The Bard of Ely (born Steven Leslie Andrews on 21 March, 1953 Canton, Cardiff, Wales) is a popular yet obscure and mysterious counterculture figure in Britain and in the world of indie music and online music in particular. He has music on many websites and although not a star in the strict sense, his fans number in the tens of thousands and possibly higher and a search for "Bard of Ely" on Google returns 21,500 links. He plays several different instruments including keyboards, guitar, penny whistle, Jew's harp, harmonica and kazoo. He acquired his distinctive moniker as a writer for Big Issue Cymru over the years 1997 - 1998 and has written for several other newspapers and magazines.

He was raised in Llandaff, within Cardiff city, and later lived in Ely on a huge council estate for 25 years until he moved to Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on December 3rd, 2004, after visiting a good friend in the area. He acquired his first guitar, which he describes as being of a "cheap Spanish" variety, at the age of 16. He had intended to become famous and had reputedly almost got a recording contract but a subsequent nervous breakdown and addiction to alcohol, barbiturates and sedatives, amongst other things, put his plans on hiatus. However, with the arrival of punk music in Britain he found a subculture which re-energised him and his enthusiasm for music. This, and, later in his life, the seeking of wisdom through spiritual insight and religious practices, were some of the things that helped him become more stable and focused.

He has had an unknown number of releases of his music on many cassettes on extremely small indie labels. However, the following can be established regarding what is known of his discography:

Meltdown the Album (VA Chariot Records 1989 vinyl LP);
Pop Vocals and Instrumentals (VA Off the Shelf Music library music CD 1993);
Sound of One (Very Good Records 1997 vinyl LP);
Mask (Pink Lemon Records 1998 plum-coloured vinyl EP);
Take It To The Bridge Vol. 3 (VA Bridge Records 1998 CD);
United World Underground (VA MMATT 2001 CD);
No Apathy/Dim Apathi (VA Dockrad Records 2002 CD);
Taffia EP (Crai Records 2002 CD EP);
Best of the Bard (mp3.com 2003 mp3 CD);
Green Man Festival (VA Double Snazzy 2003 CD);
Bands United (VA Bands United 2003 CD);

He has worked with many people including, most notably, the following: Robin Williamson (founder of the Incredible String Band), Woody Woodmansey (drummer from David Bowie's Spiders From Mars), Crum (synth player for Hawkwind and the Moonloonies), Jah Taff, aka "Jah Scouse" (member of Taffia and actor), Phil Moxham (ex-member of Young Marble Giants), Greg Haver (producer of many famous Welsh bands), Matthew Scott (ex Jack), and Rhys Mwyn (ex MD Crai Records).

The Taffia EP was recorded by a band called Taffia which he briefly fronted, accompanied primarily by Jah Scouse and Phil Moxham except in live performances when a friend simply known as "Ninjah" would help out as well.

The Bard of Ely also had an interesting experience when his friend Jah Taf had planned to release a single , "You're A Liar, Nicky Wire" on his own label and being on friendly terms with the head of Spillers Records (a local record shop that is helpful in stocking limited edition releases by Welsh acts) thought they could sell it there. Jah had gained some paid-for publicity in Buzz Magazine and was also making use of flyers and posters, and received a telephone call saying they would not be willing to stock it because it could offend the Manic Street Preachers and their fans. Jah had just sent a copy of the song to the NME and because Bard of Ely had met and impressed Ben Knowles the editor, he e-mailed him to let him know that a song he, Andrews, had written had just been banned from a leading record shop in Cardiff and had been sent to the NME. It quickly received rave reviews in the NME singles page and subsequently attracted the attention of BBC Radio One Session in Wales, and of Crai Records.

He is currently a columnist for the Tenerife Sun and health, nature and music features writer for Tenerife News. He has written a series of monthly gardening columns for Living Tenerife magazine and has also contributed 2 features on foraging for Permaculture Magazine.
In addition, he has written a book entitled "Herbs of the Northern Shaman - A Guide to Mind-Altering Plants of the Northern Hemisphere" which was published in 2000 but the publisher, Loompanics Unlimited was forced to close down and the book is a now a collectors item.
He has appeared on British television as: co-presenter of 2 series of In Full View (BBC Choice 1998), singer and musician on an episode of The Slate (BBC Wales), guest speaker on Roll Over Beethoven (BBC2), and has been featured on the HTV Wales news as a Welsh pineapple grower, acted in Red Dragon , a sci-fi short in Shotgun Slideshow (HTV Wales), hypnotically regressed for Weird Wales (HTV Wales).
He is a member of the Free Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Abirir (Avebury), and was given the title Principal Bard of the Travelling Court of Camelot by reason of being a member of the Loyal Arthurian Warband Druid Order -- the similarity to his well-known nickname is, presumably, coincidental.

He has been one of the more popular musical acts at Glastonbury Festival for several years running and has also acted as a compere at the festival. Many of his fans are of a younger generation and his music appeals fairly equally to members of both sexes.
When he isn't writing or making music he likes to practice living in harmony with Nature and enjoys spending time with his cats.

"The Bard is immortal!" and "He rocks!" are how many of his fans describe him.