As well as his work with Squeeze, Stephen Large is musical director (touring keyboard player and arranger) for
Caro Emerald. He was previously musical director for pop artists
Rebecca Ferguson and
Duffy. As a keyboard player, Large has worked with
Paul Heaton and
Jacqui Abbott, most recently contributing keyboards for their Number One album
Manchester Calling. Other keyboard work includes
Paloma Faith,
Rumer,
Pete Doherty,
Babyshambles, the
Noisettes,
Johnny Depp, cabaret with
Alan Carr, music hall with
Colin Firth, and others, as well as being a founder member of jazz outfits The Rag 'n' Bone Club and Ronnie Scott's Rejects. Large received web prominence after an appearance with Squeeze on the US
Jimmy Fallon Show on 13 July 2010, during which he played a keyboard solo on the new Apple iPad for the song "Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)". This appears to be the first use on live TV of the iPad as a musical instrument. Further TV credits include
The Jay Leno Show with Duffy, ''
Britain's Got Talent with Rebecca Ferguson, The Ellen DeGeneres Show with Squeeze, Parkinson with Rod Stewart, dueting with Glenn Tilbrook on Later... with Jools Holland'', and appearing in CBBC's
Big Babies. He left Christchurch College, Canterbury with a first-class degree in art and music, and had an early breakthrough with the band Koot, who were initially signed to the Warner Records label, releasing a single album
Skyjacked through
Some Bizzare in 2001. Koot also contributed the song "Sunshine at Last" to the soundtrack of the film
Saving Grace. After a spell as keyboard player for the Mercury-Award-nominated and Q-Award-winning band
The Electric Soft Parade, Large contributed his skills to recordings by
The Ordinary Boys,
Graham Coxon,
The Shortwave Set,
Sonny J,
Simply Red,
Lucky Soul and
Marina and the Diamonds, amongst others. He is also a long-term member of
Glenn Tilbrook's
The Fluffers, for whom he has co-written songs with the Squeeze frontman. Co-writing credits include music for the BBC's
Cradle to Grave (a 2016 comedy series featuring
Peter Kay),
Billy Connolly's ''Billy's Route 66
(2011), the CBBC TV show Big Babies'', and the BBC's Wimbledon coverage (2008 and 2009), as well as song writing with
Chris Difford,
Andrea Britton,
Imelda May, and his own band
Lord Large. Large has worked with a range of producers including
John Williams,
Liam Howe,
Jon Kelly,
Steve Booker,
Andy Wright,
Jim Abbiss,
Stephen Street,
Dangermouse and others. Stephen Large has also produced string and brass arrangements for
Noisettes,
CocknBullKid,
Marina and the Diamonds,
Squeeze and
Clare Teal. Lord Large is the result of a collaboration with drummer, writer and producer Andrew J Jones, with whom Large has worked since their days in Koot. The group's debut album ''The Lord's First XI'', released on the
Acid Jazz Records label, has been championed by
Paul Weller,
Mark Lamarr,
Robert Elms and
Gary Crowley, and has seen Large working with a range of soul singers, including
Clem Curtis of
The Foundations,
Dean Parrish,
Linda Lewis and
The Peddlers'
Roy Phillips, as well as the more contemporary talents of Squeeze's
Glenn Tilbrook,
Andrea Britton and ex-
Freakpower trombonist
Ashley Slater. During a short break from Squeeze starting September 2010, Large was temporarily replaced by
Steve Nieve (previously of
Elvis Costello and the Attractions), before re-joining the band for a performance at the
Royal Albert Hall, as part of the annual Teenage Cancer Trust concerts on 22 March 2011. ==Selected discography==