stephen

This myspace is now a shrine to the late great Steve Roberts, overseen by those closest to him...Steve Roberts was born in London in 1952. He first started playing guitar in his early teens inspired by a love of the Beatles, classical music and progressive rock. He formed his first band with brother Greg in the early 70s soon after they both developed a love of funk music. Called 'Skunk' ,they played a mixture of self penned party tunes and early classic funk covers.A change of name to 'Street Connection' and an agent gave them their first taste of the proper gig circuit up and down the country with a more commercial edge to their set giving them a way in to lucrative northern clubs. In those days Steves influences were players like Larry Carlton , Eric Gale, John Mclaughlin and Steve Khan which was inevitable due to a growing interest in jazz fusion as one way of developing skills and dexterity. At that time Steve, like Greg, was based outside of London due to family moves. After both moving back to London they began to get a foothold in the citys music scene and made contacts in various areas, most notably Brixton where they both discovered and were introduced to the world of reggae and dub in the early 80s with a band called Red Cloud. Steve's adaptability to many styles proved perfect for the skanking vibe. He became a well respected figure in the world of UK reggae music, touring and playing sessions with the late great Desmond Dekker, Prince Buster, The Pioneers, Bob Andy, Dawn Penn, Errol Dunkley, Alton Ellis and Dennis Alcapone .Reuniting with Greg for a period in the early 90s with the seminal dub dance group Screaming Target saw them on tour together once again . Following that he worked with diverse artists such as Gail Ann Dorsey and Roachford whilst continuing to nurture the reggae connection and perfect his talents on another level with his love for players like Pat Metheny. Eventually at the turn of the century he became an integral part of the new Dreadzone set up, putting the years of experience and experimenting with musical theory on guitar, bass and keyboards to good use. With a renewed sense of freedom he tapped into a wealth of musical knowledge in the studio and in the new live band. A willingness to embrace the new techonolgy based music blending old and new proved a perfect set up for him. In depth involvement with writing on the 'Once upon a time' album released in 2005 and a consumate performer in the new live band proved that Dreadzone was the perfect home for him professionally and personally. Tragically the full potential of this new musical world was never fully realised due to his sad passing in late october 2006 one day before going on a new live tour to promote the newly released live album 'Live at Sunrise'. It is this album that shows his skill and energy off to its utmost effect. It should also be noted that he and Greg had both been working on an album together of mainly instrumental tunes over the last few years which should see the light of day in the not too distant future . He will be so greatly missed in the world of music ,onstage and in the studio and in every part of so many peoples lives. For people very close to him it is the past, present and future that makes such a strong combination of memories, love and hopes so hard to bear. It is our wish that he will live on here and in other ways... Love and respect to the greatest brother, friend, musician and perfect human being.