"I want people to remember moments of their lives" - Steve Steinman wants to bring the good moments back with classic rock ballads

We had a chat about his career to date, from the beginning to now and it’s been quite the adventure for t’old Steve. When we spoke (on Monday, August 2), Steve’s album, Take A Leap of Faith, had just released to a positive reception, “Number one! Number one in the rock charts today on both Amazon and iTunes” responded Steve, gleefully.

It’s quite amazing that it’s taken Steve so long to release his own album, but then when you consider that his career was kickstarted by his memorable performance on Stars in Their Eyes back in 1993, where he sang Meat Loaf’s hit song, Bat Out Of Hell — you can understand that he’s been a little preoccupied with other projects and a bevy of brilliant musicals.

Fast forward the best part of 30 years, plus a performative name change (his actual surname is already in use as a stage name) and well here you are, Steve Steinman - a homage to the legendary Jim Steinman - three sell-out musicals, years spent touring some of the world’s most iconic venues, such as the London Palladium, Sun City in South Africa, Sheffield’s City Hall and a number of arena shows too. Perhaps it was finally time to forge his own path and release an album of his own? What a start. Number one in the rock charts at the first time of asking. Not too shabby at all.

It took quite some time to get around to doing his own LP and thanks to an enforced hiatus during the pandemic that’s just what he did. Steve says that “I just wanted to bring light into people’s life. I want people to remember moments of their lives” and that’s what Take A Leap of Faith is all about. Taking people back to the bygone age of classic rock, and just enjoying the moment.

Take A Leap of Faith is the embodiment of the classic rock album, featuring a number of driving hard rock ballads that showcase the vocal range that Steve possesses. This is particularly evident during the title track, which clearly sets out its stall and lets you know what to expect throughout. It’s a barn-stormer of an album and if you’re a fan of the late Jim Steinman’s body of work then you’re in for a treat. The album even features a song that was originally penned for Meat Loaf back in 1982, by the legendary grammy nominated John Parr — best known for his 1985 US #1 single, St Elmo’s Fire.

“It kind of just made me sit down and have a listen, it’s kept me busy through lockdown and that’s just what we’ve done. Why not, let’s do it, and we’ve got some amazing songs. We’re also kind of tipping our cap to Jim Steinman - he passed away earlier this year - and they’ve got that… feel. It goes well with the way I feel and the way I sing, and we just seem to have a market for it.“

The lockdown hit entertainment hard, and his production company was able to ride out the tough period with the help of the Arts Council, “who have been magnificent to be fair. It’s amazing how little the government thinks of the entertainment sector and don’t realise how much money is spent on it”, he’s got a point there.

“I just can’t wait to get back on stage, I think people really want to get back to entertainment. The entertainment industry has been the hardest hit. Everywhere else seemed to be open barring entertainment. So it’s been a real drawn out period that was just hard to survive.”

Pretty soon he’ll be back on the road with his hit musical, Anything For Love. A continuation of The Meat Loaf Story. This production also features a very special guest in the guise of Lorraine Crosby, who was the female lead vocalist on Meat Loaf’s Grammy Award winning song and worldwide number one hit, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).

“The history behind Sheffield City Hall is huge and I love coming back to the city. It’s just great seeing the audience enjoying the shows and you have people that come to my shows all around the country. Proper fans like.”

Finally Steve, Lorraine and the cast will be able to continue their previously rescheduled performances at Sheffield City Hall on October 20. Rock on!

Take A Leap of Faith is out now on Amazon Music, Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify.

You can buy tickets to Anything For Love - The Meat Loaf Story here.