Биография

Casino Steel was heavily influenced by the Rolling Stones and taught himself to play the piano by the time he was 12. He met Andrew Matheson in London in 1971 and they formed The Queen. After an altercation with Freddie Mercury’s Queen they changed their name to The Hollywood Brats. Similar in style and looks to the New York Dolls they were born out of disgust and aimed to shock. They played regular gigs in London building up a band of followers including Keith Moon of The Who. Steel went on to form The Boys with Matt Dangerfield & Honest John Plain. Highly regarded by the music press and their contemporaries, their pop approach and use of harmonies led to their description as ‘The Beatles of Punk’. In 1980 The Boys supported the Ramones on their UK tour with Steel regularly joining the Ramones onstage to play keyboards on their hit single “Baby I Love You”. Steel was subsequently invited to join the Ramones as Casino Ramone but opted instead to join Gary Holton. As Holton/Steel they enjoyed considerable success across Europe. Steel’s solo success continued as a country star working alongside Claudia Scott, Carlene Carter & Ottar ‘Big Hand’ Johansen. He also toured with Waylon Jennings, George Jones and Johnny Cash. Despite his love of country music Steel also managed to record several classic rock albums including the Grammy nominated “Dirty Laundry” with Plain, Ian Hunter & Glen Matlock and “Casino Steel & The Bandits” featuring Mick Ronson & Marius Müller.