Steve Brown's uncanny channelling of Joe Cocker a hallmark of Boogie Men blues from down south of Adelaide

The stunning recreation by Steve Brown (left) of Joe Cocker’s musical grit was a feature of the comeback by the Boogie Men, with (at right) Mike Hutton on lead guitar, Dave Lloyd on drums and Sandy Mathewson on bass. The band also carried the memory of one of its originals, the late and great guitarist Steve Bilecki (inset) .
Steve Bilecki image courtesy Alex Innocenti

The Boogie Men, the undisputed kings of blues music in South Australia from 1990s, made a comeback in 2017 with lead singer Steve Brown winning rave reviews for his channelling of Joe Cocker songs.

Along with Brown in the original lineup were lead guitarist Steve Bilecki, bass player Sandy Mathewson and drummer Dave Lloyd. Their comeback in 2017, after the earlier breakup, had to cover the great loss of Bilecki who had died. They were fortunate to find high-calibre guitarist Mike Hutton and resumed playing to packed houses.

The Boogie Men played a distinctive brand of music spanning a wide range of musical styles based on British and American folk, roots and blues. They had a particular focus on the music of Joe Cocker, inspired by Steve Brown’s uncanny matching of the Cocker style. Building on this phenomenon, the band developed a show called Maddogs and Boogie Men: the Life and the Music of Joe Cocker as part of the 2022 Adelaide Fringe.  The Boogie Men were augmented to an 11 piece band of Adelaide’s top musicians with lineup including horns, Hammond organ, piano, percussion, guitar, drums, bass and fabulous backing singers. Cocker’s life was portrayed with a powerful video and stills on a big screen while Steve Brown brought him back to life vocally.

Steve Bown fell in love with blues music as a teenager: “The best thing about it is that it’s really real. It’s a soul type of music. It’s from the heart.” While living in Victor Harbor, south of Adelaide, he started the award-winning Boogie Men who became “surprisingly popular” in the south coast area where they recorded an album and were featured as venues such as the three-day Port Noarlunga Deep South Blues Festival, Mount Compass Supper Club and the Murray Delta Juke Joint. The Steve Brown Band also evolved in the southern area.