Steve Fairnie

Writz / Famous Names
Writz, 1980 publicity shot
Background information
Origin	Bristol, London (UK)
Genres	Post-punk, art rock
Years active	1978–1981
Labels	Electric Records
Website	www.fairnie.net
Past members	Steve Rowles (vocals & guitar), Steve Fairnie (vocals), Bev Sage (vocals), Jules Hardwick (guitar), Nick Battle (bass), Arry Axell (drums)

Steve Fairnie (1951–1993) was a British musician, artist and actor, the frontman of the post-punk band Writz, and as one half, with his wife Bev Sage, of the 1980s pop outfit Techno Twins (later just The Technos).

Born in Fraserburgh and raised in Bristol, Fairnie excelled in fine art, eventually graduating from London's Royal College of Art with an MA in Sculpture (contemporaries included Turner Prize winner Tony Cragg). He began the acoustic gospel duo Fish Co with fellow singer-songwriter Steve Rowles and released the albums Can't Be Bad in 1975 and Beneath the Laughter in 1978, the latter with a full backing band - now including Fairnie's wife Bev Sage - that would form the nucleus of their subsequent project Writz.

Writz became a fixture on the post-punk London scene, headlining at major venues including the Marquee Club. Outright commercial success was elusive but 1979 single Night Nurse (produced by 10cc's Kevin Godley and Lol Creme) was a minor hit and was followed by the album Writz. The band - now Famous Names - played in the Dennis Potter LWT production Cream in My Coffee. Famous Names folded in 1981, many of the band and crew moving on to other musical projects, most notably Willie Williams, who went on to become an integral part of the U2 entourage. Sound engineer Ken Watts has been tour director for George Michael since Wham! days and monitor engineer John Roden went on to become one of the industry's foremost live engineers with clients including Paul McCartney.