Editing Steve Howe (section)

== Early life ==
Howe was born on 8 April 1947 in the north London area of [[Holloway, London|Holloway]]. He grew up in a middle-class family apartment with three older siblings, brothers Phillip and John, and sister Stella,{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=83}} the son of Cyril Howe, head chef at The Palmerston, a [[Bishopsgate]] restaurant, and his wife Ada.{{sfn|Howe|2021|p=9}}  Among Howe's earliest memories is marching around the home to [[brass band]] music that he played on the home stereo.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=83}} He cites several influences from his parents' record collection including [[Les Paul]] and [[Tennessee Ernie Ford]], and also listened to [[classical guitar]] and jazz, citing [[Barney Kessel]] as a primary influence.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.spectropop.com/remembers/BKobit.htm |title= Spectropop Remembers: Barney Kessel| website= spectropop.com}}</ref> Howe also credited [[Wes Montgomery]] and [[Chet Atkins]], whom he first heard in 1959, as a major inspiration. Howe said he took from Atkins, "the idea that one guitarist could play any kind of guitar style."<ref name="15 November 2000">{{cite web| last= Vance| first= Brian| url= http://www.gibson.com/whatsnew/pressrelease/2000/nov15a.html| website= Gibson.com| title= Steve Howe: The man with the guitar mind| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040309154903/http://www.gibson.com/Whatsnew/pressrelease/2000/nov15a.html |archive-date=9 March 2004| date= 15 November 2000| access-date= 16 March 2004}}</ref> Howe was also influenced by [[Bob Dylan]], remarking: "I think he brought out the rebel in me, and that rebel wasn't somebody who wanted to break things, but the rebel in me wanted to do my thing ... a rebellion against anything other than being me ... he became like a cult hero".<ref name=NFTE215>{{cite web| url= http://www.nfte.org/interviews/sh215.html|title= Conversation with Steve Howe [NFTE #215]| work= Notes from the Edge|first=Mike|last=Tiano|date=1999| via= nfte.org| access-date=3 January 2017}}</ref> Howe attended [[Holloway School]],<ref name= camdenians>{{cite web| url= http://www.oldcamdenians.info/arts2.htm |title= The Arts (2): Music | website= oldcamdenians.info | publisher= The Old Camdenians Club| access-date= 6 March 2020}}</ref> and later [[Barnsbury]] Boys' School in [[Islington]],{{sfn|Howe|2021|p=13}} which he left in 1962, aged 15, after failing all his [[GCE Ordinary Level|O-levels]].{{sfn|Howe|2021|p=19}}

Howe wished to own a guitar at age 10, but his parents did not buy him one until they selected one with him in 1959 at a shop in [[Kings Cross, London]] at age 12 for a Christmas present.<ref name=newsweek2015/> The model was an [[F-hole]] acoustic.<ref name= newsweek2015/> Howe would stand by a window at home and mime his playing to passersby while music was playing indoors, until he began to teach himself without formal lessons or learning to read musical notation.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=83}}{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=84}} The only book he read, he claimed, was ''Dance Band Chords for the Guitar'' (1946) by Eric Kershaw.<ref name=usatoday2001>{{cite web| url=http://zenponies.com/yitp/2001/jun/jun22_01.html|title=Transcript: Steve Howe Online Chat|work=USA Today|date=22 June 2001| access-date=9 July 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032258/http://zenponies.com/yitp/2001/jun/jun22_01.html|archive-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> After a period of practice which involved listening to records by [[Bill Haley & the Comets]],<ref name=guitarmagazine1973/>{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=84}} Howe teamed with school friends and played his first gig at The Swan, a pub in [[Tottenham]], playing a cover of "Frightened City" by [[the Shadows]]. He recalled the event as a disaster; the band did not rehearse or tune up, and Howe avoided stage performances for a while as a result.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=84}} He added: "We were underage. I was painfully shy. I stood on the side of the stage, played my songs, never looked up".<ref name=Bio1950s>{{cite web|title=Biography - 1950s|url=http://stevehowe.com/biography/1950s/|website=Steve Howe official website|access-date=30 November 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122075730/https://stevehowe.com/biography/1950s/|archive-date=22 November 2021}}</ref> After he left primary school, he wished to become a guitarist and took up several part-time jobs until he wished to become a full-time musician around 18.<ref name=guitarmagazine1973>{{cite magazine |url= http://zenponies.com/yitp/1973/feb/feb73.html|title=Steve Howe talking to Ken Achard - Part I| magazine= Guitar |first= Ken |last= Achard |volume=1|number=7|date=February 1973| via= zenponies.com| access-date=3 January 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826033551/http://zenponies.com/yitp/1973/feb/feb73.html|archive-date=26 August 2019}}</ref> At age 14, Howe and his friend from Tottenham started a group that played in youth clubs, eventually landing gigs in pubs and ballrooms. At one point, the band secured a short residency at [[HM Prison Pentonville]] for two nights a week.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=84}}

Around 1961, Howe bought a solid body [[Guyatone]], his first electric guitar,<ref>{{cite book|last=Howe|first=Steve|title=The Steve Howe Guitar Collection|publisher=GPI Books|year=1993|page=67|isbn=0-87930-290-9}}</ref> which was followed with a [[Gibson ES-175|Gibson ES-175D]] in 1964, one of the guitars that he later became most identified with. He spoke about playing the guitar on stage: "No one was playing archtop, hollowbody guitars in a rock band. People laughed at me and thought I was really snooty. To me, it was an object of art, it wasn't just a guitar."<ref name="15 November 2000"/> During Yes's first visit to [[New York City]] in 1971, he slept with the guitar as his hotel was situated in a dodgy area and took it to bed "just for safety, I needed to know it was there".<ref>[[#Yessongs40|''Yessongs: 40 Years On'']] documentary at 41:27–42:05</ref> Before he became a full-time musician Howe took up work at a piano factory, followed by a job in a music shop. He left the shop when he began to pick up regular gigs.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=84}}