Hello! I'm Stephen!

I come from a small village that had 40 people in South Yorkshire, England. I started playing when I was 2 years old, took local 1-on-1 lessons with Kim Latimer (Harworth) from around 9, formal training from 11 at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, quit lessons at 15 after my father died (found lessons extremely confusing, boring, disciplined and had enough). When dad died we became as poor as you can get in the UK.

I felt some need for music again, I went back to piano, and this time found my own way with it. And that was much more enjoyable. It was never a professional pursuit for me. All I could think about was how to get out of poverty. I left university with a triple first class honours in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and got a job in the top team of the world's top Investment Bank, where there was plenty of money to be made. I was miserable. I realised that money itself has a price, and in this case I was paying far too much; my happiness, my drive, my love of life. So! I quit!

30 minutes after quitting my job, I was walking down the street in slight shock, and saw an old piano in a thrift store. I bought it for £100, pulled it into the street and started playing. I was nervous, and weirdly happy to feel nervous. I hadn't felt ANYTHING for nearly 2 years in banking, just a very heavy numbness toward life. Crowds stopped to listen to me. They were smiling, they took pictures. I didn't know what I was doing but I felt I was doing something of value, and it just seemed to be 'joyful' for all concerned, most of all me! So.. I continued. Played in country after country. And it all grew. I started getting booked for huge budget private events, very often playing alongside A-list artists who also get booked for these things, and subsequently, my public profile started to grow, mostly through other people posting me on their instagram stories.

I have now played in over 60 countries, I've played with some of my heroes, I've done some truly random things, like randomly having 3 huge hit songs in Russia, this summer I did the largest outdoor concert in Uzbekistan's history with nearly 20,000 people, I've played for Louis Vuitton, played Monaco Grand Prix sponsored by Gulfstream Jets, blocked a park in Kiev with an impromtu outdoor show. I have played in Ashrams, and shanty towns, children's hospitals, orphanages, palaces, superyachts and the private residences of world leaders, big time business folks, and other weird and wonderful people.

It's a beautiful ride.