Steve Brett

Wolverhampton 1957

Steve Brett: Eat your heart out James Garner!

One of the originals of the local music scene. He formed his first group in 1957 but it was his success with the Big Beat Contest at the Gaumont in early 1962 which really brought him to local notice.

The group of Mavericks, which won the contest, comprised, Gary James on drums, Ricky Dene on bass and Rob Nelson on lead. Their victory came after the non-appearance of the Jaguars.

In the Midlands Steve Brett & the Mavericks were the first local group to make a TV appearance. Here they are seen receiving instructions from producer Reg Watson, during rehearsals for For Teenagers Only. Mair Davies can be seen alongside Reg Watson.

Steve was the first local pop entertainer to get on TV when he appeared on Up And Doing in June 1963 with Denny Laine & Diplomats and with Janice Nicholls as the compère. By October 1963 the Mavericks were appearing as the resident group on ATV's For Teenagers Only. The Mavericks at that time included the guitarist Dave 'Toffee' Holland who was going to gain international recognition as a jazz instrumentalist.

In October 1964 Steve took on a new set of Mavericks in the form of the Memphis Cut-Outs from Walsall. This new group included Neville 'Noddy' Holder. Steve recorded for Columbia and released three singles during 1965. The first record was Wishing, followed by Sad, Lonely And Blue and then Sugar Shack. While none of the records made any impact on the national charts, they were very popular in the local area. The group went over to Germany and split up on their return. Steve continued to play mainly C&W. He is still performing on the club scene in and around Blackpool where he now lives.

Taken from the excellent 2002 online book by Keith Farley. 'N Between Times: an Oral History of the Wolverhampton Group Scene of the 1960s It's certainly worth a read if you are remotely interested in the 60's Midland Beat scene.