Steve Nieve looks back at Costello, Stiff tours and the magical sound of pianos

At the age of four, Steve Nieve drew pictures of piano keys and pretended to play them. He joined Elvis Costello & 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 … … being a teenager as fond of Stravinsky as Alice Cooper and the Carpenters … playing in a mid-‘70s Top Forty covers band … the ad for a “rockin’ pop combo” that changed his life … touring with Costello and Ian Dury and how he got his stage name … playing the Thunderbirds theme as a chat show bandleader on the Last Resort … a giant Klavins piano “that has stairs leading up the seat” … working on Morrissey’s Kill Uncle … the 40,000 audience that watched his online Lockdown shows … unreliable stage pianos and the story of Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert. Tickets here: The “About Love” album: Steve’s new album: Steve’s Instagram: Kessada’s Instagram: Help us to keep the conversation going: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Steve Nieve looks back at Costello, Stiff tours and the magical sound of pianos is an episode from Word In Your Ear by Word In Your Ear.

This episode is 42:36 long.

This episode was published on Mar 16, 2026.

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