Bennett & Steele have been around for quite some time now, having met back in the mid 80’s. Both called Colin the guys each have their separate strengths & it seems were destined to meet and work together. Colin Steele is the “Music Man” & Colin Bennett is the “Man With The Words!” & together have always been known simply as “Bennett & Steele”, go on have a look, you’ll find ‘em & they’ve both been very successful songwriters over the years together writing for others musicians.

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Life however, as it so often does, got in the way & as such their daytime work, marriage & children took over for a while. Come the mid 90’s though the two met up once again & started their career as serious songwriters  Their first publishing deal came in 2002 with a song they had written a couple of years earlier called “I Don’t Want To Miss Someone.” The deal was with Sony/ATV and in 2007 a young star-to-be, Amy Cruz,  recorded the song in the famous Red Bus Studios in Salisbury Street, London. This song was released & went on to  become the carrier single for the album, 'Remember My Name' going on to top the charts for three weeks in the Philippines. 

 

They have also had a number of their other songs recorded & released by the French artist Cathy Varna. As Colin S says. “Who would have believed it - a couple of songwriters from Essex having their songs played all around the world – we’re well chuffed!”

Now, Fast forward again, this time to today & the guys took the bold decision & figured it was time to maybe give it a go themselves; you know, be the ones in the spotlight & The Weekend Blues Band was born! Now it’s their time to shine & showcase their song writing talents in the blues/rock genre to the world, with no one to hide behind. It’s a brave move for sure in this day & age but it’s long overdue.

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With the release of The Weekend Blues Band's debut album in November 2024 the guys decided it was time to tell the world exactly who they are!
 

"The Weekend Blues Band is the brainchild of Colin Steele. As a multi-instrumentalist and the musical part of the Bennett & Steele songwriting partnership Colin S wanted more control over the way the final recordings of their songs sounded. Before, when acting as pure songwriters, writing for other artists, the artists they wrote for, quite rightly, have the artistic control and freedom to record the songs however they wanted to. For this new and exiting venture though, Colin Steele not only wrote the music but also played and recorded nearly all of the various musical parts, guitars, keyboards, bass, etc in his own studio. As the project developed however, other musicians and vocalists joined the party, for example playing of the Hammond Organ, drums/percussion and, of course, adding of the vocals.  This new approach not only gave Colin the full artistic freedom that he had always wanted but, by also acting as the executive producer, working closely with the other musical contributors and the producer, gave Colin overall control and direction of how the final recordings of the songs would sound.  As a construct The Weekend Blues Band is, in effect, a ‘Virtual Band’ Members of the band do not meet up to record the various musical parts, in fact they don’t even all live in the same country! Modern technological advances allow for music parts to be sent over the airwaves, ‘studio to studio’ for mixing and production. The Weekend Blues Band are then, in essence, a studio band, a vehicle that allows the songs of Bennett & Steele to be brought to a worldwide audience with talented musicians stepping in where and when required.  “Misunderstood”, is the first album from the band and consists of eleven original songs. It is the culmination of many months of hard work and dedication, songwriting, playing and recording. Both of the Colin’s are very proud of the final product achieving, as they set out to, a sound that is blues/rock but with a commercial crossover feel.  Future singles & an album is currently being finlised and the parts of Storm, Sticks, Fingers & Thump may be performed by different musicians than previously used.  It's a wonderful concept & one that Bennett & Steel have acomplished wonderfully!"

 

And so, Bennett & Steele are joined as always by Storm Guthrie on vocals, Sticks Johnson on drums, Johnny Fingers on the keys & Billy ‘The Thump’ on bass. Who will actually step into each of these roles on;y time will tell. Whoever it is one thing is for sure and that is, together they are The Weekend Blues Band & boy are you gonna love ‘em!