Steve Connolly

This article is about the Australian musician. For the fictional character with similar name, see List of The Young and the Restless characters (1990s) § Steve Connelly.

Steve Connolly
Birth name	Stephen James Connolly
Born	(1959-01-03)3 January 1959 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	16 May 1995(1995-05-16) (aged 36) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, producer
Instrument(s)	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1972–1995
Labels	Atlantis

Stephen James Connolly (1959–1995) was an Australian musician and record producer. As a guitarist and singer he was a member of various bands led by Paul Kelly from 1984 to 1991. While working for Kelly, he also co-wrote songs including "Darling It Hurts" (1986). Connolly, with Kelly, co-produced Charcoal Lane (May 1990) for Archie Roach. Connolly was working on his debut solo album, And the Usual Suspects (1998), when he died in 1995 of an unspecified cause. Kelly reflected on the release in 1998, "You'll hear a guitar player who didn't like solos, a songwriter who paid attention to details and a singer both innocent and cynical. Oh yeah, the band's pretty good too."

Biography

Stephen James Connolly was born on 16 May 1959 as the second child of Joan (née Broomhall, 1936–2023) and Keith Connolly (1928-2005) in Melbourne. He was raised in East Malvern with three siblings, their mother worked as a travel guide and their father was a newspaper journalist.

Connolly, on lead vocals and guitar, was a member of Melbourne pub rock group, the Cuban Heels from 1979 to 1981 with Brian Allamby on drums, Chris Hunter on bass guitar, Spencer P. Jones on guitar and vocals, and Graham Lewis on keyboards. They feature on a documentary short film, Play Loud (1979), produced by Daniel Scharf, which depicts their performance at The Hearts hotel, Carlton. That group released a sole single, "Little Girl", in August 1980 before disbanding in the following year.

Connolly was briefly a member of successive bands, Rare Things (1981–1982), Sex Flintstones (1982) and Yo Rinnie (1983) before he joined rock and country music group, the Zimmermen in July 1983. They had been formed a month earlier by Tim Brosnan on guitar (ex-Millionaires, True Wheels, Romantics, Paul Kelly and the Dots), John Dowler on lead vocals (ex-Spare Change, Young Modern, Glory Boys, Talk Show), Mick Holmes on guitar and backing vocals (ex-Negatives, Eric Gradman: Man & Machine, Romantics, Paul Kelly and the Dots, Fatal Attraction), Peter "Pedro" Steele on bass guitar (ex-Fatal Attraction), and Trevor Upton on drums (ex-Lipservice, Fatal Attraction). He was recorded on their debut single, "Don't Go to Sydney" (December 1985), but had already left the group before it appeared.

While a member of the Cuban Heels, Connolly met singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, then-leader of rival group, the Dots. According to Kelly, the pair would jam together, and were sometimes joined by Connolly's friend Michael Barclay. Late in 1984 Connolly replaced Maurice Frawley on guitar and Barclay (also ex-the Zimmermen) replaced Greg Martin on drums in the Paul Kelly Band. The group relocated to Sydney where Kelly used session musicians, including Connolly and Barclay, for his third album, Post (May 1985). Connolly and Barclay were founding members of Kelly's new backing group, the Coloured Girls alongside Michael Armiger on bass guitar, Peter Bull on keyboards and Chris Coyne on saxophone. From March to May 1986 they recorded Gossip (September 1986), which provided the second single, "Darling It Hurts" (September), and is co-written by Connolly and Kelly. "Darling It Hurts" reached No. 25 on the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart in October.

Connolly's next album with Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls was Under the Sun, which was issued in November 1987. Music journalist, Richard Guilliatt, joined the group's tour of the United States, where they performed as Paul Kelly & the Messengers and promoted the US version of Gossip. He noted, "Kelly had found a band to stick with and a musical blood brother in guitarist [Connolly]... The stars finally seemed to be in alignment." Kelly's next studio album, So Much Water So Close to Home (August 1989), was issued by Paul Kelly & the Messengers in all markets. Its lead single, "Sweet Guy" (June), was written by Kelly from a woman's point of view, initially Kelly wanted to give the song to a female vocalist but Connolly persuaded Kelly to sing it himself, "What's to stop you cross-singing?'".

Writer and journalist, Andrew Stafford reviewed Kelly's 2017 studio album, Life Is Fine, and reflected on Kelly's earlier career with the Coloured Girls/the Messengers. Stafford determined that "Connolly, the guitarist whose stinging, economical leads were the linchpin of the Messengers". Connolly had watched Archie Roach performing "Took the Children Away" on an indigenous television programme, Blackout in 1988. Connolly contacted Kelly and they asked Roach to support performances by Paul Kelly & the Messengers during 1989. In April 1990 Connolly and Kelly co-produced Roach's debut album, Charcoal Lane (May 1990) for Aurora/Mushroom. He produced the second album by another indigenous artist, Kev Carmody, Eulogy (For a Black Person), which was issued in November 1990 via Festival.

Connolly received another song writing credit on Paul Kelly & the Messengers' track, "Leaving Her for the Last Time", which appears on Comedy (1991). That album also includes Kelly and Carmody's co-written track, From Little Things Big Things Grow. Kelly disbanded the Messengers in late 1991. However, another album, Hidden Things, was issued by Paul Kelly & the Messengers in March 1992 with its tracks recorded from 1986 to 1991. One of its tracks, "Hard Times", was written by Connolly, who provided lead vocals.

While still a member of the Coloured Girls/the Messengers, Connolly undertook brief side-projects. One of these Da Brudders (1986) with Barclay, Richard Burgman, Bruce McDonald and Tony Robertson, became the Joeys in 1987 when they were joined by Phil Hall. Connolly was a backing musician in Kelly's second wife, Kaarin Fairfax (as Mary-Jo Starr)'s country music band, Mary-Jo Starr's Drive in Motel, which issued an album, Too Many Movies (1990).

Later groups Connolly joined were Love and Squalor (1991) with John Edwards on drums, Archie Larizza on bass guitar, Steve Lucas and Xanthe (both on vocals); and Sqeeze Box Wally (1992) with Arch Cuthbertson, Peter Lawler on bass guitar and Mark Wallace. In early 1994 Connolly, on guitar, was a member of vocalist Sherry Rich's (a.k.a. Sherry Valier, ex-Girl Monstar) backing group the Grievous Angels, a "feisty country-rock" band, with Matt Heydon on keyboards (ex-Nick Barker and the Reptiles), Steve Morrison on drums and Doug Lee Robertson on bass guitar (ex-Icecream Hands). They issued an extended play, Sherry Rich and the Grievous Angels in January 1995.

Steve Connolly died on 16 May 1995 in Melbourne of an unspecified cause. Kelly provided a eulogy at Connolly's family's request, and wrote "I Wasted Time" after attending the funeral. It appears on Kelly's album ...Nothing but a Dream (August 2001). Connolly had finished recording his debut album, And the Usual Suspects (1998), at Atlantis Studios in late 1994, its production was finalised by Tim Millikan. Connolly had formed a backing band, the Usual Suspects, for the project with Millikan on bass guitar and backing vocals (ex-Divinyls), Stephan Fidock on drums and percussion, Dee Hannan on Hammond organ, and Graeme Lewis on piano and Hammond organ. Former bandmate, Kelly listed Connolly's influences, Hubert Sumlin, Brian Wilson, George Jones, the Ramones, Neil Young and Marvin Gaye, he was "soaking up all these opposites to form his own direct, melodic style." Kelly praised the album and attended its launch.