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Steve Nieve was the longtime keyboardist/pianist/organist for
Elvis Costello's backing band
the Attractions, and his versatility and extensive training made him an excellent fit for much of
Costello's increasingly ambitious post-
Attractions music. Born Steven Nason,
Nieve attended the Royal College of Music and successfully auditioned for
the Attractions in 1977 when he was 19. In 1980,
Nieve released his first solo venture, the EP Theme Music from Outline of a Hairdo, which appeared on
Jake Riviera's F-Beat label (to which
Costello was signed at the time).
Nieve went on to release two proper full-length solo albums, 1983's Keyboard Jungle and 1987's Playboy, both for the U.K. Demon label. In between touring and recording commitments with
the Attractions (which grew less and less by the latter half of the decade),
Nieve did session work with numerous other fellow new-wavers, including
Nick Lowe,
Kirsty MacColl,
Madness,
the Damned,
Tim Finn,
Nick Heyward,
Hothouse Flowers,
Graham Parker, and
Squeeze (who hired
Nieve as their touring keyboardist in the early '90s).
Nieve also teamed with ex-
Attractions drummer
Pete Thomas in the house band for Jonathan Ross' BBC talk show. Through it all,
Nieve continued to work off and on with
Costello, more frequently than most of
Costello's old associates. During the latter half of the '90s, their continued compatibility reached a new level on a series of acclaimed duo concert tours;
Costello revisited the breadth of his enormous catalog with only
Nieve's elegant, multi-hued playing for accompaniment. During this period,
Nieve also gave solo concerts on occasion, as documented on his Knitting Factory live EP It's Raining Somewhere (recorded in 1995, released in 1999). He also composed two classical operas, Parasite and Welcome to the Voice; the former was co-written with French cinematographer
Muriel Téodori and premiered in Paris, and the latter was performed at the 2000 Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival in New York, featuring
Costello and
the Brodsky Quartet. In 2004,
Nieve released his fifth solo disc, Windows, inspired by his experiences in his years of touring. In 2007, a recording of
Welcome to the Voice was released.
Nieve returned to solo recording in 2011 with a series of piano variations entitled
Lazy Point. He followed this in 2013 with
ToGetHer, a collection of original songs and collaborations that featured an all-star cast, with guests including,
Costello,
Robert Wyatt,
Laurie Anderson,
Ron Sexsmith,
Vanessa Paradis, and more. ~ Steve Huey