I have always found inspiration through words and music, the creativity, poetic quality and depth to Steve Harley’s music has had such a strong influence on my artistic development, and has also given me so much enjoyment for over thirty years.

I firmly believe Steve is one of the greatest singer/songwriters of his generation and a truly great performer, I strongly recommend you take the opportunity to see him “live” in concert. I am honoured and delighted that such a talented and inspirational figure such as Steve has supported my work over so many years.

It seems an age since the young printer from the Midlands came to me with a wonderful gift of a pair of vibrant, living pastels, depicting his own vision of a song, a work of my own, a rambling interior monologue intoned as in embryo, titled” Innocence And Guilt.”

The pair hang on a tall staircase wall, modern and impertinent amongst Victorian oils on canvas and board, and are thriving. They will not date, because they are timeless and ultimately too mysterious ever to become over-familiar.

Art is everything to most artists. It seems to me that once the family is taken care of, the creative process dominates in most artists’ houses. I did not think a talent such as that which the Paul Horton of the eighties so clearly possessed could be contained, as though interred, within the confines, the lock-‘n-key, of a nine-to-five job; Paul as printer, art as hobby; art as an afterthought – the notion could not be entertained.

His enthusiasm for life, his innate goodness and generous nature, sitting easily and charmingly alongside the artistic flair, marked him out as one to watch. The early works - from the mid-80s - that hang in my house, starring clowns and china-headed rag dolls, all ingenuous and beguiling, are, to my eyes today, seminal pieces. And the later Lowry-esque factory workers, with just one light or two picked out in the dawn streets, always just the one light or two, are amongst the most intensely sensitive modern artworks you are likely to find anywhere.

And just as my wont, in order to escape the rock musician’s standard touring schedule, is to visit the galleries and museums of the world, to stand in awe before the masterpieces of every generation, every century, every style, so Paul escapes his world of easel and studio by listening to music. He flatters me every time he names a piece after one of my song titles.

The talent flourishes in Paul and the rest of his creative life will, I have no doubt, be a joy to follow. There will be unexpected turns, and these must be tolerated. I hope Paul will continue to strike out in his own way, performing, like his rock singer mate, in his own light as though nothing else in the world matters.

Paul Horton has that melange of talent and humility that is often found in the truly important creative artists, from any medium. I’ve seldom met a great artist, in any field, who does not possess oodles of humility and kindness. It’s only the mediocre who spit in the face of life.

Paul loves life and lives it the way an artist should: with an air of independence and self-assuredness, but with style and charm and, above all, respect for his own special gift.

And he’s got the stamina to keep the standards flying for a lifetime: pour it on, Paul Horton; you’re one of a rare breed.

© Manfred Esser

© Copyright Steve Harley 2004

For the man and his music visit: www.steveharley.com