- published: 15 Jun 2015
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Steve Nieve (born Steven Nason, 19 February 1958, London, England) is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.
The Royal College of Music student joined Costello's backing band The Attractions in 1977. Nason received his musical moniker "Nieve" (pronounced as "naïve") while on the Attractions' first tour for Stiff Records: it was bestowed by fellow tourmate Ian Dury who had been astonished by Nason's innocent query, "What's a groupie?"
Nieve played piano, organ, and other keyboard instruments on most of Costello's projects over the next ten years, including the albums This Year's Model (1978), Imperial Bedroom (1982), and Blood and Chocolate (1986). He wrote some of the material on The Attractions' Costello-less album, Mad About The Wrong Boy under the name Norman Brain, in collaboration with his then girlfriend, Fay Hart. (He also wrote other songs as Steve Nieve.)
In the mid 1980s, Costello began to work less frequently with The Attractions and stopped working with them entirely between 1987 and 1993. During this period, Nieve focused on session work for other artists (The Neville Brothers, Hothouse Flowers, Graham Parker, Squeeze,Tim Finn, Kirsty MacColl, Madness), and David Bowie. Nieve released records under the group name Perils of Plastic - a collaboration with vocalist Steve Allen, releasing the singles "Ring A Ding Ding" and "Debile Matin" (recorded live at Avenue La Grande Armée, Paris, and remixed and produced by Paul O'Duffy) and led the house band (billed as 'Steve Nieve and The Playboys') on the UK TV series Tonight with Jonathan Ross.