Skip to main content

Steve White

Professorial Staff - Drum Kit (WBP); Drums (BA Music Performance and Industry)

Music

Area of Work

Wind, Brass and Percussion Department, BA in Music Industry and Performance
Steve White

Biography

Steve White was born in Bermondsey, South London and has lived in the south part of London all his life. He began to show an interest in drumming through a snare drum that was given to him by an uncle at the aged of eight. At the age of ten Steve began to learn simple side drums parts as a member of the Drum Corp of his local Boys Brigade Company. He later attended the ILEA’s Centre for Young Musicians in Pimlico. At 16, through the support of King Crimsons’s Bill Bruford Steve was recommended and accepted on a scholarship to the drum school PIT in Los Angeles and also won a place at the Berkley School of music in Boston. In 1982 he was invited to audition for an unnamed band, which turned out to be Paul Weller’s new group The Style Council, with whom he played until 1989. After the Style Council, Steve co-founded the Jazz Renegades with saxophonist Alan Barnes. The band toured the UK and Japan as part of the burgeoning Acid Jazz movement and Steve went on to play with such groups as Working Week, Galliano, The Young Disciples, The James Taylor Quartet, and Ian Dury.

In recent years, as well as his continuing association with Paul Weller, Steve has played with bands including Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, The Who, Jon Lord, Sam Gray and La Roux. He has also established a reputation as an in demand personal teacher and motivator, course instructor at the Freddie Gee Drum Academy, and as a drum set clinician. In 2001 Steve took on the role of product consultant Premier Drums as a product consultant, and in 2014 became Premier’s Head of Education.