Steve was always into music, and at the ripe age of 13 he bought his first pair of decks, cheap direct drives with no pitch controls. After that he never looked back, and soon upgraded his home set up with new decks that, importantly, had pitch controls. After leaving school at an early age, all Steve wanted to do was be a DJ and one night he got his chance when a DJ failed to appear for a gig which some friends, who were local promoters, was putting on. Steve jumped at his chance and filled in for his first gig.
In 1993 Steve first started going to Smokescreen events and soon after found himself asked to play at free parties and other events to do with the midlands underground house scene. Soon after Steve became a Smokescreen DJ.
In 1994 Steve hooked up with Rob another Smokescreen DJ to form a long lasting partnership. That year Smokescreen took their PA over to Ireland to do some parties and a festival for the summer solstice. Soon after returning they found themselves invited down to Brighton, to host the after party for the Levellers album launch, which they did, illegally, on the beach front. At this time they were also running their regular club night at the Skyy club in Nottingham.
It was around this time the Government was bringing in the Criminal Justice Bill, which had laws aimed at the illegal free parties Smokescreen were still doing most weekends. They therefore teamed up with DIY, Go Troppo, Flotation, Babble and Breeze and started a campaign called ALL SYSTEMS NO. This was to raise funds to fight the bill and for court costs to help people who would be getting arrested for doing parties and so on. The funds also raised money to buy a PA that was built to take to risky parties so if the police did confiscate it nobody would loose out. This Pa would become known as the Kamakazi rig. Benefit nights were held at the Marcus Garvey centre in Nottingham, packing in over 1000 people, and really were magical. Smokescreen also started taking the Kamakazi rig out with their own PA, making it twice as loud, as they carried on fighting for the right to party.
In 1995 Smokescreen starting a night called Boxed at the Arches in Sheffield, which became a massive night and saw guest DJs such as Digs & Whoosh, Ralph Lawson, Nick the record etc. At the time Smokescreen was really starting to peak. By this time Laurence Ritchie, who later started Drop Music, had a studio set up in Sheffield that would see Steve and the other Smokescreen DJs who lived in Nottingham going up to Sheffield to stay with Laurence and write music from time to time. Also this year Laurence nearly start a label called Boxed which we only ever saw 10 test pressings of (priceless!).
In 1996 Steve & Rob found themselves playing more and more around the UK, and in that summer Steve, along with other Smokescreen buddies, found themselves embarking on a bizarre trip around post-war Yugoslavia with a van and a fire engine packed with PA, records and supplies on the way to Bosnia to deliver aid and put on parties for the people who had just gone through the war. They ended up doing parties and clubs from Slovinia to Bihatch, stopping off in Holland on the way back for more of the same. This year also saw the Smokescreen PA move to Nottingham. Steve was already living in Nottingham, along with fellow Smokescreens DJs Rob, Fran and Andy Riley. This would later (1998) lead to Laurence and his sister, Vikky, moving to Nottingham. Laurence would later team up with Andy to form the Inland Knights and start Drop Music. This year would also see Smokescreens new night at the Rock House in Derby start. This night was pure madness as they were starting to ram up to 700 people into a club that was only meant to be 350 capacity every two weeks.
In 1997 Smokescreen was running strong and Steve, and along with seven others (Rob, Andy, Laurence, Sam, Nikki, Tubby and Lol), was invited out to Prague to do a festival called the Czech Teknival, which was a big point in the Smokescreen history. It was such a success they went back the year after and, until this day, Steve finds himself still getting booked to play there two or three times a year . This year Steve and Andy Riley would be arrested for doing an illegal party and the Smokescreen PA was confiscated, but they soon got it back and still carried on fighting for the right to party
1998 saw Smokescreen carrying on as ever, but this year they would sneak there PA into Glastonbury, to hold a non stop four day party which was wet and muddy but funny. After that year these Glasto parties got bigger and bigger until they were banned from the festival. Two weeks after Glastonbury they were off to Prague again with their notorious PA. This year would see them hook up with Quadrant Sound System at the festival to form a wall of sound that was immense. At this point Steve, Rob, Andy and Laurence had a residency at the Social in Nottingham, which was an all day affair on a Sunday and usually saw the boys meeting up in a bit of a mess depending were they had played or parted the night before. This would see them billing along side DJs such as Andy Weatherall, Stuart Patterson and anybody else who would be brave enough to come and face Nottinghams weekend aftermath. Mark Farina came and played there on the Easter Sunday, but the boys did not make it down as they were still at a party which they had put on the night before.
