Snooker legend Steve Davis has stepped into another career that keeps him up late at night a decade after retiring from professional snooker. The six-time world champion, now 69, has found a new passion in music, performing as a DJ and with his electronic band The Utopia Strong.
Davis, once the biggest name in snooker during the 1980s, has also navigated major controversy, including an affair with a 19-year-old woman that rocked his marriage. His net worth is now estimated at £26.5m, more than five times his tournament earnings.
New Rockstar Career
After forging a post-snooker career as a DJ, Davis has deepened his musical repertoire by striking out with a new band. The Utopia Strong is an electronic group formed in 2018 and has since taken up more of the snooker legend's time.
The three-member band has released four albums to date since its inception eight years ago. The group was born from an improvised performance at Glastonbury 2018, with guitarist Kavus Torabi and Michael J. York eventually completing the composition.
The Utopia Strong toured the UK in May 2026, playing shows in London, Manchester, Newcastle, Exeter, Leicester, Hull and Glasgow, along with a host of smaller cities and towns. They have also appeared on BBC Breakfast in 2023 and headlined the Angel Field Festival at the Capstone Theatre at Liverpool Hope University last year.
Affair and Split from Wife
Davis married ex-wife Judith, a former Concorde flight attendant, in 1990. The former couple had two sons, Greg and Jack, together before their marriage was hit by scandal.
In 1995, two years after the birth of his youngest son, it emerged that Davis had engaged in an extra-marital affair. A UK tabloid paid 19-year-old Cheree Palla £32,000 to divulge the secrets behind their tryst, at which time Davis was 39 and still winning major titles.
"To this day not one man has even compared to Steve in the sack. I mean it, not even close," she told The Sun in 2013 regarding her romance with Davis. "I was only young and I don’t think I really appreciated what an animal he was.
"We would make love seven times a night. I was only 19 and I wasn’t experienced at all. I honestly thought it was normal. I have been very disappointed ever since. I haven’t had a lover that could hold a candle to him. He taught me everything."
Judith forgave Davis his transgression at the time, though the pair later divorced in 2005. Looking back on his affair, the snooker great played down his actions and even suggested his reputation improved because of it.
"I wasn't a politician, I was a snooker player - I was only an ambassador of that sport," said Davis years later. "So I didn't lose much sleep over it in the end really. It's not like I had people all over the place. I think my street cred went up quite a lot actually."
Davis found new love with former accounts worker Jeannie Nash, 16 years his junior, not long after the collapse of his marriage. The pair remain in a long-term relationship today.
Net Worth
Having revelled in his success at a time when snooker reigned among the biggest sports in the UK, Davis has reaped considerable financial rewards from his success. In addition to his playing career, his fortune has been boosted by a successful career in punditry, featuring as a regular on BBC and TNT Sports commentary.
Davis raked in more than £5.6m in competition earnings. He also enjoyed some lucrative sponsorship deals thanks to his collaboration with manager Barry Hearn and was at one point the highest-earning sportsman in the UK.
His net worth is currently estimated to lie in the region of £26.5m, significantly more than the sum he earned from tournaments. That just goes to show the earning potential to be had by one who has built up a massive legacy in his field.
