Feb 15, 2021
Steve White
Steve was given a small drum as a child by his uncle and upon
joining his local Boys' Brigade he began to learn his craft. As
with White's band mate Paul Weller, he was given full support from
his parents who went out of their way to help their son develop.
Steve spent his youth having lessons from the late George Scott of
Wanstead and learning from recordings of Buddy Rich and Louis
Bellson. He later took lessons with drumming teacher Bob Armstrong
at Bob's Masterclass studio, then in Hornchurch, Essex. White
complemented his work gigging with local bands with part-time work,
spending any spare cash on updating his collection of jazz
records.
In 1983, White auditioned for an unnamed band which turned out to
be Paul Weller's new group, The Style Council. Weller was impressed
with the 17-year-old drummer's jazz background and asked White to
come back the following day. White stayed with the band for some
years but was never actually invited to join, even though he
appeared in most of their videos and on all but a few recordings.
He became the youngest drummer on stage at Live Aid at Wembley
Stadium in 1985. He also performed at Live 8 with The Who at Hyde
Park in 2005. The Who's regular drummer, Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr's
son), had left to join Oasis on their tours and recording
sessions.
White left The Style Council in 1989 to pursue other projects and
went on to play with many well known acts, such as Ian Dury, The
James Taylor Quartet, The Redskins and the Jazz Renegades. When The
Style Council reformed for a one off gig for Japanese TV in 1990,
Paul Weller invited Steve to his studio to hear a few demo tracks.
He was soon back full-time behind the kit for Weller's solo
projects.
You can reach Steve White on
Steve White | Drummer | Percussionist | Educator | The Official
Site (whiteydrums.com)
(3) Steve White (@drummerwhitey) / Twitter
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