Michael Steele

Singer, songwriter and bassist Michael Steele was born on June 2, 1955 in Pasadena, California and grew up in suburban Newport Beach. Steele was briefly in the 70's all-girl rock group, The Runaways, as both the lead singer and bass player, but got kicked out for being too old. She played in almost fourteen bands prior to joining The Bangles in 1983 (she replaced original bassist Annette Zilinskas). After The Bangles split up in 1989, Michael wrote songs and recorded demos for a possible solo album that sadly never materialized. In 1993, Steele fronted the band "Crash Wisdom", which subsequently broke up in late 1994. She left Los Angeles and moved to Northern California to concentrate on painting. In 1996, Michael became the bass player for the band Eyesore; this gig only lasted for four months. Steele has done some session work for Jan Krist, 'Kings X' guitarist Ty Tabor and Eliza. Moreover, Michael did a guest stint in fellow The Bangles band member Victoria Peterson's group, the Continental Drifters, in which she filled in for primary bassist Mark Walton. On November 21, 1998, Steele made a public appearance singing lead vocals on two songs at a Sandy Denny tribute show at St. Ann's Church in New York City. She subsequently performed on stage with the Continental Drifters at Acme Underground in New York City on November 23, 1998. In 1999, she was the last member of The Bangles to rejoin the group. In 2005, Michael Steele left The Bangles.