Pool Of Sound - Steve Roberts

Liverpool born Steve Roberts is a singer and songwriter who began his musical career in 1981, he has captained pop, led the 'Bank of England' and was one of '16 Tambourines'. He's also the well-respected godfather of Liverpool's late nineties and early noughties acoustic scene who moved to Glossop to continue recording and releasing great music. All that considered, he has been an underrated and unknown voice, apart from in his hometown of Liverpool. 

In 1981 he posted an ad on a notice board, in search of a band that shared his 'Jam' and 'Kinks' influences, and through it he was introduced to bassist Tony Elliott. The two became friends and attempted to form a group called 'Total Action' but couldn't find anyone suitable to join them. Tony then joined 'Sebastian's Men' while Steve joined the band 'In Dangerous Rhythm' but neither was successful. Meeting up again in 1984 they formed their first proper band '16 Tambourines', named after the album by 'Three O'Clock', and started rehearsing at the Ministry in Liverpool. The band was a sprawling affair that played gigs from 1985 to 1986, both as a three piece all the way up to an eight piece outfit. with brass, percussion and, on occasions, a didgeridoo, but it provided Tony with a vehicle for his smooth, unpretentious vocals. The band played pubs and basement bars that usually only allowed cover bands and gradually gained positive vibes from word of mouth. They became well connected with the local scene and created a buzz with their constant gigging. Tony remembers, "One day a lad came up and told us he could get us a record deal in 6 weeks. We were like, 'go on then' and within 6 weeks we had a deal with Arista, home of Barry Manilow. It was like a Tommy Steele film or something."

16 Tambourines

Now signed to Arista Records they released one LP, 'How Green Is Your Valley? ', in 1990 and set off on tour playing stadiums with 'Wet Wet Wet' and 'Hue & Cry'. A tour with 'Squeeze' followed which was a highlight for them and, although they were being compared to other Liverpool acts such as 'The Christians' and 'Black', they were really without peer, open to unfashionable cocktail jazz and blue-eyed soul touches that created a timeless feel. However, their label didn't see a future with the band and abruptly dumped them which saw '16 Tambourines' breaking up in April 1990. Roberts and Elliott continued their working relationship as 'The Tambourines' until that too fell apart but then Steve found tremendous critical acclaim as a solo artist  He created the 'Acoustic Engine' about 1998 for like minded musicians like Coyle and Ian McNabb of the 'Icicle Works' to perform in. It began as an open mic in Stamps, Crosby where they had special guests too, but you had to play your own songs. Returning as a solo artist he released 'It Just Is' in 2001 on Liverpool's Viper label, his debut solo album, recorded with friends from 'The Lightning Seeds', 'The La's' and other great Liverpool musicians. Janice Long said of it, "A beautiful album, we fell in love with it." and Uncut Magazine said, "The creepy folk pop noir of Love meets 'Crowded House'.". 'Shake It Make It' in 2004 and 'Don't Fake It' followed in 2005 and then under the name Captain Pop, reunited with some members of '16 Tambourines', 'Shut Up & Sing' was released in 2006 as he also received a Mercury Award nomination for 'It Just Is'. In 2004, he formed another group, the 'Bank of England' and went briefly back on the road for an enjoyable slog around the British Isles promoting it.

How Green Is Your Valley?

Helping to support his family by playing songs in a few different pubs every week, meeting more than his fair share of drunk people shouting for 'Brown Eyed Girl', he decided he needed a change. With his wife coming from the Peak District, where they got married, they moved to Glossop. Leaving Liverpool for the Derbyshire Dark Peak, after writing and recording a song every week throughout 2008, he re-emerged with the power-pop EP ‘When We Dreamed We Dreamed of Dreams’. 

November 2019 saw Steve, reunited with some members of '16 Tambourines', reform to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their debut LP, 'How Green Is Your Valley' with a sold-out hometown gig at 81 Renshaw Street. Steve said, "We have spoken on and off about doing it for years now but hadn’t managed to get it sorted. Organising bands is difficult and as you get older it becomes more so. We have families, jobs, live in different parts of the country, all that kind of thing, but fortunately it came together this time. It's the 30th anniversary of the album of course but that wasn’t the main reason behind it. We are friends who just wanted to meet up and play together again, Me, Tony Elliot, Tony McGuigan, Dave Oliver and Susan Ellini. I'm playing guitar as I wanted to get back to the simplicity of how they'd been written. We were a brilliant live group and it’s good that we still have that energy and bite."

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/02/pool-of-sound-gomez.html