Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel produced some memorable albums and songs in the UK in the seventies.
Contemporary artists like 10cc also had a similar original melodic vibe- and are definitely part of the soundtrack to my formative years in mid 70’s Britain.
This was a time when big business didn’t totally dominate an artists sound and records- as it does today.
Harley started his career playing London folk clubs in 1971 alongside such luminaries as John Martin , Julie Felix and Martin Carthy.
This morphed into a full band : “Cockney Rebel”.
Discovered by producer Mickie Most in 1972 , this led to a 3 album deal with EMI.
Working with Beatles and Pink Floyd engineer Alan Parsons, their major success came with the number one single "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” from the album “The Best Years of Our Lives” in 1975.
Interestingly this started as a slower tune , but developed by Alan Parsons who suggested speeding it up - and Harley adding the pauses in the song - that added originality and made it memorable alongside the melody.
Check it out - memorable too is the pre-punk mid 70’s sense of fashion!
The album “Love's a Prima Donna” followed in 1976 with a cover of George Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun”
There were more singles and albums of course , however those early albums really cemented Harleys legacy to all of us -who would see his latest release and performance on British TV at the time.
An original voice - check out more Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel here and revisit a simpler time:
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/steve-harley-cockney-rebel-mn0000755030