Steve Dyer was born in 1960 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal.

His love for music goes back to his childhood as he taught himself to play the guitar at the age of eleven. He studied classical music at University of Natal.

Dyer left South Africa in 1982 for Botswana where he became involved in the Culture and Resistance' symposium a conference aimed at uniting activists and cultural workers to form a coalition of cultural resistance against apartheid. He then stayed and pursued music in Botswana afterwards.

He played with big names in Jazz like Jonas Gwangwa, Hugh Masekela etc.

Steve was one of the founding members of Jonas Gwangwa’s band, Shakawe. It was during that period that he chose the saxophone and flute as his main instruments of expression.