Steve Roberts

In the sphere of rock and roll, Steve Roberts possesses one of its most overlooked and fundamentally unrecognized voices. This soulful singer and songwriter enjoys recognition within his native Liverpool, England, yet wider public attention remains out of reach. Sharing a friendship with Peter Coyle of the Lotus Eaters, Roberts stands as a critic’s favorite whose understated and gentle approach has kept him from rising above commercial clamor. His career began in 1981 after he posted a notice board advertisement seeking musicians drawn to the influences of the Jam and the Kinks. The notice connected him with bassist Tony Elliott. The two struck up a friendship and tried to assemble a band called Total Action, but they could not recruit additional players. Elliott subsequently joined Sebastian’s Men while Roberts was brought into In Dangerous Rhythm; neither outfit achieved success. The pair crossed paths again in 1984 and began rehearsals at Liverpool’s Ministry under the name 16 Tambourines, taken from the Three O’Clock album. The group supplied Roberts with an outlet for his smooth, unpretentious vocals. From 1985 to 1986 the band performed more than one hundred shows that steadily built favorable grassroots attention. Arista Records later signed 16 Tambourines, issuing the 1990 album How Green Is Your Valley?. Although parallels were drawn to other Liverpool acts such as the Christians and Black, the band remained distinctive through its embrace of unfashionable cocktail jazz and blue-eyed soul elements that produced a timeless atmosphere. The label nonetheless saw no lasting prospects and dropped them without ceremony. The sudden loss of support caused 16 Tambourines to disband, prompting Roberts and Elliott to continue as the Tambourines. After that project ended, Roberts pursued a solo path. He established the Acoustic Engine to showcase sympathetic artists such as Coyle and Ian McNabb of the Icicle Works, releasing It Just Is in 2001 and earning a Mercury Award nomination. In 2004 he assembled a new group called the Bank of England.