Steve Dior: Born Survivor
Blood, Sweat, and Six Strings
By Tommy Kennedy IV | London, June 2025

The Punk Still Stands
Steve Dior doesn’t just play rock ‘n’ roll. He lives it.
A street-hardened survivor of London’s punk underground, Dior has spent decades walking the razor’s edge – from the smoky dive bars of Ladbroke Grove to the tequila-stained stages of America and Mexico. He’s brawled with addiction, played with legends, and walked away from the wreckage with his guitar slung over his back.

“They thought I wouldn’t make it. Hell, I thought I wouldn’t make it. But I’m still here.”

On Saturday, 28 June 2025, Dior returns to London for a rare, intimate acoustic night at The Stewart Arms in Notting Hill. Free entry. No pretence. No filters. Just the raw power of stripped-down punk storytelling from one of its last true outlaws.

From West London to Punk's Frontlines
Born in Ladbroke Grove in 1958, Dior grew up walking the tightrope between privilege and rebellion. His family ran the Clearlake Hotel on High Street Kensington, but Dior didn’t follow the script. By the time he was a teenager, he’d swapped school ties for guitar strings, chasing the pulse of London’s rising punk scene.

His first gig came in 1975 at Chiswick Poly, alongside future legends like Mick Jones (pre-The Clash) and Honest John Plain (pre-The Boys). Dior wasn’t a hanger-on – he was there at ground zero, throwing matches into the gasoline.

Fueling the Punk Explosion
In the riotous streets of 1976, Dior co-founded The Idols after blowing through The Quickspurts. He jammed with Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) and Keith Levene (Public Image Ltd), crashing through the punk explosion like a Molotov cocktail.

Then came Sid Sings. In 1979, Dior stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Sid Vicious, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Arthur Kane, and Jerry Nolan. Dior wasn’t watching punk happen. He was helping light it up.

The London Cowboys: Punk Goes Rogue
In the early '80s, Dior and Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock rode into uncharted territory with The London Cowboys. They fused punk’s sneer with glam grit and outlaw swagger.

Albums like Animal Pleasure (1982) and Tall in the Saddle (1984) became underground classics – raw, ragged, and addictive.

“We weren’t chasing charts,” Dior says. “We were chasing the next night, the next story, the next scar.”

America, Filthy Lucre, and the Long Slide Down
By the early ‘90s, Dior hit the U.S. highways with Phil Lewis of L.A. Guns to form Filthy Lucre. They hit the dive bars hard, living fast, playing louder, and soaking their guitars in tequila and sweat.

But behind the stage lights, the heroin crept in. The addiction nearly swallowed Dior whole, dragging him to the brink and fracturing his relationship with his son, hip-hop artist Jez Dior.

“Jez stuck by me when I didn’t deserve it,” Dior admits. “That’s real.”

Exile, Sobriety, and the Long Road Home
2018 Dior vanished into Ecuador and Mexico, chasing sobriety and writing his story in dusty notebooks.
That journey – brutal, beautiful, and broken – was quietly chronicled by @magicaltime123 on X, documenting his battles, his exile, and his painful separation from Jez due to U.S. immigration walls.

But the comeback? It was always brewing.

Back to London: The Return of the Outlaw
Now, in 2025, Steve Dior is back in London. Clean. Sharp. Still snarling. His return is more than nostalgia – it’s unfinished business.

His upcoming acoustic show at The Stewart Arms promises raw, tequila-soaked vocals, stripped-back London Cowboys sets, and a night dripping with grit, history, and soul.

“Unplugged doesn’t mean soft,” Dior says. “It just means there’s nowhere to hide.”

STEVE DIOR: LIVE & UNPLUGGED
 Acoustic Night – Saturday, 28th June 2025
The Stewart Arms, 26 Norland Road, Notting Hill, London W11 4TR


First Set: 7:00 PM | Live Music Ends: 10:00 PM
Entry: Free
Nearest Tube: Shepherd’s Bush (Central Line)
Buses: 316, 295, 31, 94, 148 to Norland Square or Kensington Hilton (2 min walk)

Follow: Stewart Arms W11 on Facebook
#SteveDior #LiveMusic #LondonPunk #BornSurvivor #SupportLiveMusic #StewartArmsW11

Contact for Press & Bookings:
Tommy Kennedy IV