Steve Brookstein

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Steve Desmond Brookstein (born 10 November 1968) is a British singer, probably best known as the first winner of the X Factor in December 2004, with two-thirds of the telephone votes.

On 8 January 2005 his cover of Against All Odds reached number one in the UK singles chart, staying there for one week. His first album Heart & Soul debuted at the top of the UK album chart on 16 May 2005.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Musical career 1.2 Since X-Factor 1.2.1 Other TV appearances 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 Trivia 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Musical career

In 1996, Brookstein had previously appeared on LWT's The Big Big Talent Show, compered by Jonathan Ross, where he came second.

In 1998 Steve was part of a production team with Livingstone Brown and a young singer called Katie Jackson. The group Maker was signed to Columbia Records in New York and Steve signed his publishing to Evan Lamberg at EMI publishing. When the A&R manager at Colombia Joanna Iffrah left the label, the project quickly went cold and soon after they were dropped. At the same time Steve and Livingstone's production company signed Laura Muncy, now Laura More, to Innocent Records. Once the deal was done the label bought in their own producers and writers. The project eventually went the same way as the other one and Laura was dropped^{[citation needed]}.

Steve continued to write songs but went back to singing. He did pubs, clubs, private parties, weddings and corporate gigs. Steve was the voice behind 'The Four Vandals'. A fictious group created in the 1990s by ex-Blackpool Mecca DJ and record producer Ian Levine to record two or three Soul records, one of the more famous of those songs with a nice beat and feel to it, called The Wrong Side of Town. Levine then allegedly claimed that the new tailor-made record had been recorded in the 1960s and that only two copies were known to exist. The record became sought after by followers of Northern Soul and large sums of money changed hands before the hoax was discovered^[1]. However, the single, even though its origins are now known, is still a big favourite with many Steve Brookstein and general Northern Soul fans.^{[citation needed]}

Eventually Steve was spotted singing in a bar in London in early 2004. He was asked to support Dionne Warwick. After a successful night at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, the agent asked if he would like to support Lionel Richie at Wembley^{[citation needed]}. Steve declined in order to participate in The X Factor.

Brookstein was the winner of the first series of X Factor in 2004. He was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced as the winner during the 11 December final after receiving over two thirds of the 9 million public votes.

[edit] Since X-Factor

Brookstein parted company with his record label eight months after winning the competition when they could not reach a deal for a second album. Although his first album Heart & Soul topped the UK album chart in May 2005, it won the Naomi Award for Worst British Album in February 2006.

Brookstein formed his own label, through which he released his second single and album "40,000 things" independently on October 2, and October 9, 2006 respectively. The album was a collection of songs that he has written over the years. Brookstein released his new Single "Fighting Butterflies" on 2nd October, 2006, from his new album "40,000 things" - released on 9th October, 2006. The single failed to make the official UK top 100, and the album failed to make the official UK top 75 Album Chart.

Steve Brookstein's tour of minor UK venues ran from the end of September 06 through to mid November 06. Despite continual claims of not wanting to rely on covers, they in fact form the majority of the set-list for the tour. On October 16th. 2006, the Daily Mail newspaper reported that just 120 people attended Brookstein's concert at the 930 capacity Worthing Assembly Hall. A photograph showing row upon row of empty seats, with Brookstein on stage in the distance, accompanies the online version of the article. On October 19th. 2006, emails offering "Tickets for a tenner!" for the opportunity to see "Steve Brookstien [sic] plus support Eileen Hunter" on Sunday October 29th. 2006 at the (Newcastle) Journal Tyne Theatre, were sent out to those who had registered an interest when Brookstein was still signed to BMG. Tickets for the venue were originally priced at £18.50 each.

[edit] Other TV appearances

Brookstein appeared on reality show The Match, where he was joined by Big Brother 6 winner Anthony Hutton and Philip Olivier from Brookside, ex cricketer Phil Tufnell, and Patrick McGuinness ("Paddy" from 'Pheonix Nights'). He survived a few matches but was eventually put on the bench with two other celebrities and voted off. Steve has also appeared on 'The Wright Show' and 'Loose Women'.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• (2005) Heart and Soul #1
• (2006) 40,000 Things

[edit] Singles

• (2004) "Against All Odds" #1
• (2006) "Fighting Butterflies"

[edit] Trivia

• Brookstein donated all proceeds from his number 1 single to the Thailand Tsunami Disaster Fund.

[edit] References

1. ^ Feb On The Scene out Soul Source, January 16, 2005

[edit] External links

• New Steve Brookstein Official Website

Preceded by Michelle McManus as Pop Idol Winner

X Factor Winner Series 1 (2004)

Succeeded by Shayne Ward