BIOGRAPHY

Born in a northern fishing village, moved to London in early teens, played in various school bands and early psychedelic combos. His distinctive keyboard work and songwriting abilities led to him being asked to join COMUS, whose subsequent album, "TO KEEP FROM CRYING", was released on Virgin Records (1974).

Determined to pursue his own musical vision, Keith formed BLOOD DONOR in 1977. It had the then highly unusual line-up of two synthesizer players, two percussionists and a bass player. Ahead of it's time, this group battled bravely against a backdrop of punk rock, and was signed to Arista Records. Worked with various producers including JOHN CALE, and recorded first album with Tonto's Expanding Head Band and Stevie Wonder producer MALCOLM CECIL; sadly, internal disputes between record company and management meant that this album was never released, although two singles were - "RUBBER REVOLUTION" and "RICE HARVEST". The latter, featuring a Vietnamese children's choir, received much critical acclaim on BBC's ROUND TABLE and in the music press.

Then followed a long and fruitful association with TOYAH. Co-wrote and produced Toyah's first single, "VICTIMS OF THE RIDDLE", which was used extensively in an episode of "SHOESTRING", and played on and co-produced her first album, "SHEEP FARMING IN BARNET".

Replaced Tim Blake in HAWKWIND, and whilst recording with them, Toyah's version of "IT'S A MYSTERY" (written by Keith and included on the E.P "FOUR FROM TOYAH") reached No.4 in the UK singles chart and was also included on Toyah's best-selling album, "ANTHEM".

Left Hawkwind with drummer GINGER BAKER; together formed a band which did two long and successful tours of Europe. Rikki Legair (John Bentley's replacement in Blood Donor) handled bass duties. This band had to break up prematurely when tax reasons forced Ginger to emigrate. Keith then joined Toyah's band and during this time made several TV appearances and a very successful summer tour. A live album - "WARRIOR ROCK - TOYAH ON TOUR" - was recorded during two nights at Hammersmith Odeon.

After another tour culminating in a Christmas show at the Shaftsbury Theatre, Toyah decided to concentrate more on her acting career and the band split up.

More sessions followed with, amongst others, NEIL INNES and SIMON PHILLIPS with whom Keith still collaborates on a number of experimental projects.

Feeling the need for a change, moved to rural Somerset, where he divided his time between bringing up his daughter Alice and composing mainly instrumental music. In 1988, formed SPACE CADETS with original Blood Donor rhythm section, John Bentley and Gordon Coxon; this resulted in a well received album released at the end of 1989. They then recorded a single and played some live dates. Having an outlet for his more experimental ideas, Keith then returned to more mainstream songwriting.

In the early 90's Keith then played keyboards in THE MONEYMAKERS, a band put together by 'musical eccentric' HARRY KANE. This led to the duo recording an as yet unreleased album 'FAMILY FAVOURITES'.

After installing a basic recording studio in his new home Keith invited Harry to collaborate on some tracks he was working on. This was to become the debut 'JASPER FISH AND THE ALICE BAND' album "AROUND THE ROOM IN EIGHTY DAYS" released in 1998.

The band (by this time a full live Alice Band had been put together)then played some local dates and supported JOOLS HOLLAND.

The five track follow up "NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES" was released in 1999. The title referencing the eventful evening when the band were discussing which musical direction to pursue. It led to Harry's departure so vocal duties were handled by Keith. 'Dance Of Life', the first track was co-written with ex-Toyah drummer SIMON PHILLIPS. 'Flow My Tears' is another highlight, and very different versions appear on each album.

The text of this website is available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License and the GNU Free Documentation License.