NURTURING vocal talent has been a life-long career for north London resident, Steve Glen. As a songwriter and record producer Steve worked with artists such as Cliff Richard, Gloria Gaynor, Roger Daltrey, Hot Chocolate, Bucks Fizz, Suzi Quatro and Dollar.

Now he’s coming to Harrow Arts Centre with The Steve Glen Band for a night of song and amusing anecdotes from his years in showbiz, including his close encounter with a UFO on the A41 by Henly’s Corner.

“It’s a true story,” insists Steve. “I was driving on the Hendon Way with my writing partner Mike Burns and he pointed up in sky and said ‘what’s that up there?’ I nearly drove off the road. I was producing The Toys at the time and the band was following behind us in a van. I veered off onto West Heath Road and stopped by the Leg Of Mutton Pond. It was right above us. It was massive – about four or five houses wide and when we got out to have a look, an orange cloud came out of it.”

When I ask Steve if anyone might have slipped something in his dinner that night, he’s adamant it really happened.

“The reason I’ve not talked about it much for 30 years is everyone said at the time we must be on drugs but all six of us saw it. We asked each other ‘did you see that?’ and we all said, ‘yes’. We went straight back to Mike’s house in Long Elms and wrote the song No Doubt About It. I’d never written one so quick, and it was Hot Chocolate’s biggest seller.”

Steve has lived in Harrow Weald for the past seven years and grew up in West Hampstead. He went to Mount Stewart School and Claremont High School in Kenton.

“I was discovered at Claremont by England’s answer to Glenn Miller, Cyril Stapleton,” recalls Steve. “I joined his band as a singer and met Pete Townshend’s father, Cliff, who was a clarinettist in Vera Lynn’s husband’s band The Squadronaires. I toured England with them and it gave me the spark.”

Steve went on to work with Mickey Most: “the Simon Cowell of his day”, and during the ‘80s, lived in the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. He went on to have many successes including the Eurovision Song Contest winning Making Your Mind Up with Bucks Fizz and Is There Anybody Out There, another UFO-inspired hit, for Roger Daltrey.

More recently, Steve has put his career on the backseat to support his daughter Charlotte, who was diagnosed with Leukaemia while in her teens. She had Hodgkins Lymphoma and needed a stem cell transplant.

Two years on, Steve feels the time is right to start up again. He’s hoping to set his new find, Watford singer Collette Spinner, on the road to stardom.

Collette, 26, from Garston has been singing since the age of 14. She attended Holy Rood School and St Michael’s where she took part in several school productions.

“I played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Anna in the King and I and Winnie in The Matchgirls. I also ran the gospel choir and raised money for charities in Rwanda.”

Collette has sung at sports events at Wimbledon and Twickenham and has performed alongside George Michael and Stephen Gately. Steve discovered her at a family party. ”He got the bug to do this project and relaunch his hits. It’s a bit of old and new. It’s all about bringing back real music, not the electro-pop of today, but supporting real singers. I don’t think there’s a better time really.”

Steve and Collette are coming to Harrow Arts Centre with The Steve Glen Band and guesting for the evening is fellow songwriter Barry Mason.

”Barry wrote Delilah for Tom Jones. These gigs are to big-up the songwriter,” adds Steve. ”We’re a dying breed. If people stop buying records we’ll be gone. Can you imagine a film without music or going through a day without hearing a song?”

The Steve Glen Band will perform two shows at The Harrow Arts Centre on Sunday, March 27 at 2pm and 7pm. Details: 020 8416 8989