Steve Appleton (musician)
Encyclopedia
Steve Appleton is a British
singer, songwriter
and record producer
.
At the age of fifteen, he began playing piano in a Soho restaurant performing his own material and covers from the likes of Elton John
and Billy Joel
. He was signed to RCA
in mid 2007, after which he went travelling across Europe with friends before finishing his debut album.
Since then Appleton has furthered his travels with publicity shoots in Miami and Los Angeles
, and a trip to Cape Town
where the video
for "Dirty Funk" was filmed with director Robert Hales. During 2009 he performed alongside John Legend
, The Saturdays
and The Pussycat Dolls, along with headlining his own gigs up throughout the UK.
Appleton was the face of a Smart (automobile)
campaign during 2009/2010. He appeared in a TV commercial performing his single "Dirty Funk". The advertisement was shown in Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Japan. He is sponsored by Puma AG
, X-Mini and Freshman Guitars
.
The opening to Appleton's "Dirty Funk" was also used by the British telephone provider BT
in their 2010 'Summer Deals' advertising campaign.
Appleton's debut single "Dirty Funk", written when Appleton was only 16, was released on 17 April 2009. In Japan it was number 1 on the airplay charts for 6 weeks, making it the biggest radio song in Japan during the summer of 2009. A second single, "City Won't Sleep" was released in August 2009 in both the UK and Japan. His first album, When the Sun Comes Up was written and produced by Appleton, performing every instrument on the album. It was released on 31 July 2009 in Japan, and on 31 August 2009 in the UK.
In August 2010, Appleton sang the theme song, Everyone, at the opening of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
in Singapore
televised to an estimated 1.5 billion people, where he represented Europe alongside South African Jody Williams (Africa), Singaporean Tabitha Nauser
(Asia) and Australian Jessica Mauboy
(Oceania). American Sean Kingston
(Americas) who was due as well did not perform due to a passport mix-up during immigration. The song was written and produced by Ken Lim
, a judge on Asian Idol
as well as Singapore Idol
and charted at #1 in Singapore for 2 weeks.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
At the age of fifteen, he began playing piano in a Soho restaurant performing his own material and covers from the likes of Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
. He was signed to RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in mid 2007, after which he went travelling across Europe with friends before finishing his debut album.
Since then Appleton has furthered his travels with publicity shoots in Miami and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and a trip to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
where the video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Dirty Funk" was filmed with director Robert Hales. During 2009 he performed alongside John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
, The Saturdays
The Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
and The Pussycat Dolls, along with headlining his own gigs up throughout the UK.
Appleton was the face of a Smart (automobile)
Smart (automobile)
Smart is an automotive branch of Daimler AG. Smart is a German manufacturer of microcars produced in Hambach, France, and Böblingen, Germany...
campaign during 2009/2010. He appeared in a TV commercial performing his single "Dirty Funk". The advertisement was shown in Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Japan. He is sponsored by Puma AG
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...
, X-Mini and Freshman Guitars
Freshman Guitars
Freshman Guitars is a Scottish guitar company launched in 2002, producing acoustic and electric guitars.The guitars are made in China, under supervision from the headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland....
.
The opening to Appleton's "Dirty Funk" was also used by the British telephone provider BT
BT
BT may stand for:* Baal teshuva, a Jew who became Orthodox * Babylonian Talmud, a central text in Judaism* Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium which forms Bt toxins...
in their 2010 'Summer Deals' advertising campaign.
Appleton's debut single "Dirty Funk", written when Appleton was only 16, was released on 17 April 2009. In Japan it was number 1 on the airplay charts for 6 weeks, making it the biggest radio song in Japan during the summer of 2009. A second single, "City Won't Sleep" was released in August 2009 in both the UK and Japan. His first album, When the Sun Comes Up was written and produced by Appleton, performing every instrument on the album. It was released on 31 July 2009 in Japan, and on 31 August 2009 in the UK.
In August 2010, Appleton sang the theme song, Everyone, at the opening of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
2010 Summer Youth Olympics
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in the city-state of Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, in the XXIX Olympiad. They were the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics, a major...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
televised to an estimated 1.5 billion people, where he represented Europe alongside South African Jody Williams (Africa), Singaporean Tabitha Nauser
Tabitha Nauser
Tabitha Nauser is a Singaporean Pop/R&B singer and artiste who was the second runner-up in the 2009 season of Singapore Idol . In 2010, she was selected to represent the continent of Asia to sing the Official Theme Song of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Everyone...
(Asia) and Australian Jessica Mauboy
Jessica Mauboy
Jessica Hilda Mauboy , is an Indigenous Australian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, Mauboy was the runner-up on the fourth season of Australian Idol, she had auditioned for the talent show in Alice Springs to pursue a recording career...
(Oceania). American Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
(Americas) who was due as well did not perform due to a passport mix-up during immigration. The song was written and produced by Ken Lim
Ken Lim
Ken Lim is an album producer, composer, publisher, artist manager and concert promoter from Singapore who came under the spotlight in 2004 as a chief judge of the Singapore Idol series...
, a judge on Asian Idol
Asian Idol
Asian Idol is a reality singing competition, which featured winners of Idol competitions from six Southeast and South Asian countries consisting of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam...
as well as Singapore Idol
Singapore Idol
Singapore Idol is a television show on Channel 5 of MediaCorp TV. It is a competition among undiscovered singers in Singapore. Like others in the Idol series, it is modelled after Pop Idol. The current judges are singer/songwriter Dick Lee and record producers Florence Lian and Ken Lim. Previous...
and charted at #1 in Singapore for 2 weeks.
As a main artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
JPN Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
|||
| "Dirty Funk" | 2009 | 67 | 2 | 71 | When the Sun Comes Up |
| "City Won't Sleep" | — | — | — | ||
| "Sparks Sparks (Steve Appleton song) "Sparks" is a song by English pop singer-songwriter Steve Appleton from his second studio album, Colours. The track was released on July 20, 2011, and is marketed as the lead single from his Colours album.-Chart performance:... " |
2011 | — | 21 | — | Colours |
Albums
- August 2009 When the Sun Comes Up
- September 2009 iTunes Live: London Festival -'09 EP
- July 2010 The Sunshine EP (Japan Only)
- August 2011 Colours
- November 2011 Jet Plane EP
External links
- Official website
- Official MySpace page
- Bebo page
- Female First Takeover
- http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2574952/Steve-Appleton-had-a-nude-run-in-with-Anastacia.htmlThe Sun AnastaciaAnastaciaAnastacia is an American singer-songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has had only minor success in her native United States...
Left Painting by Steve]