Sir Rod Stewart said he is “absolutely devastated” by the death of Steve Harley, the lead singer of the band Cockney Rebel.
The musician’s rock band became famous in the 1970s. His family said he died “peacefully at home” at the age of 73.
The musician was praised by the British rock singer Sir Rod, who said he “loved” and “admired” him.
The PA news agency saw a statement from him in which he said, “Absolutely devastated, words fail me.”
He said, “The Cockney Rebel has left us.”
“Steve, I loved and admired you and always will.” I’m Sir Rod Stewart.
Harley helped Sir Rod write a few songs, and the former lead singer of the band Faces covered Harley’s song “A Friend For Life,” which was on his 2015 album Another Country.
Taken from Cockney Rebel’s most famous song, “Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)” by Duran Duran. Bassist John Taylor thanked Harley for the music and “good vibes.”
As seen by PA, he wrote in a statement, “Man, Cockney Rebel were awesome. The first two albums were perfect.”
Harley became well-known after his number one pop song, “Come Up and See Me.”
“We were so lucky to have him sing on that song with us. The moment Steve came on was so scary that I can still remember it today.” A wonderful moment.
“Thanks, Steve, for the music and the good vibes.” We’ll miss you.
Last year, the late musician was on tour, but he had to cancel shows in November and December because he was getting treatment for a “nasty cancer.”
His wife Dorothy and children Kerr and Greta said in a statement that he had “passed away peacefully at home, with his family by his side.”
Many people around the world said they would miss the musician very much.
Harley told his fans he had cancer in a post on his website on Christmas Eve. He also wished them a “happy, healthy New Year.”
He told her, “I’m fighting a nasty cancer.” The oncologist I see is happy with how the treatment is working so far. It’s annoying and wearing out. The fight is still going on.
Mike Batt, a singer-songwriter, worked with Harley on several songs, including Ballerina (Prima Donna) in 1983 and Whatever You Believe, a charity single in 1988. Batt called Harley a “dear friend” and a “lovely guy.”
Batt said in a post on X, which used to be called Twitter, “I was just writing about him yesterday in my autobiography.”
“What a skill!” Wow, what a person. What a nice guy. Sorry for Dorothy’s loss and everyone else’s. Rest in peace, mate. I’ll write more soon.
It was Scottish musician Midge Ure who produced Harley’s 1982 song “I Can’t Even Touch You.” Ure called Harley a “true “working musician.”
“He played his songs for old and new fans on tour until he could no longer tour,” he wrote on social media.
“During this very sad time, my thoughts are with Dorothy and his family.” Our songs will always be remembered.
As a tribute, TV host Lorraine Kelly also said she “loved his music” and remembered seeing the band when she was a teenager.
Harley worked with Paul Henderson in the newsroom of the East London Advertiser in the 1970s. Henderson, who was editor of the Sunday Mirror at the time, called Harley a “great musician” and a “deeply thinking, compassionate man who wanted the best for his family and friends.”
Harley was born in 1951 in Deptford, south London. He spent almost four years in the hospital as a child because of a sickness.
The Human Menagerie, his band Cockney Rebel’s first studio album, came out in 1973. The Psychomodo, their second album, went to number eight in the UK charts in 1974.
The band got back together and changed its name to Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel. They put out a number of albums under this name, including the number four album The Best Years Of Our Lives in 1975.
Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me), which was on the album, went to number one in the UK charts and was later covered by dozens of artists. It was also used in movies like The Full Monty.
Harley and Sarah Brightman sang together on the title track for the first run of Phantom of the Opera in 1986. It reached number seven on the charts.
He was first cast as the lead in the musical, but Michael Crawford later took his place.
In 2016, the musician worked with Kaiser Chiefs lead singer Ricky Wilson and singer-songwriter KT Tunstall on a charity single to remember MP Jo Cox, who had been killed.