Cockney Rebel singer Steve Harley dies at 73

His best known song was Make Me Smile which went to number one in the charts in 1975. The musician had still been touring until recently, but cancelled dates to have treatment for cancer. Harley lived on the Essex-Suffolk border with his wife Dorothy, with whom he had two children. Harley was born in south London in 1951 and formed Cockney Rebel in the early 1970s.

The original band was made up of Harley, Jean-Paul Crocker, drummer Stuart Elliott, bassist Paul Jeffreys and guitarist Nick Jones. Their debut studio album, The Human Menagerie, was released in 1973. In December, Harley wrote on his official website that he was fighting a nasty cancer. He said the first half of 2023 had been #34;magical# 34; as he got to tour in Europe.

But the second half had been ‘heartbreaking’ as the band was forced to cancel live show dates.