HE was one of the first to recognise Rick Astley’s potential which helped pluck him from obscurity to superstardom.

Now Steve Galeazzi, whose whole career has been in the music business, has launched his own company to host and promote gigs.

So as the 68-year-old prepares for his first time in charge of a tour – the 25th anniversary tour of The Stars From The Commitments – he spoke to Weekend to reflect on his Warrington roots.

Steve grew up in Wigan but soon caught the attention of Warrington talent agent Dave Warwick after he became a DJ ‘by accident’ in 1971.

He was delivering beer to Sloopies in Wigan which at the time was one of the most prestigious clubs in the area.

When he arrived everyone was in a panic as the DJ’s car had broken down and the doors were about to open.

They had a record collection and a deck but no one knew how to use it – until Steve revealed that he had actually designed the kit.

Fresh from Wigan Technical College, he was working as an electronics engineer at SAI who were among the first to pioneer disco turntables.

So he was asked to put on some background music while they waited for the DJ to arrive.

Steve said: “At first they said the DJ would be in at 8.30pm then it changed to 10pm. I was turning white. By 10pm it was rammed and there was still no sign of the DJ. Every time I put a record on I’d peer through my fingers in fear that the crowd were going to turn against me.

“I was waiting for things to get thrown at me.

“At the end of the night they said: ‘Everybody said the records you put on were brilliant. Everyone had a great night. You’ve got the job’.

Steve found he was a natural and continued working the Wigan circuit until late 1975 when he met Dave Warwick and Tony Graham, of David Anthony Promotions (DAP).

He added: “I wanted to work in Warrington and they were the big cheeses at the time so I called Dave and the first gig I did was at the Co-op Hall.”

That was a former Winwick Street club where The Who once played and it led to other work for Steve, most notably at the former Wilderspool Leisure Centre.

When a DJ was ill in 1976 he stepped in. Steve ended up getting the regular Monday slot and built the ‘quiet night’ from about 70 people to 500 people within six weeks.

Steve said: “I had a great record collection, musical knowledge and connections to the soul scene but people also liked me because they considered me a bit eccentric and a bit wild.

“I took to Dave straight away. We got on great. He was so bubbly.

“Dave is one the few real gentlemen.

“He’s got honesty and integrity while many agents and managers have fins on their back.”

That relationship led to Steve’s opinion being sought by Dave on some of the acts he was working with and that is how he became one of the first to hear Newton’s Rick Astley.

 

He added: “People like Dave particularly respected my opinion because at the time I was extremely knowledgeable.

“I could tell you who produced that, who recorded that and the history of a record.

“In those good old days when Dave and Tony had the DAP agency they had a band called FBI.

“I went down to the office and they said: ‘We’ve got this new band – we think they’re going to do something’.

“They got to about the fifth track when I picked up on Rick’s voice.

“He was the drummer but what happened was they had to do all the tracks in one day in the studio and the singer’s voice was going a bit so Rick did some of the vocals.

“I said the band aren’t going to do anything – one of a thousand – but I thought Rick was a diamond in the rough.

“I said: ‘His voice is so quirky and so different that he’ll either be massive or a total failure. They’ll be nothing in between.

“’As far as I’m concerned his voice is a cross between Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole with a hint of Marvin Gaye. It’s got that kind of silkiness’.”

Steve’s other Warrington connection is that his parents met at RAF Burtonwood.

His dad Dominic, who was involved with the Berlin Airlift to bring supplies to the people of West Berlin during the Soviet Union blockade of 1948 and 49, met Steve’s mum Joan at the base who was working there as a secretary.

Steve said: “I spent a lot of my early years at Burtonwood and it shaped my music taste in a way as the big soul movement in the UK was partly because of all the GIs and airforce guys bringing over all these records.”

The Stars From The Commitments plus Tommy Hunt will play at The Edge in Wigan on November 23. Visit theedgewigan.com or call 01942 244460