Luke Steele (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Luke Steele
Steele performing in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Luke James Steele
Born	(1979-12-13) 13 December 1979 (age 45) Auckland, New Zealand
Genres	Electronic pop
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano synthesizer bass
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Capitol Virgin Astralwerks EMI Universal

Luke Steele is a talented musician, singer, and songwriter from Australia. He was born in New Zealand on December 13, 1979. Luke is best known as the lead singer and main songwriter for the band The Sleepy Jackson. He is also part of the electronic music duo Empire of the Sun.

Luke Steele's Early Life

Luke Steele was born in Auckland, New Zealand. His family later moved to Perth, Western Australia. Luke went to Yokine Primary School and Mount Lawley Senior High School.

Luke Steele's Family and Life

Luke Steele comes from a very musical family. His father, Rick, was a blues guitarist and harmonica player. Luke's sister, Katy, was the singer for the Perth band Little Birdy. His younger brother Jake performs music as Tobacco Rat. Another brother, Jesse, was an early member of The Sleepy Jackson.

In 2006, Luke got engaged to Jodi, a magazine editor. Jodi also joined The Sleepy Jackson for their tour in 2008. In October 2008, Luke and Jodi welcomed their first child, a daughter. In 2014, they had a son.

Luke Steele's Music Journey

The Sleepy Jackson: 1998–2007

The band The Sleepy Jackson started in 1998. Luke Steele was the singer and played guitar. His brother Jesse played drums, and Matthew O'Connor played bass. They released their first EP and a single called "Miniskirt" on their own. Jesse left the band in 2000, and Paul Keenan took his place.

In late 2000, The Sleepy Jackson toured Australia with Jebediah. In March 2001, they toured with Magic Dirt and Motor Ace. Ronan Charles joined them on keyboard. Luke finished that tour by himself after the other band members went home.

In 2001, EMI Records released Caffeine in the Morning Sun. Luke recorded this in Sydney with other musicians. He also played solo shows. Later, he brought in Malcolm Clark (drums), Justin Burford (guitar), and Rodney Aravena (bass). The Sleepy Jackson moved to Sydney and recorded another EP, Let Your Love Be Love (2002). Songs from both EPs were put together for a mini-album released in the UK in 2003. The band toured a lot in 2003, playing in Australia, the United States, and Europe. They also worked on their first album, Lovers. By the end of 2003, Justin and Rodney left the band.

The band's second album, Personality – One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird, came out in Australia on July 1, 2006. It reached number 10 on the ARIA Albums Charts. The album was nominated for a J Award by the radio station Triple J. Dave Symes and Felix Bloxsom joined Luke and Malcolm on this album. Luke's brother Jake and wife Jodi also joined the band.

In 2007, The Sleepy Jackson played at several music festivals. Luke also played slide guitar on the song "Waiting All Day" by Silverchair. He also appeared on the Pnau song "With You Forever." This led Nick Littlemore to want to work with Luke on a new project. Steele and Littlemore then formed the electronic pop group Empire of the Sun in 2008.

Empire of the Sun: 2007–Present

Steele performing with Empire of the Sun in Wellington (2008).

Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore first met in 2000 in a bar in Sydney. They were both signed to EMI Records and working on their own music. They quickly became friends and decided to start a music project together. Their first song together was "Tell the Girls That I'm Not Hangin' Out." This song appeared on The Sleepy Jackson's 2003 album, Lovers. They decided to seriously make an album in 2004. Luke went to Nick's studio north of Sydney, and they started writing songs.

Luke lived in Perth, and Nick lived in Sydney. For several months, they wrote songs for the project separately. They met in Sydney to plan the album's music style. After many discussions, Nick and Luke went into the studio to record their first album. It was called Walking on a Dream and was released on October 4, 2008. Before it came out, six songs were put on MySpace for fans to hear.

The album reached number eight on the ARIA Chart and later peaked at number six. Their first single, "Walking on a Dream", was released digitally on August 30, 2008. Many Australian radio stations played the song. It reached No. 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The second single, "We Are the People", reached number twenty-four. In September 2009, this song was used in an American TV ad. The third single, "Standing on the Shore", was released in June. Its music video was filmed in Lancelin in April 2009. After this video, "Without You" became the fourth single. Its music video was filmed in Sydney.

Critics had mixed feelings about the album. Some praised it as "silly but their songs demand to be taken seriously." Others felt it was "a highly visual experience." However, some critics were not as impressed. One reviewer said they wished the duo "would calm down a bit."

The duo released their second album, Ice on the Dune, on June 17, 2013. A trailer for the album was directed by J. D. Dillard. The main single, "Alive", came out on April 16, 2013.

Luke Steele got a lot of attention after an interview in August 2013. He compared Ice on the Dune to Daft Punk's 2013 album, Random Access Memories. He said, "They had a great marketing campaign, but we’ve got better songs." Steele also appeared on Japanese-American Steve Aoki's album Neon Future I on the song "Neon Future."

In October 2014, Empire of the Sun performed at a festival in Dubai. In fall 2015, they went on a short world tour. In July 2024, Empire of the Sun released their fourth album, Ask That God. They also released singles like "Changes" and "Music On The Radio." The album was followed by a world tour. In January 2025, the band released Ask That God (Deluxe) with two new songs.

Luke Steele's Solo Career: 2022

In February 2022, Luke Steele announced his first solo album, Listen to the Water. He released its first song, "Common Man," on February 11, 2022.

Luke Steele's Musical Inspirations

Luke Steele says his musical inspirations include artists like Prince, John Lennon, Brian Wilson, Lindsay Buckingham, Paul McCartney, Elliott Smith, Carole King, James Taylor, and Daft Punk.

Luke Steele's Collaborations

Luke Steele has worked with many other musicians. His first notable collaboration was with the band Nations by the River. They released an album called Holes in the Valley in 2004.

In 2005, Steele sang on a song for Paul Mac's album Panic Room. While in New York City in 2006, Steele contributed a song called "I'm Moving On" to Yoko Ono's 2007 remix album Yes, I'm a Witch. Pnau featured Steele on their song "With You Forever" from their album Pnau in 2007.

Steele and his father Rick worked together on an album called Through My Eyes, released in February 2008. Luke also recorded with Daniel Johns of Silverchair in 2008. They called their project "Hathaway/Palmer." Steele said it started with acoustic songs and became "pretty pop."

In August 2008, Steele went on his first solo tour. He played acoustic guitar versions of songs from The Sleepy Jackson albums. He also played new songs from his other projects. Steele was also featured on "What We Talkin' About," a song on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint 3, released in September 2009.

In a 2010 interview, Steele talked about his future plans. He said he had many song ideas and wanted to record more seriously. He hoped to release a Sleepy Jackson album and then an Empire of the Sun record. He wanted to be remembered as an inspiring artist.

Steele helped write and produce the song "Rather Die Young" on Beyoncé Knowles's 2011 album 4. He also appeared on Usher's song "Looking 4 Myself" from his 2012 album. His vocals are also on the Steve Aoki song "Neon Future."

Steele teamed up with Daniel Johns of Silverchair to form the band Dreams. They released the single "No One Defeats Us" in March 2018. Their first album, No One Defeats Us, came out in September 2018. Steele was also a guest singer on Kyle Crane's 2019 album Crane Like the Bird.

Luke Steele's Music Releases

Albums

Singles

Awards and Nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards celebrate Australian music.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards recognize great achievements in Australian music.

See also

In Spanish: Luke Steele para niños