Steve Eaves

Steve Eaves

Steve Eaves is a Welsh-language poet, songwriter and singer. He is born in 1952 in Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, and lives in the Bethesda area of Gwynedd, North Wales. He has worked as a performing musician for more than 40 years and also works as a language planning consultant.

Early life and performance

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he works as both a labourer and a musician, making regular trips to Chester, Crewe and other places to play at folk clubs and underground venues. He also performs at Les Cousins in Soho, where he shares a floor spot with blues singer Jo Ann Kelly, and appears with other underground acts of the period including Al Stewart, Tea and Symphony, and the Sutherland Brothers.

Welsh studies and literary work

During the mid-1970s, he studies Welsh and French at the University of Lampeter and gains literacy skills in Welsh. He comes to wider attention in the early 1980s through two volumes of poetry, Noethni in 1983 and Jazz yn y nos three years later. His poetry is mainly in free verse.

Music career

In the same period, he begins setting his poetry to music and performs as a singer and guitarist. He first appears with his Triawd, or Trio, which later develops into his current backing group, Rhai Pobl. He is also associated with Steve Eaves a Rhai Pobl and Steve Eaves a’i Driawd.

Blues is a major influence on both his writing and music, with jazz, folk and rock also part of his sound. His lyrics also include references to Christianity and Taoism. He has released nine albums and two books of poetry. His 2007 album Moelyci, recorded over six years, deals largely with his response to the death of his wife, Siân.

Personal life

He is a widower and a father of three. His eldest daughter, Lleuwen, is a jazz singer and musician, and his youngest daughter, Manon Steffan Ros, is a novelist and twice winner of the Drama Medal for playwrights at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.