He’s created hits for The Beach Boys, Culture Club and many more, and now he’s coming to Liverpool to pass judgement on the city’s musical talent.
Grammy and BRIT Award winner Steve Levine is set to judge Liverpool’s latest musical offerings as he joins the panel of the Liverpool Music Award. The respected record producer will have his say on who takes gold in 16 award categories.
Steve, produced The Beach Boys’ 1985 self-titled album – the first to be recorded following the death of founder member Dennis Wilson. He also produced all of Culture Club’s classic hits and their three multi-platinum selling albums.
His resume also included working with acts such as Lemmy & Motorhead, The Clash, Liverpool band China Crisis, Mis-teeq and Ziggy Marley. He will play an integral part in the awards, which this year are part Liverpool’s International Music Festival.
And as an extra special incentive for musical acts to enter the awards this year, one of the winning artists, will not only get to experience a recording session in Steve’s brand new studios located at Blatic Creative – but he’ll also produce a record for them.
Steve said: “I’m really honoured to have been asked to be a judge for this year’s Liverpool Music Awards.
“The music community of Liverpool has always made me feel very welcome; it’s a city brimming with creativity and unique talents, something that I’m sure will be evident to everyone with this year’s show.”
Steve joins BBC Radio 2 presenter Janice Long on the judging panel.
Nominations for the awards open at midnight on Tuesday 30 April and will be open until midnight on 31 May. The ceremony itself takes place on Sunday 25 August at St George’s Hall.
Director of the Liverpool Music Awards, Ellie Phillips, said: “I couldn’t actually believe my ears when I heard that Steve had been confirmed as a judge on the panel, I had to triple check that it was actually THE Steve Levine!
“Anyone who knows the music industry knows what a respected and extremely talented figure he his. The fact that someone of his calibre approached the Liverpool Music Awards to get involved just speaks of the huge positive impact which the first year had, on a national scale.
“Steve explained that he was going to be moving to Liverpool and opening his own studio here, and in addition to joining the judging panel, he offered to produce a record in his new studios for one of the Liverpool Music Awards’ seven artist-category winners. This is such an amazing prize, not only because of the recording which will be produced for the artist(s) to keep, but also for the experience of working with Steve himself, which I’m sure will be unforgettable.”
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for culture and tourism, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “The Liverpool International Festival is a celebration of all things music and so to have one of Britain’s most celebrated record producers involved is a real coup.
“It’s also a real seal of approval for the music awards which are only in their second year but are already attracting huge names from the industry.
“I’m sure the addition of Steve to the judging panel will be a huge incentive to musicians to enter the awards, and it will make for a really high-calibre, competitive ceremony!”
To find out more, visit www.liverpoolmusicawards.com.
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Steve won his BRIT Award in 1984 for Best British Producer and the Grammy was awarded for his work with multi-award winning Deniece Williams.
The Liverpool International Music Festival will take place during August and includes performances from international acts at the Echo arena along with a new stage in Sefton Park playing host to the internationally acclaimed Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and chief conductor Vasily Petrenko during the bank holiday weekend.
On the Saturday and Sunday of that weekend, there will also be two outdoor stages located at the Pier Head which will include a tribute to the Beatles and their musical legacy and will be a mixture of cover acts and original artists.
