Coming Up From Down Under: Al Steele

When I began writing the songs that would be the 'Coming Up From Down Under' album, I knew I was at a turning point in my writing, my orchestration, and also my personal life. I had already written some 200 songs, countless TV themes, and spent vast amounts of time practising my craft, on guitar, bass guitar and keyboards. When I thought back to

When I began writing the songs that would be the 'Coming Up From Down Under' album, I knew I was at a turning point in my writing, my orchestration, and also my personal life. I had already written some 200 songs, countless TV themes, and spent vast amounts of time practising my craft, on guitar, bass guitar and keyboards. When I thought back to the sound of Sgt. Pepper, the instrumentation was brave, the experimentation was intense, the songwriting was clever and diverse. It made me realise that most music had become formulaic, including my own, and at that moment, I decided to change my approach. I wasn't going to make another Sgt. Pepper, but I WAS going to take more risks. I WAS going to vary the instrumentation. I WAS going to have a 6 minute song if it felt right. Lyrically 'Driving' was my own frustration with simply existing, without thinking, and 'From Now On', was a vow to change it. I have stuck to that ideal, and have no wish to go back... and this album was where it started for me. Huge thanks to my many supporters over the years, who are now shouting 'It's about time!!' Many thanks to the musicians who played for me - often just for the love of it. Thanks to my songwriting partners over the years, Julian Tucker, Lynn Ritchie, Nigel Voyle, and my business partner and mate Nigel Hart. The biggest thanks to Ceri Darknell, who puts up with my always unreasonable demands, and makes me want to be a better person!