On the Guest list: Steve Guest


Steve Guest has an impressive career as an international music publicist and consultant, which is why his daughter Gracie calls Dolly Parton ‘Aunty Dolly’. It begs the question: is he the coolest father ever? Metropol Deputy Editor Nina Tucker finds out.

He laughs, sharing more stories of how his work means Gracie has a signed poster from Taylor Swift in her room. What Steve is doing for Christchurch’s music scene is even cooler. In partnership with leading local arts establishment, the Isaac Theatre Royal, and in conversation with professionals from the industry nationwide, Steve is committed to nurturing the talent hidden within the community.

His clientele over the years span greats including The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, and Dolly, and he’s since moved from London to Canterbury to help grow New Zealand’s musical roots.

In the beginning, “I was a normal kid from a normal area in Southeast London,” he says. Steve knew music from television, and he admits he would sit by the radio with his cassette player to record the top 40 songs each Sunday, yet his brother Martin is who he truly credits for introducing him to the beauty of live music. Steve’s mother was a huge Beatles fan, his dad loved
Elvis Presley. If it was played live, Steve loved it all.

Everything came to a head when, aged 16, Steve had to decide between two world tours: Madonna’s Who’s That Girl and U2’s Joshua Tree. Working just a few hours on the weekends with his father, he could only afford to see one of the Wembley Stadium shows. “Anyway, I chose to see Madonna, and it’s now like my Gracie seeing Taylor Swift.” Steve didn’t miss out, though, because fast-forward 30 years later he saw U2 perform Joshua Tree, “and then I ended up working on a U2 tour in Australia when I was working with Jay-Z.”

That’s not something you might expect from a man who currently resides in the humble, rural town of Darfield. It might be attributed to the lessons learned from Dolly Parton in 22 years as her PR agent, alongside her manager Danny Nozell. “Dolly always says, ‘Why is somebody else’s time more important than mine,’ and I live by that,” Steve muses. Down to earth and incredibly humble, it shaped how Steve works with high-profile people. “I always treat everybody the same, no matter at what stage of their careers they are.”

Back at the University of Sheffield Hallam, Steve found himself within a hub of bands climbing the ranks around Manchester and Leeds. He joined the Entertainment Committee, an extracurricular to his History of Art, Design, and Film degree, to inch closer to it all. “You would get into the gigs for free, the discos for free. All you had to do was help out with some publicity marketing.” An unbeatable experience, through Steve and the committee’s work, the Student Union saw bands like Oasis play, “but no one knew who these artists were,” at the time.

It was the door to the life he lives now, and the connections and achievements made. “I became quite friendly with a lot of the companies and promoters in London and Manchester.” His name transpired. Steve took a job in London, continuing to revolutionise music promotion. “We would beg people to come see [bands] in little pubs in Camden,” Steve reminisces. “We’ll take you out, we’ll pay for your beer and take you to dinner,” Steve and his team would urge them. “Look at Muse and Fatboy Slim now, playing stadiums,” he remarks.

Soon, he had experience under his belt including working for longtime friend Steve Homer, now CEO of AEG UK, the company that promotes shows like Coachella, and a lengthy stint at multinational entertainment company Live Nation (originally Clear Channel). It quickly gained momentum, as the agents of David Bowie and The Rolling Stones jumped ship. “All of these iconic older guys who had been around forever, and I’m working with them,” Steve laughs. He spent 10 years as Live Nation’s Head of Publicity, adopting an engaging approach to promoting through meet and greets, ticket competitions, and opportunities with key industry personnel and journalists to propel chatter. “I formed the first in-house PR department within a live music promoter,” Steve reflects, and soon enough, artists realised the power and profit in playing shows and tours versus putting out albums.

Now a master of the trade, Steve went out on his own doing a mixture of freelance for promoting companies and his own clients. It was an all-consuming job, flying between the United Kingdom and the United States every few weeks and there were many special family moments he missed out on. “I wish I had been around more, if I’m honest,” he admits. New Zealand’s way of life has made up for lost time though, giving him quiet, quality time with Gracie and Kiwi wife Anna. The father-daughter duo now share a love for music, Gracie greatly appreciating her father’s passion and, of course, backstage benefits. Full circle, Steve taught Gracie to put the needle on her first record player, and Gracie opened Steve’s ears to artists like Billie Eilish. “It’s great,” he smiles.

Steve is instilling that passion locally now, putting his years of hard work and sacrifice to good use. “Ultimately, I want to use my experience and knowledge to help Christchurch artists, to give them some guidance. Not to judge.” Live & Local, the initiative he’s heading with Bianca Lindstrom, marketing and development manager at the Isaac Theatre Royal, is gaining momentum, giving emerging artists a platform to succeed. “I think there’s some amazing talent in this country. Some of them haven’t had the right guidance in how to break out of New Zealand.” From encouraging artists to dream to finding the funding to support them, Steve’s effort is enormous. “This country has welcomed me with open arms. I want to give something back.”

He’s embracing the Kiwi lifestyle while juggling calls and clients, listening to song samples from Live & Local, and “catching the end” of the British and American working days. However, he laughs, “nine times out of 10 I’m doing the school run.”

As our conversation came to a close, I posed one last question: What’s he most proud of? True to Steve’s wholesome nature, he didn’t hesitate – “I’m proud of Gracie.” Career-wise, it was a shared moment at Dolly’s Blue Smoke World Tour in Glastonbury, 2014. From the side of the stage as Dolly played to her largest crowd, Steve looked up and saw Gracie and Anna up on a balcony smiling away. What followed was a press frenzy honouring a performance that would go down in history. Steve knew, through personal and professional ambition, he had succeeded.


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