Katy Steele

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Australian singer, guitarist and songwriter

title: "Katy Steele" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "1983-births", "australian-women-songwriters", "musicians-from-perth,-western-australia", "australian-people-of-new-zealand-descent", "australian-multi-instrumentalists", "people-educated-at-mount-lawley-senior-high-school", "21st-century-australian-singers", "21st-century-australian-women-singers", "australian-twins"] description: "Australian singer, guitarist and songwriter" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Steele" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Australian singer, guitarist and songwriter ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]

FieldValue
nameKaty Steele
imageKaty Steele (33305523231).jpg
captionSteele in 2017
backgroundsolo_singer
birth_nameKate Elizabeth Steele
birth_date
birth_placePerth, Western Australia
instrumentVocals, guitar
genreRock, pop
occupationMusician, guitarist, singer, songwriter, keyboard
years_active2001–present
past_member_ofLittle Birdy
::

| name = Katy Steele | image = Katy Steele (33305523231).jpg | caption = Steele in 2017 | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Kate Elizabeth Steele | alias = | birth_date = | birth_place = Perth, Western Australia | origin = | instrument = Vocals, guitar | genre = Rock, pop | occupation = Musician, guitarist, singer, songwriter, keyboard | years_active = 2001–present | label = | past_member_of = Little Birdy | website =

Kate Elizabeth Steele (born 9 September 1983) is an Australian singer, guitarist and songwriter of the four-piece rock band Little Birdy.

Early life

Steele was born Kate Elizabeth Steele on 9 September 1983, in Perth, Western Australia,{{cite web|url=https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/8011213/perth-grown-music-icon-katy-steele-to-perform-christmas-carol-at-mandurah-forum/|title=Katy Steele performs as part of Spotlight Series|work= Mandurah Mail|date=13 December 2022|access-date=27 December 2022|author=Ferguson, Samantha}} and has a fraternal twin brother, Jake. She and her brother are the youngest in the family. Her father, Rick Steele, was a New Zealand–born accomplished blues musician, together with Katy's oldest brother Jesse on drums, in his band, Rick Steele & The Hot Biscuit Band. Her older brother, Luke, is the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of alternative rock band The Sleepy Jackson and also a member of the electronic music duo Empire of the Sun. Jake performs on keyboards with his own band, Injured Ninja.

Steele grew up in the southern suburb of Jandakot and went to Mount Lawley Senior High School. She first started playing in a Perth electro-pop band, The Plastik Scene, in 2001.

Career

Little Birdy (2002–2009)

Main article: Little Birdy

In 2002, Steele left the band and joined Simon Leach to form Little Birdy. Steele won the inaugural Jessica Michalik Contemporary Music Award, presented by The Big Day Out on 8 March 2004. In 2004, she was also awarded the Contemporary Music Prize by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). At the 2005 West Australian Music Industry Awards Steele won the WAMi for 'Best Female Vocalist'. She also recorded a version of the classic, "Six Months In a Leaky Boat", on the compilation album, She Will Have Her Way, a collection of Neil and Tim Finn songs performed by female Australian and New Zealand musicians. The song reached number 96 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2005

In 2007, Steele won best female performer in the Australian live music awards. Katy has attracted comparisons to Kate Bush and PJ Harvey .

Also in 2007, Steele was invited by Paul Kelly to open for him on his 2007 'Stolen Apples' tour. Faced with a long run of solo shows, Steele set about writing new material. The material was then adapted and forms the basis of Little Birdy's new album, Confetti.

In 2008, Steele relocated to Brunswick, with the other band members also moving to Melbourne. In early 2010 Steele announced on Triple J radio that she would be moving to New York and the band announced that they would be taking some time out to pursue other individual ventures.

Solo career (2010–present)

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Katy_Steele_(33393416296).jpg" caption="Steele in 2017"] ::

Steele moved to New York City in March 2010 for a change of scenery, and to start work on her new solo project. ::quote "I’ve always loved the idea of NYC. The largeness, the intensity, the struggle. A lot of my idols have either come from New York or moved there at some point, so it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. There has never really been a chance in my life before now to have a break, or to pursue other directions." ::

In May 2010, Steele returned home for a whirlwind sold-out tour to the major capital cities. She showcased her new material, along with some old classics, and stirred the audience with insights into her new life, and love, in New York.

In July 2010, Steele was back in Australia supporting Richard Ashcroft (The Verve) on the Australian leg of his tour, and upon her return to New York, she announced her appointment as the Music Ambassador for the Williamsburg International Film Festival (Willifest 2010), for which a video for her song "Sorrow" was recorded.

