The title of Steve Winwood's new LP, Back in the High Life, reflects a dramatic new twist in the career of this influential yet laid-back singer/songwriter. For the past 12 years Winwood has combined continued success with seclusion, emerging from his Gloucestershire retreat on only three occasions with completed albums. It was four years ago that he released Back To Night [sic], a record which, like its predecessor Arc of a Diver, he produced, wrote and played entirely by himself. Now, at the age of 37 [sic], Winwood has decided to return for another spell in the limelight.

The son of a foundry worker, Winwood grew up in Birmingham. His father, an accomplished amateur musician, had him playing the piano at age 6. Steve turned pro at 7 when he joined the local Anglican choir. "I used to get a shilling for every wedding," he recalls. "That was when I first realized that one can make money out of singing." He went on to take two years of classical training in music at the Birmingham Midland Institute.