HE’S won favour with some of the coolest musicians – even John Lennon’s son Sean is a fan.
But now Paul Steel is hoping to win over crowds at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on Sunday.
The gig is part of a 10-date tour, which will also see the solo artist perform at the Road House in Manchester on October 9.
Steel is an artist full of contradictions and surprises – Sean Lennon described his music as “Queen meeting the Beach Boys in the bedroom of a 15-year-old boy wearing Batman pyjamas!”.
The 20-year-old’s debut album Moon Rock is by turns sunny and sweet and dark and complex. It’s full of fizzy, homegrown pop songs.
His beautiful vocals tell of everything from absurd stories about saving a girl’s life to heartfelt love ballads.
The album is to be released on the Fascinatin/Polydor label later this autumn.
It was recorded by Steel at home, but has had a little musical magic worked on it by Tony Hoffer, who has worked with the likes of Beck, The Kooks and Supergrass.
He decided he wanted input after hearing April And I, a mini-album Steel created in his bedroom when he was just 17.
Steel says: “I make pop music, that’s exactly how I’d describe it, but there are aspects to my songs that are challenging and unusual, but, hopefully, never awkward.”
He’s supported everyone from Cornelius to Amy Winehouse, but before long it will be the man himself who is hitting the headlines.