Steele collaborated with her brother, Luke on "Good Things" as part of a Maurice Frawley tribute album.

In late November 2011, Steele featured in a new release singing harmonies with Josh Pyke on the song, "Punch in the Heart". The video for the song sees both singers in a split-screen view performing twin one-take recordings singing to the camera.

On 13 March 2013, Steele's first single, "Fire Me Up" premiered on the Triple J radio program Home & Hosed. "Fire Me Up" was also available through Bandcamp, where the track could be downloaded for free.

Steele released her debut studio album, Human, on 21 October 2016. The album reached No. 23 on the Australian album charts and Steele undertook a thirteen-date national tour in February to March 2017 in support of the album's release.

On 29 September 2022, Steele released her first single since 2013, titled "Feel So Bad".

On 31 March 2023, Steele released "Come and See Me" from her forthcoming album, Big Star.

Personal life

In December 2017 Steele married Scottish musician, Graham McLuskie, and in April 2018 she had a daughter, Iona.

Discography

Studio albums

::data[format=table] | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | AUS | Human | Big Star | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 23 | | | | | | | — | | | | | ::

Awards and nominations

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The West Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMIs) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). Katy Steele won three awards.

(wins only) |- | 2003 | Katy Steele | Most Popular Local Original Female Vocalist | |- | 2005 | Katy Steele | Best Female Vocalist | |- | 2006 | Katy Steele | Best Female Vocalist | |}

References

References

  1. (9 September 2011). "On This Day". Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited.
  2. "On This Day September 9". Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited.
  3. Czerniak, Maria. "Rick Steele". Groove Magazine.
  4. Purvis, Ray. (23 February 2008). "Turning Steele wheels". [[The West Australian.
  5. (1 October 2015). "School room is pure Steele". The Perth Voice.
  6. "The Plastik Scene". FasterLouder.com.
  7. Zuel, Bernard. (9 March 2004). "These are no hair today, gone tomorrow winners". [[Sydney Morning Herald]].
  8. Gadd, Michael. (16 May 2007). "Wolfmother knows Jack". News.com.au.
  9. "Australian bands at SXSW 2005". Australian Music Collective.
  10. "LITTLE BIRDY – The Summary Outfit". Reverb Magazine.
  11. Donovan, Patrick. (22 May 2009). "Fully fledged Birdy". [[The Age]].
  12. (27 January 2010). "The Doctor : Wednesday 27 January | media | triple j". Abc.net.au.
  13. (8 May 2009). "Little Birdy". Little Birdy.
  14. (19 May 2010). "Another Birdy: Katy Steele". Side Street, Sydney.
  15. Crittenden, Jasmine. (25 March 2013). "Katy Steele". Concrete Playground.
  16. Pepper, Daile. (8 July 2010). "Katy Steele joins Richard Ashcroft". [[Sydney Morning Herald]].
  17. "Artists – Liberation Music". Liberation.com.au.
  18. "Josh Pyke Feat. Katy Steele – Punch In The Heart". MusicFeeds.
  19. (1 December 2011). "Josh Pyke Feat. Katy Steele – Punch In The Heart". AusPop.com.au.
  20. "Home & Hosed Playlists". [[Triple J]].
  21. "Katy Steele". [[Bandcamp]].
  22. McCabe, Kathy. (20 October 2016). "Former Little Birdy singer Katy Steele scrapped two recorded albums in four years in New York". News.com.au.
  23. "Katy Steele Human tour". Female.com.au.
  24. "Katy Steele makes Powerhouse Return with 'Feel So Bad'". Good Call Live.
  25. (31 March 2023). "New Music Discoveries 31st March: Sahara Beck, Georgia Fields, Katy Steele and more".
  26. Hanna, Jay. (16 July 2019). "Soul Survivor". [[The West Australian]].
  27. MacNaughton, Tanya. (27 November 2020). "Katy Steele's soul search comes full circle in new album Soul Bride". PerthNow.
  28. "Katy Steele – Human".
  29. [http://www.wam.asn.au/wamifest05.htm 2005 West Australian Music Industry Award Winners] {{webarchive. link. (27 September 2007)

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

living-people1983-birthsaustralian-women-songwritersmusicians-from-perth,-western-australiaaustralian-people-of-new-zealand-descentaustralian-multi-instrumentalistspeople-educated-at-mount-lawley-senior-high-school21st-century-australian-singers21st-century-australian-women-singersaustralian-twins