The Steve Brown Band

Formed circa 1971 in Newcastle, England, by a group of very talented musicians, the band soon acquired a large fanbase in their area and began gigging extensively. Coming out of Progressive Rock they injected a Jazz Rock vibe into their music with extended tracks that had a dynamic and powerful rhythmic charge. Their songwriting was top level and the lyrics surprisingly poetic, and soon Transatlantic Records offered them a contract in 1973 - it fell apart and their lp was never issued. The Steve Brown Band should have had at least 3 LPs out in a label like Vertigo or Harvest, they were the equal of, and better than, many of their peers. Then in the mid seventies they survived a major crash in their Transit tour van, which ended up straddling the middle safety barriers of a Motorway, the police were called and their Keyboard Player was investigated by Immigration Police as their van was towed away. Not sure what to do with their career they brought in new management who pushed the band in the wrong direction, issuing their sole release, an uncharacteristic single on Petal, in 1977. The band were not happy doing it, it wasn't their style, with a forced commercial edge, and they decided to split. Fifty years later an acquaintance of Crooked Oak put Seelie Court Records in touch with John Farmer, the Steve Brown Bands bassist and writer, and their 1973 LP was reconstructed from Studio Tapes and issued for the first time. The Steve Brown Band were one of the greatest British bands of the seventies that no ones heard of nowadays, they were hampered by poor management and a desire to play live rather than focus on record deals. The six extended tracks on the Soul Full Of Sin LP are pure magic for anyone into Heavy Jazzy Prog Rock.