Snooker star Steve Davis ruled the 1980s but has since transformed his career in an unexpected way.
Throughout his storied snooker career, Steve Davis earned the tongue-in-cheek nickname “the most boring player in the world.”
After breaking onto the professional scene in the late 1970s, the London-born star dominated the sport for years, reaching eight World Championship finals, winning six titles, and holding the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons.
In contrast to the flamboyant personalities of his era, such as Jimmy White and Alex Higgins, Davis relied on a methodical, disciplined approach, focusing on his matches and methodically dismantling opponents. His understated style even led to him being ironically dubbed “Interesting” on the satirical puppet show Spitting Image, a persona he gradually embraced as his playing days wound down.
Since retiring in 2016, Davis has carved out a very different life. Now 67, he is a respected TV pundit covering major snooker tournaments worldwide. Yet there’s more to him than the calm, measured persona suggests a surprising new career has emerged decades after he shocked the public with revelations of an affair with a 19-year-old.
Surprising new career
Since retiring from professional snooker, Steve Davis has traded the cue for the turntables, establishing himself as a successful DJ and musician performing at venues across the UK.
A lifelong progressive rock fan with a vinyl collection exceeding 10,000 records, Davis formed the electro group Utopia Strong alongside musician Kavus Torabi, releasing two albums together.
He has gone on to perform techno sets at Glastonbury Festival, support Blur at Wembley Stadium, and contribute to a variety of other musical projects. Most recently, he curated the lineup for the 2025 Simple Things Festival in Bristol, surprising festival-goers who had no idea the six-time world snooker champion had embarked on such an unexpected new career.
A promotional video for the 2025 Simple Things Festival featuring Steve Davis left fans amazed. One viewer commented: “Is this actually Steve Davis or an AI video? I hope it’s real because it’s pretty cool lol.” Another added: “The first thing I’ve seen and thought ‘that’s AI’ that has turned out to be mind-bogglingly factual,” while a third wrote: “I did not expect this at all respect to Steve Davis.” Summing it up, one fan enthused: “Incredible. This guy has so much talent it makes my head spin. And he’s funny and charismatic. Who’d have thought he was this guy 35 years ago? I love it!!”
Speaking to the Mirror, Davis described his career shift as “ridiculous,” admitting: “I didn’t know my life would turn out like this. You haven’t got a clue. My life seems to have gone in reverse. I started off as a snooker player, practising eight hours a day in a dark room, and ended up DJing at Glastonbury. You just don’t know what is going to happen.”
Reflecting on the festival, he said: “I come from another world. The snooker world is not like that, so it passed me by. Music is my drug of choice.”
Davis’ DJ career isn’t his first foray into music. He hosted a soul and rock programme on Brentwood’s Phoenix FM in 1996 and famously teamed up with Chas and Dave on Snooker Loopy as part of ‘The Matchroom Mob,’ alongside Terry Griffiths, Tony Meo, Dennis Taylor, and Willie Thorne.
Beyond snooker and music, the 67-year-old has showcased his versatility over the years, competing in the World Pool League and serving as president of the British Chess Federation from 1996 to 2001.
Split from wife and wild affair claims
Steve Davis married former Concorde flight attendant Judy Greig in 1990, and the couple had two sons, Greg and Jack.
After 15 years of marriage, they divorced in 2005, with Davis revealing that his wife had “met someone else.” Reflecting on the split, he later told MailOnline: “Perhaps I was giving the table a bit too much attention. I was difficult to live with. But so are all sports people – horrible. We’re all ‘me, me, me!’ And so selfish!”
The split came a decade after a British tabloid reportedly paid 19-year-old dancer Cheree Palla £30,000 to claim she had a brief affair with Davis, who was 39 at the time. Palla, now a beauty therapist, alleged they were intimate multiple times a night and later called Davis the “king of the bedroom.”
Reflecting on the controversy, Davis said: “I wasn’t a politician, I was a snooker player — I was only an ambassador of that sport. So I didn’t lose much sleep over it. It’s not like I had people all over the place. I think my street cred went up quite a lot, actually.”
Although his wife forgave him at the time, the couple divorced 10 years later. Davis subsequently began a long-term relationship with accounts worker Jeannie Nash, who is 16 years his junior.