17 Facts About Steve Balsamo

Steve Balsamo is a Welsh singer and songwriter, best known for playing the lead role in the West End revival productions of Jesus Christ Superstar during the mid-1990s.

Steve Balsamo performs as a member of several bands and is a successful songwriter.

Steve Balsamo is on Eric Woolfson's sixth solo album, Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination in 2003, on which he provides the vocals for eight songs.

Steve Balsamo was born in Swansea, his father being a chef from Venice and his mother Welsh.

Steve Balsamo attended Dynevor School in the heart of the city and, while there, he was dismissed from the choir, being told he could not sing.

Steve Balsamo channelled his creative leanings into art and attended art school to specialise in painting.

Steve Balsamo secured a place at Bristol University to study Graphic Art, but turned it down to accept a place at a local music college, where he played the role of Jesus in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar, a role that he reprised as an adult.

Around this time, Balsamo attended a workshop in Cardiff run by The Prince's Trust for unemployed musicians.

Steve Balsamo was asked to open The Prince's Trust Masters of Music Concert at Hyde Park in 1996, in front of a 150,000 crowd.

Steve Balsamo won a Variety Club award for the role in 1997.

Steve Balsamo signed to Columbia Records and started writing and recording his first album, All I Am, which was released in September 2002.

Steve Balsamo returned to the stage in the French musical "Notre Dame de Paris".

Steve Balsamo then worked on Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination, a new musical and an album by Alan Parsons Project writer Eric Woolfson, based on the life of poet Edgar Allan Poe.

Steve Balsamo co-wrote the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, which finished 15th.

In 2004, Steve Balsamo formed The Storys, a West Coast influenced country rock band consisting of Andy Collins, Dai Smith, Alan Thomas, Brian Thomas and Rob Thompson.

Steve Balsamo is a prolific songwriter and has had hits in Europe and Australia with artists such as Meat Loaf, Anthony Callea, Jonatan Cerrada, and Slash of Guns N' Roses.

Steve Balsamo toured with the late Jon Lord and had been writing and recording with him before Lord's death.