My friend Steve Dullaghan, who has been found dead aged 45, had a spell in the limelight with the indie rock band the Primitives - most noticeably when their single Crash, co-written by Steve, became a UK top five hit in 1988. But to many, he remained a star long after the limelight had faded.
Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Steve attended St Anthony's Catholic primary school, a progressive institution that helped form his single-minded and confident approach to life. He moved to Coventry in 1975, where he attended Cardinal Newman RC comprehensive. Although academically capable, he was always more interested in music than exams and got his first guitar at the age of 15.
He first played in the Nocturnal Babies (a group he later rejoined) before becoming bassist and songwriter with the Primitives, the band he formed with other Coventry musicians in 1985. They were briefly the darlings of the UK music press, described by Melody Maker in 1988 as "the perfect band who have just about made the perfect single", and reached their greatest popularity with the gold-selling album Lovely that year.
After leaving the Primitives at the height of their success - a decision made for his own reasons and hang the consequences - Steve continued to write, perform and record music, both solo and in collaboration with other local musicians.
A gentle, kind and painfully shy man, Steve, or "Dulla" to his inner circle, was hugely popular with everyone he met, through music, playing football or just socially. He wasn't one to blow his own trumpet, and those who got to know him later in life would never have known about his musical achievements were it not for the likes of me blowing it for him.
Intelligent, self-contained and rigidly principled, Steve could be stubborn to the point of intransigence when irked, as the Department for Work and Pensions learned to its cost, when questioning his insistence on pursuing a musical career rather than other employment, but even in such situations he always showed good manners.
He was always there when you needed him. When I was recovering from a major illness and operation, it was Steve who made the 200-mile round trip to help me recover, and nothing was too much trouble if he thought he could do anything.
His mother Kath survives him.
