him for his style of music and he was voted
Britain's Top Male Vocalist at the prestigious BCMA
Awards. He stood on the stage at Wembley to accept his
accolade.
His most
prolific recording period came between 1974 and 1986
when he enjoyed 12 years of high profile recording on a
number of big labels worldwide, including MCA, Young
Blood, Barclay and Granite Records.
He would
perform on stage with his two sons, Stuart and Steven.
Stuart played bass and his youngest, Steven, arranged
the strings and played keyboards. Sadly Steven died at
just 19 years of age from a rare heart disease, and his
wife Daphne also passed away a few years later. Stu withdrew
from the music scene.
Stu
performed with a full orchestra for many concerts in the
1980s including the Apollo Theatre in Oxford where he
was recorded live by BBC Radio Oxford. During that
show his version of "The Old Rugged Cross" was to become
one of the most requested songs ever on BBC Radio
Oxford, and remained unreleased until, many years later,
it finally came out on his CD
called "The Voice" which has brought together some of
his very best recordings.
As well as the "Best of" collection he recorded his first new album for 32 years. "Still
Standing" showed that Stu Stevens - The Voice - was as
relevant in the 21st Century as he had ever been.
As a bonus
Stu's only video from 1985, "The Man And His Music",
was released on DVD for the first time. This rare
programme featuring live performances and candid footage
was thought to have been lost until recently, and can
now be enjoyed by fans all over the world.
Stu recorded
a further three albums in his final years including a
gospel CD as he got the music bug back again, but his
life on the sheep farm at his home in central England
with his new wife Elizabeth - they spent almost 25 years
together - was all he really needed to be happy and
content. Sadly Stu never quite made it to his 80th
year and he died on June 13th 2016 aged 79 of pneumonia
following an illness.
In 2017 a
final album was released featuring the best of the rest
of his earlier recordings from the 1970s and 1980s
entitled "The Voice - Volume 2" - a 40 track
digital-only collection including, for the first time
ever, the full concert from his 1980 Apollo Theatre,
Oxford show when he sold out the venue. It was the event
where he first performed "The Old Rugged Cross" with the
"Luke The Drifter" narration included within it as a
special tribute to his fellow artist Red Sovine, who
died a few days earlier. That recording went on to
become one of his most popular songs ever. Also featured
on the collection is his final ever single featuring his
2016 vocal over the backing track to one of the
stand-out cuts from his "The Man From Outer Space" album
for MCA Records, "And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind,"
released here for the first time along with his one-off
disco single, "Cowboy In Paris" for the Crazy Viking
label.
In March
2019 Stu Stevens' "Ultimate Collection" came out in a
special box set containing four CDs. This included "The
Voice" and "Still Standing" along with, for the first
time ever on CD, "The Voice Volume 2" including the best
of his songs from other albums, plus the legendary 1980
concert at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford. It's a fantastic
collection and you can get it all for just £11.99 - a
remarkable addition to any Stu Stevens collection. Order
it directly from
here.
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