Deborah Bone
Deborah Louise Bone MBE (10 January 1963 – 30 December 2014) was a British mental health nurse who helped young people cope with stress. She co-created Step2 and created Brainbox, a project to support youngsters dealing with stress. She became the subject of the Pulp song "Disco 2000," written by her close friend Jarvis Cocker, who performed it at her 50th birthday party.
Bone was born in Salford, Lancashire, England, and later moved to Sheffield, where her mother was friends with the mother of Jarvis Cocker. At age 10 her family moved to Letchworth, but she and Cocker remained friends. She began volunteering at Fairfield Hospital in Stotfold when she was 16.
She trained as a mental health nurse and worked for the Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust as a service manager for early intervention and adolescent mental health services. She set up the Step2 Health service and Brainbox to help young people dealing with stress.
In the 2015 New Year Honours, she was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to children’s mental health.
Bone died at home on 30 December 2014 from multiple myeloma, aged 51, in Hinxworth, Hertfordshire. She was survived by her husband Colin and two daughters.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:10 (CET).