One of Sydney‘s true kings of the Cross, renowned nightclub identity Steve Lowe, has marked the premature end of his life much the way he lived it: by hosting a star-studded bash the whole city is talking about.
The much-loved promoter and top-shelf chef was this week joined by more than 180 of his closest friends aboard a party boat on Sydney Harbour for a final ‘send off’ and ‘live funeral’ before he heads into palliative care.
The 60-year-old club baron has been fighting an aggressive throat cancer since being diagnosed with the disease just six months ago – but now sadly concedes he has lost the devastating battle.
‘I’d had this pain in my chest or probably a year or so and I always just dismissed it as indigestion,’ Lowe told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I went to a few GPs and they just told me to take [heartburn medication] Nexium or something like that.
‘Finally, in late November last year, I went and saw a specialist, and they sent me in for an endoscopy, and that’s when they found the tumor on my esophagus and it just went from there.
‘I went through a very stringent radiation treatment, which was really brutal. It was daily treatments for three weeks and it wasn’t until at the very end that the pain and agony really started to kick in.
‘Unfortunately, it had already metastasized to my liver, so it’s stage-four cancer. It’s now just a process of palliative care until, until the time comes – that’s why I thought I’d throw a party.’
Much-loved Sydney nightclub king and top-shelf Steve Lowe says he decided to hold a ‘live funeral’ to celebrate his life before going into palliative care after losing his battle with cancer
Lowe was joined by 180 of his closest friends – such as former model Michelle Leslie and television presenter Sophie Falkiner – for a ‘final send off’ on Sydney Harbour on Thursday night
Lowe – better known as Stevie in Sydney’s hip entertainment world – admitted he had initially been a little apprehensive about the idea of holding a ‘live funeral’ to mark the end of his life.
But he said that, the more he thought about it, the more he realised he wanted his friends to remember at his bright-spirited, fun-loving best rather than for the dark days to come.
‘It was actually my sister’s idea – she’d heard about people doing these “live wakes”,’ Lowe said.
‘At first, I was like, “That sounds a bit morbid,” but she said, “Well, no, actually think about it.”
‘And she was right, you know. We’ve all been to funerals, and they’re f***ing miserable – people have to take the morning off work, then you have to go to a church and all that sort of stuff.
‘Then there’s this sad after-party, and you just can’t wait to get the f*** out of there – it’s all so depressing.
‘So I thought, you know what, I’d rather my friends see me now, albeit all 60 kilos of me when I used to be 85 kilos, but I’d rather them see me and remember me this way than come to see me in a hospital and feeding tubes and s***t like that.
‘I thought it was a more dignified option – so I said, “Okay, let’s do it – let’s throw a “live funeral” – and it seems it was really well received and reciprocated, which was wonderful.’
The 60-year-old says there were some tears but also plenty of laughs as he hosted his last big bash surrounded by friends, including Holly Jenkins and Kaylee Brown
Lowe’s party invite asked guests to ‘forget the sad stuff’ and instead celebrate his life
Despite his strong links to the King Cross nightclub scene, Lowe said he ultimately decided to take to the Harbour for his last big bash on Thursday night.
‘I booked the one of those large pontoon boats through All Occasion Cruises, which I used to work for as a catering chef. Yeah, and I put an invite out about a month ago, and I got about 180 RSVPs,’ he said.
The invitation asked guests to ‘forget the sad stuff’ and sitting through a ‘depressing wake’ and instead celebrate his life ‘on a boat, martini in hand’.
‘I had a very dear friend of mine who’s the GM at Hugo’s, do the em-ceeing and welcome everybody aboard to have a drink,’ he said.
‘Then I basically gave a speech saying, “Guys, this is where I’m at. To save you asking me how I am all night: This is where I’m at.
‘And, “this is where I’m going. And I’m just really, really happy that you’ve all taken the time to come because… this is how I want to leave you”.’
Among those who joined Lowe for the sea-borne soiree were a Who’s Who of the Harbour City’s fashion and luxury identities.
They included television presenter Sophie Falkiner, former model Michelle Leslie, swimsuit designer Tali Jatali, stylist Mars Marsanic, Pip Edward’s interior designer ex Josh Clapp, Chic models boss Kathy Ward, Luxe Cruising Group founder Scott Robinson and luxury experience director Louisa Dickson.
Lowe says he has been fortunate to have a fantastic life and fantastic friends like SJ Spacey and Isolde McKenna to share it with
The celebrity chef thanked his friends for sharing the special night with him
‘I had the best DJ, Aiden Bega, who DJs at all the coolest nightclubs and s*** around,’ Lowe said.
And at the end the last half an hour, I got everybody downstairs on the dance floor, and I played my music, all my disco music and stuff that I loved, and we … (danced) and it was, it was just a fantastic night.
‘I also had Alex Cadger, who owns The Blonde Butler, do the catering, and he worked sensationally hard. He’s a very dear friend of mine.
‘The sad part about having cancer is you’ve actually got the time to plan … but at the same time, I’m glad I did. Everybody I invited pretty much came and they had the best time.
‘There was lots of lots of tears, lots of hugs, but also lots of laughs, because I’m not, I’m not going out in a fit of depression and f***ing tears and all that sort of stuff.
‘Instead, I spent the night catching up with all my friends, yeah, and just like sitting down with them and having a drink with them and having a laugh with them and having a hug – you know that to me, is better than anything.
‘It was just a really, really good way to sort of go.’
Lowe may have only weeks to live … but he won’t be soon forgotten
Although Lowe knows the week ahead will be anything but a party, he said he appreciated all the fun and friends he had made over the past six decades and asked that they always remember the good times.
‘I’ve been very, very fortunate – I’ve had an absolutely fantastic life,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I had all best time with all the nightclub stuff that I did; I had an icon on Oxford Street: [my nightclub] called Nevermind; and I got to meet people like George Michael and Lady Gaga through it – it’s been a wild ride.
‘So when all my mates ask, “What else have you got on your bucket list?” I can honestly say, “I’ve pretty much done it all. I’ve nailed it. I don’t have anything that I need to do.”
‘I went to Switzerland in January with my family to go skiing, and that was very special for me, because it’ll be the last time I’ll be able to do that. So that was wonderful.
‘So if that’s it… please just remember me as that guy who let you into best nightclubs, bought them drinks and had a great time with you – because it truly was fun.’
