Steve who?

That's because he earns his living as a session singer.

And to date he's lent his larynx to musical projects involving the likes of Sir Cliff Richard, former Free frontman Paul Rogers and teeny heartthrobs Take That. Not bad for a bloke who's never had a singing lesson in his life.

When he's not mixing it with the stars Steve, who was born in Lincoln, keeps the bank balance healthy by doing vocals for radio and television commercials - for instance, it is his dulcet tones you can hear on the latest TV commercial for the Iceland supermarket chain.

The son of an RAF flyer, Steve had a nomadic childhood before his family finally settled in Wilmslow, where he attended the local grammar school and took to singing like a duck to water.

He would imitate his idols on the radio and sing along to Beatles albums taken to the family home by neighbours and friends, and says: "I have distinct recollections of racing my brother to the broom cupboard to pick up a carpet beater to play air guitar to Jerry and the Pacemakers."

But his first taste of the music business came as a teenage member of a long gone local rock band 'Monroe'. The group were on the verge of breaking into the big time after securing a record deal with the Polydor label but made just one album and a single before deciding to go their separate ways. For Steve, however, his music career was only just beginning.

Jingles

A contact he'd met during his Monroe days put him in touch with Alfasound, the recording studio behind numerous radio jingles and commercials.

Steve soon made a name for himself in this field, and one thing led to another, as they say.

But Steve says meeting pop stars isn't the biggest thrill he gets out of his work as a session singer – he reckons the job is more challenging than it is glamorous. I now realise that the chief stock-in-trade is flexibility, because you can be asked to do anything from The Smurfs to Oasis," he says. "I find the professional challenge of that even more engaging than the musical element."

In 1992 Steve was asked to join Cliff Richard's backing group on his UK & Eire tour. Sir Cliff's dedication to his work made a big impression on Steve, who describes him as 'the consummate professional'.

Steve has also worked on one of the Take That albums and has more kind words. He says: "It was a treat to work with the boys because they were very quick on the uptake."

Although he has no burning desire to write his own songs and make it as a singer in his own right, he's busy working on a musical based on the legend of  King Arthur. Sadly, we won't get to see it just yet, because it's being performed in the Czech Republic later this summer - though Steve hopes it will attract British backing in the not too distant future.

He lives with his partner Jane and their children Kate, six, and seven months old Alice. If Kate came to him in ten years time and told him she'd like a career in the music business, would he encourage her?

"I think I'm going to do everything I can to steer her towards a stable career because the one thing that working in music can never be said to be is secure," says Steve.

"I would hope she would train for something that would give her security."