Cockney Rebel singer Steve Harley, who had a hit with Make Me Smile, dies at 73
- Harley’s family said he had ‘passed away peacefully at home, with his family by his side’. Harley said late last year he was being treated for cancer
- British band’s 1975 single went on to be covered scores of times and was used on countless soundtracks, including in the 1997 film The Full Monty
Steve Harley, a British musician whose glam-rock band Cockney Rebel had an enduring hit with the song Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me), has died. He was 73.
Harley’s family said on Sunday that he had “passed away peacefully at home, with his family by his side”. Harley said late last year he was being treated for “a nasty cancer”.
Born in London in 1951, Harley spent almost four years of his childhood hospitalised after contracting polio, periods during which he began reading and writing poetry.
He worked as a trainee accountant and as journalist on local newspapers, and began his performing career at London folk clubs.
He formed Cockney Rebel, who released debut album The Human Menagerie in 1973, before foundering over creative differences.
With a new line-up and rebranded as Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, the band released the 1975 album The Best Years of Our Lives, which contained Harley’s biggest hit.