BIOGRAPHY

Steve Brookstein first came to the public's attention in 2004 as a vocalist who exploded onto our TV screens as the first ever winner of The X Factor. He remains the performer with the most amount of votes with over 6 million across the UK. Following this spectacular success, Steve went straight to the top spot with his debut single 'Against All Odds' and in June 2005 his debut album also hit number one! Steve was born on the 10th November 1968 in Dulwich London, the son of a South African father and a mother of Estonian descent and enjoyed an early life filled with sporting activities mainly football and badminton. Steve only found his true vocation at a relatively late age of 20 when a chance meeting at a karaoke bar inspired Steve to embark on a career in singing. Within 2 years Steve was singing in bars performing classic soul numbers from such legends as Luther Vandross, Al Green, George Benson and Marvin Gaye. And by the early 90s he worked with a number of producers, writing and recording as well as a session singer putting guide vocals on songs for other artists. But it wasn’t until 1996 when Steve had his first taste of the record business, when he signed to MCA Records with a cover of ‘Only You’ a Teddy Pendergrass stateside hit. Despite being the Judge Jules Radio One Record of the Week the song was never released and the record label closed down weeks later. In 1998 with age not on his side, Steve decided to focus on writing and producing for younger singers and teamed up with record producer Livingstone Brown. Before too long the pair had signed two artists to major record labels, Virgin in the UK and the Sony in the USA. He then signed a publishing deal with EMI in New York as a songwriter. Steve wrote and produced two albums but just as with his own deal, both artists were dropped before the albums were ever released. So in 2002, a despondent Steve went back to singing in bars and clubs. In 2003 Steve was spotted singing in a bar and was asked to support Dionne Warwick in concert. The night was a success and as a result he was asked to support Lionel Richie at Wembley. Steve had to decline the offer as he had just entered a new talent show and had reached the live finals. So in December 2004, Steve became the first ever winner of the hit TV show and the soul singer from South London gained fans from Ricky Gervais to Richard Curtis who admitted that he voted 100 times. Steve appeared on all the major TV shows in 2005 from Ant and Dec to This Morning and GMTV. Despite the commercial success of his single and album, Steve was disappointed that the record label would not entertain original songs so rather than do another album of covers Steve requested to leave. He was offered a £12,500 to go away quietly and not make the fall out public but Steve said no to Simon Cowell. Steve has since been subject to much negative PR after trying to speak about his experience. In 2006 Steve unsuccessfully tried an independent release of his next album, ’40,000 Things’ and although it was not a commercial success it achieved much more critical acclaim than his first. Maxi Priest, Jazz award winners Ian Shaw and Liane Carroll and Grammy Winner BeBe Winans have all worked with Steve. 'Steve, totally mind blowing... any big name comparisons, he is right up there with them.' Liane Carroll, BBC Jazz Singer of the Year 2005. 'His short-noted delivery recalled the late Otis Redding.' Jack Massarik, The Evening Standard In 2008, Steve was asked to join the company of 'Our House', an Olivier Award winning musical. The show toured the UK for much of 2008 and recieved fantastic reviews and standing ovations every night. He admits it was the most exciting project he has been invloved with. Steve has also recently written and recorded an album with his wife Eileen Hunter, an accomplished jazz singer though the release has been put on hold as the couple have recently celebrated the birth of their first child, Hamish.