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David "Steady" Stead (born 15 October 1966 in Huddersfield, England) was the drummer for the alternate pop / rock band, The Beautiful South. He moved to Cottingham, a village on the outskirts of Hull with his mother, and brothers and sisters after his parents split up.

His older brother Mick introduced David to his punk record collection and soon the pair started a band, "The Luddites" with sixteen year old Steady on drums and Mark Fell (1962 - 1984) on bass. The band released two singles, "Doppelganger" and "Altered States" on Eccentric Records.

He left Cottingham High school at sixteen and worked as an electrical fitter, but hated it so much he gave up the career after a few years. He then got a part-time job doing sound engineering at the nearby alternative live music club - the Aldelphi.

When The Luddites ran out of steam, Stead joined a band called "Vicious Circle." Soon afterwards, in August 1988, Stead joined The Beautiful South. He featured on 13 albums with the band.

Stead has interests in the Boars nest restrauant in Hull, and promotes a festival in Huddersfield called "song 07."