Born in 1960 on the Isle of Wight, David Steele would become the third member of the Beat. Responding to an advert placed by Dave and Andy for a bassist, David suspected that he would be meeting up with someone he knew on the other side of the Island. This turned out not to be the case. Since no one else responded to the adverstisement, he landed the gig by default at the age of seventeen (Raw and the Unrevealed). At first David was quite weary about playing with Dave and Andy. He was a snide, young punk - not too keen about the two's eclectic record collection. He is described as being a bit odd, but he thought the same about the others' quirkiness. Not too long after joining the band, David took a job in Birmingham training to become a nurse in a mental hospital. With his help, the hospital even served as a practice room after hours for a while (Halasa). David obtained his nickname "Shuffle" from Everertt Morton's mother who, after watching the band practice, coined the name because of "the way he lurched and jumped about during rehearsal" (Halasa). After the Beat split, he and Andy formed the successful pop band the Fine Young Cannibals. Rather than playing bass for this band, David would man the drums. He continues to remain active with various aspects of music. Sources: |
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