It was around this time Steve started setting up a studio of his own with Smokescreens newest recruit Tom Latham, which started of in Toms front room but soon after would move to the Rubber Biscuit studios and stay there to this day. One day Steve invited Gavin Belton into the studio, as they had been DJing at the same events for years, and soon The Littlemen was formed.
In 1993 Steve first started going to Smokescreen events and soon after found himself asked to play at free parties and other events to do with the midlands underground house scene. Soon after Steve became a Smokescreen DJ.
In 1994 Steve hooked up with Rob another Smokescreen DJ to form a long lasting partnership. That year Smokescreen took their PA over to Ireland to do some parties and a festival for the summer solstice. Soon after returning they found themselves invited down to Brighton, to host the after party for the Levellers album launch, which they did, illegally, on the beach front. At this time they were also running their regular club night at the Skyy club in Nottingham.
It was around this time the Government was bringing in the Criminal Justice Bill, which had laws aimed at the illegal free parties Smokescreen were still doing most weekends. They therefore teamed up with DIY, Go Troppo, Flotation, Babble and Breeze and started a campaign called ALL SYSTEMS NO. This was to raise funds to fight the bill and for court costs to help people who would be getting arrested for doing parties and so on. The funds also raised money to buy a PA that was built to take to risky parties so if the police did confiscate it nobody would loose out. This Pa would become known as the Kamakazi rig. Benefit nights were held at the Marcus Garvey centre in Nottingham, packing in over 1000 people, and really were magical. Smokescreen also started taking the Kamakazi rig out with their own PA, making it twice as loud, as they carried on fighting for the right to party.
In 1995 Smokescreen starting a night called Boxed at the Arches in Sheffield, which became a massive night and saw guest DJs such as Digs & Whoosh, Ralph Lawson, Nick the record etc. At the time Smokescreen was really starting to peak. By this time Laurence Ritchie, who later started Drop Music, had a studio set up in Sheffield that would see Steve and the other Smokescreen DJs who lived in Nottingham going up to Sheffield to stay with Laurence and write music from time to time. Also this year Laurence nearly start a label called Boxed which we only ever saw 10 test pressings of (priceless!).
In 1996 Steve & Rob found themselves playing more and more around the UK, and in that summer Steve, along with other Smokescreen buddies, found themselves embarking on a bizarre trip around post-war Yugoslavia with a van and a fire engine packed with PA, records and supplies on the way to Bosnia to deliver aid and put on parties for the people who had just gone through the war. They ended up doing parties and clubs from Slovinia to Bihatch, stopping off in Holland on the way back for more of the same. This year also saw the Smokescreen PA move to Nottingham. Steve was already living in Nottingham, along with fellow Smokescreens DJs Rob, Fran and Andy Riley. This would later (1998) lead to Laurence and his sister, Vikky, moving to Nottingham. Laurence would later team up with Andy to form the Inland Knights and start Drop Music. This year would also see Smokescreens new night at the Rock House in Derby start. This night was pure madness as they were starting to ram up to 700 people into a club that was only meant to be 350 capacity every two weeks.
In 1997 Smokescreen was running strong and Steve, and along with seven others (Rob, Andy, Laurence, Sam, Nikki, Tubby and Lol), was invited out to Prague to do a festival called the Czech Teknival, which was a big point in the Smokescreen history. It was such a success they went back the year after and, until this day, Steve finds himself still getting booked to play there two or three times a year . This year Steve and Andy Riley would be arrested for doing an illegal party and the Smokescreen PA was confiscated, but they soon got it back and still carried on fighting for the right to party
1998 saw Smokescreen carrying on as ever, but this year they would sneak there PA into Glastonbury, to hold a non stop four day party which was wet and muddy but funny. After that year these Glasto parties got bigger and bigger until they were banned from the festival. Two weeks after Glastonbury they were off to Prague again with their notorious PA. This year would see them hook up with Quadrant Sound System at the festival to form a wall of sound that was immense. At this point Steve, Rob, Andy and Laurence had a residency at the Social in Nottingham, which was an all day affair on a Sunday and usually saw the boys meeting up in a bit of a mess depending were they had played or parted the night before. This would see them billing along side DJs such as Andy Weatherall, Stuart Patterson and anybody else who would be brave enough to come and face Nottinghams weekend aftermath. Mark Farina came and played there on the Easter Sunday, but the boys did not make it down as they were still at a party which they had put on the night before.
It was around this time Steve started setting up a studio of his own with Smokescreens newest recruit Tom Latham, which started of in Toms front room but soon after would move to the Rubber Biscuit studios and stay there to this day. One day Steve invited Gavin Belton into the studio, as they had been DJing at the same events for years, and soon The Littlemen was formed.
