STEVE HARLEY sadly passed away at the age of 73 in FEBRUARY of this year. All major UK NEWS OUTLETS ran obituaries for the singer who made such an impact in the 70's and continued to perform until ill heath forced him to cancel shows in 2023. Inevitably the tributes focused on '' MAKE ME SMILE (COME UP AND SEE ME) '' which was a huge hit in 1975 and remained his most recognized song. Footage of the number being performed on TOP OF THE POPS was shown and served as a reminder that TOTP's appearances featuring his breakthrough hits with COCKNEY REBEL: '' JUDY TEEN '' and '' MR. SOFT '' are currently missing from the BBC ARCHIVE
The band that appeared on both singles split after recording two remarkable LP's: '' THE HUMAN MENANGERIE '' { in 1973 } and '' PSYCHOMODO '' { in 1974 }. Harley's songs and the use of VIOLIN and FENDER RHODES PIANO as lead instruments marked them out as a UNIQUE and INNOVATIVE outfit. They performed live on BBC 2's OLD GREY WHISTLE test in FEBRUARY '74 and happily that footage WAS saved for prosperity. The band played two numbers: '' HIDEAWAY '' and '' MY ONLY VICE ''. They can be found as studio recordings on '' THE HUMAN MENANGERIE '' LP
