In the early to mid 70's when Punk began to emerge there was no shortage of musically adept, virtuoso performers around to satisfy what had until then been an insatiable public appetite for music that was becoming more complex, more sophisticated and, perhaps, a little tired.
During that time I was managing a venue where rock music was the order of the day but where I began to notice more and more of the bands we promoted were leaning towards what later became known as Punk.
We even had a future diary date for the Sex Pistols and a promoter was keen for them to do a gig in Sheffield, where I was based at the time, but, as the Pistol's reputation grew the local licensing authority became less eager to grant the necessary licenses and the concert was removed from the calendar.
Which brings me to Steve New and why I consider him to be a "RockBottom."
First of all, anyone who dies of cancer at the relatively early age of 50 could be considered to be, at the very least, unlucky. As I have written in my articles time and time again, cancer is completely indiscriminate as to how and when it wreaks its havoc. In Steve's case it did so towards the end of what proved to be a short but very eventful life.
The mantle of being too good for the Sex Pistols is deserved only on the grounds that, in 1975, (some accounts put it in 1976), Steve auditioned for the role of guitarist in the Pistols but was turned down because his style of playing was too technical, too accomplished and would not sit easily with the raw unpolished material that they went on to produce in, thankfully, relatively small quantities.
Other accounts cite the length of Steve's hair as being the barrier to entry as he wore it long and was therefore, in terms of his appearance and his musical ability, more akin to the more established musical stereotypes that still dominated the music scene at that time. There were few, if any, examples of short spiky hair amongst the likes of Pink Floyd, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer and the plethora of other Progressive Rock bands of the day.
Whatever the truth of the matter, his time with the band was short and lasted only a few weeks.
Whatever the pro's and con's of that may be, Steve certainly missed out on the undoubted celebrity and financial rewards that normally followed when a band becomes as big as the Pistols.
Their fame was short lived but there were few people in the UK who had not at least heard of them - albeit usually for the wrong reasons. Their only studio album, "Never Mind The Bollocks" made the top spot in the UK album charts and went Platinum, (over one million copies sold) and this, along with their other antics, made certain of their place in music and social history.
Steve New went on to perform in other bands, including a spell with Iggy Pop, however his most notable project was The Rich Kids which was formed by Steve and another ex-Pistols bandmate bassist Glen Matlock, and which also included vocalist and guitarist Midge Ure for a short period before he went on to play with thin Lizzy, The Skids and ultimately found fame in Ultravox.
The Rich Kids were short lived but attracted a lot of attention during that time - and for the right reasons too. Their only album, "Ghosts of Princes In Towers," was produced by the celebrated ex-Spider From Mars, Mick Ronson and made number 24 in the UK album charts. Steve also had a short spell with Public Image Ltd - John Lydon's post Sex Pistols project with virgin records.
Throughout his career and for a large part of his life, Steve was a transvestite and had described that aspect of his character as a "secret life" and something which he had been ashamed of. Nonetheless, during the latter part of his life, (I could not find a definitive date or time), he came out and changed his performing name to Stella Nova.
Despite having survived the rigours of a musicians lifestyle, including periods of addiction to Heroin, Steve finally succumbed to cancer and died in 2010 at the age of 50.
His final project, Beastellabeast, which he formed with Beatrice Brown, was still running at the time of his death and had seen the release of three albums.
Stephen Charles New, AKA Stella Nova, was born in London in 1960 and died there at the age of 50 on 24th May 2010.
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