Born in Ealing, London in 1960, the family shortly after moved to Swindon, where he was educated. Steve taught himself to play the guitar aged 14, after a few years of learning to play the Trombone and playing in the school orchestra and local youth brass band. He joined the School Jazz band and appeared on BBC TV on the school music competition Settle The Score. It was at school where the seeds of his first band, Cloud, were planted. At this time, Steve was also developing his solo guitar style and won a heat of a local talent competition playing his version of Misty.