Manfred Mann Story Teller – The One About Steve Waller

Steve Waller had a characteristic, that many people have, but Steve had 500 times more than anyone else I've ever met.

Steve was a Giggler a laughter of huge and infectious proportions.

I remember quite clearly a number of incidents. The most ridiculous and surreal happened at a railway station in Germany. We were at the bottom of an escalator, mid-morning, and Steve started giggling and laughing. At the sight of Steve losing control of himself, most of the local people stared with a degree of apprehension, because someone was breaking the calm and sober atmosphere of the railway platform, where people gather quietly going about their business, with emotions under control, and Steve was breaking that mood.

They looked at him, and then avoided looking at him, but Steve's laughter just gathered pace, fuelled, if anything by the respectable atmosphere around him. He just went on and on, till he could not even stand up, he was falling all over the place, even falling on his suitcases. I began to notice that the local sober Deutsch citizens started laughing along with Steve, )it was impossible not to), this just went on and on until the whole place was in hysterics. When Steve had almost worn himself out, and finally got his suitcase on the escalator, he turned and waved to the people, and they all waved back, as if they were saying goodbye to an old friend. It really was an amazing thing to see. The power of laughter. The Power of Steve's laughter.

One other thing I wanted to say is that the very best music that Steve ever played was always in rehearsal. I was always slightly disappointed, at the gigs. I really am not quite sure why this was, or indeed if I am right about this, but it is what I remember!

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