Steve McGarvie Music
Darlington, UK
Welcome to the site! This is the place to find details of all of Steve's projects, including community choirs, private instrumental teaching and musical arrangements for a range of ensembles.
A band for any occasion
Steve is an active member in the North East music scene and plays in the bands listed below:
The Smokin' Spitfires
The Smokin' Spitfires are an eight piece Soul and R'n'B band playing original music written by lead singer Neil Hunter, plus covers of legendary soul artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and many more. Neil, along with trombone player Terry O'Hern, were the mainstays of the Eastside Torpedoes who were one of the most popular bands ever to emerge from the North East of England. The Spitfires have carried on the Torpedoes' mantle of great musicians playing original music that very quickly become classics in their own right.
The Smokin' Spitfires Soul Band allows us to play our favourite classic soul tunes such as Hold Back the Night, 6345789 and Soul Man. We often mix a few of these in our set but mainly these are used when we play for functions - weddings, birthdays etc. The band also play at the Cluny, Lime Street, Ouseburn , Newcastle on the 1st Sunday of every month, starting at 12.30, helping to raise money for the Bubble Foundation. If you wish to book the band please get in touch us via our website at http://smokinspitfires.wix.com/smokinspitfires.
The Durham Alumni Big Band
The Durham Alumni Big Band (DABB) is made up of former members and teachers of the Durham County Youth Big Band (DCYBB) and plays a mixture of traditional swing band numbers as well as more contemporary and commissioned pieces with a look towards modern jazz. The band has been joined by British jazz greats Julian Seigel (sax) and Mark Nightingale (trombone). The band competes annually at the Great North Big Band Jazz Festival held at Sunderland University and won the Open Section in 2015 and 2025, with the saxophone, trumpet and trombone sections taking the Best Section Prize at various times. DABB also perform at the Darlington Jazz Club and Darlington Jazz Festival and have been drawing large crowds for their exciting, dynamic performances. In March 2015 they played a sell-out concert in the Central Hall of the Dolphin Centre, featuring Scottish trumpeter Bruce Adams and multi-instrumentalist Al Wood. For more details check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Durham-Alumni-Big-Band/1414997798819381?fref=ts