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In tribute to Steve Harley – two programmes from 2007, towards the end of his time as presenter of the original Radio 2 version of Sounds Of The 70s.
Steve loved coming into Western House (as it was known at the time) between 1999 and 2008 to record weekly editions of the night time show Sounds Of The Seventies, working with his producers on an adventurous mix of classic hits, album tracks and hidden gems from all the genres that had been released during the 1970s. Sandy Denny was just as welcome as Black Sabbath and Stevie Wonder might rub shoulders with Yes or Murray Head or XTC. If it was a Beach Boys, Earth Wind And Fire or Fleetwood Mac song it might be something not featured on the main Radio 2 shows at the time.
Steve was often persuaded by his producer to play something that might not have appealed to the singer songwriter in him – such as Kraftwerk, as he admits in one of these shows, but he was always willing to explore. The format of the show was around 27 mins long but that didn’t mean longer tracks from The Who or The Eagles would be dropped. He also had a huge number of fantastic anecdotes about being on stage, in the studio, at aftershow parties and writing and recording with many of the artists he featured.
Steve was happy to hand the baton on to his friend Johnnie Walker with a new extended format and indeed championed the show whenever he frequently appeared as a guest with his schoolmate Steve Wright or with Johnnie on Sunday afternoons.