<p>At the age of four, Steve Nieve drew pictures of piano keys and pretended to play them. He joined Elvis Costello &amp; the Attractions when he was 19, the start of a life that involves having to find a flight case for a Steinway Grand. He talks to us here from his Paris apartment about Stiff package tours, recording remotely, his upcoming shows with the French singer Kessada and …</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… being a teenager as fond of Stravinsky as Alice Cooper and the Carpenters</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… playing in a mid-‘70s Top Forty covers band</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… the ad for a “rockin’ pop combo” that changed his life</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… touring with Costello and Ian Dury and how he got his stage name</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… playing the Thunderbirds theme as a chat show bandleader on the Last Resort</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… a giant Klavins piano “that has stairs leading up the seat”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… working on Morrissey’s Kill Uncle</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… the 40,000 audience that watched his online Lockdown shows</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… unreliable stage pianos and the story of Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Tickets here: </strong><a href="https://www.tickettailor.com/events/westhampsteadartsclub/2059256" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tickettailor.com/events/westhampsteadartsclub/2059256</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>The “About Love” album:</strong> <a href="https://music.apple.com/gb/album/about-love/1834791707" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://music.apple.com/gb/album/about-love/1834791707</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Steve’s new album: </strong><a href="https://stevenieve.hearnow.com/piano-night-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://stevenieve.hearnow.com/piano-night-2026</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Steve’s Instagram: </strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/steveprofessornieve/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/steveprofessornieve/</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Kessada’s Instagram: </strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/iamkessada/&nbsp;" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/iamkessada/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/iamkessada/&nbsp;" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></p><p><a href="www.stevenieve.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.stevenieve.com</a></p><p><a href="www.kessada.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.kessada.com</a></p><br><p><strong>Help us to keep the conversation going: </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>