Keith West
Keith West | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Keith Alan Hopkins |
| Born | 6 December 1944 Dagenham,Essex,England |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | Mid-1960s–present |
| Labels | Parlophone,Kuckuck(FRG) |
Keith Hopkins[1](born 6 December 1944,Dagenham,Essex,England),[2]known by hisstage nameKeith West,is a Britishrocksinger, songwriter and music producer. He is best known for his single "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera"(" Grocer Jack "), which reached No. 2 on theUK Singles Chart.
West was also the lead singer of various groups includingTomorrow,a 1960spsychedelic rockband.[3]West wrote most of his own songs (credited to Keith Hopkins), often in collaboration withKen Burgess.Despite critical acclaim and support fromBBC Radio 1DJJohn Peel,who featured Tomorrow on hisThe Perfumed Gardenshow, the group was not a major commercial success.
Career[edit]
In 1964, West became lead singer of The In Crowd, a band from London, who later changed their name to Tomorrow.[4]The following year The In Crowd recorded three singles forParlophone.[5]Another member of these groups was guitaristSteve Howe,later of the bandYes.
In 1967, West became acquainted withMark Wirtz,a record producer who had already created theinstrumentaltitle "A Touch of Velvet, a Sting of Brass" (1965). The melody later became thetheme musicfor the German television programmesBeat-ClubandMusikladen.West was also a participant in Wirtz'sA Teenage Operaproject: he was the singer of "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera",[4]also known as "Grocer Jack", which reached number 2 on theUK Singles Chartin 1967.[6]He also performed "Sam",[4]which reached the bottom end of the UK Top 40 the same year.[6]
In August 1967, Tomorrow released a single of a Hopkins/Howe song titled "Revolution".West released the solo single" On a Saturday "on Parlophone in 1968.[4]Other musicians who appeared on that single were guitarist Howe, bassistRonnie Wood,and drummerAynsley Dunbar.It has since been included on the remastered CD version of theTomorrowalbum (1999).
In 1971, West released a solo album,Wherever My Love Goes,on the Germanprogressive rockrecord labelKuckuck.[7]It featured his songwriting partner Ken Burgess andsteel guitaristGlenn Ross Campbell(ex-The Misunderstood). Two tracks on the album wereproducedbyAndrew Loog Oldham.
By the mid-1970s, West was the lead singer of a group called Moonrider,[4]which also featuredJohn Weider,[4]Chico Greenwood (later to perform withMurray Head) andBruce Thomas.[8]
Today, West continues to produce and record music, which is used primarily within theadvertisingindustry. He is also associated withBurns Guitars.[4][9]
In 2021, the official biography of Keith West was published in the book "Thinking About Tomorrow – Excerpts from the life of Keith West"[10]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
- Wherever My Love Goes(1971)
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [11] |
BEL [12] |
DE [13] |
NLD [14] |
NZ [15] |
US [16] | |||
| 1967 | "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera" | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 109[a] | |
| "Sam" | 38 | — | — | Tip[a] | — | — | ||
| 1968 | "On A Saturday" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released to that territory | ||||||||
References[edit]
- ^"Musical Calendar for December 6".Big Bands Database Plus.Archived fromthe originalon 27 October 2005.Retrieved10 October2016.
- ^"Keith West – Lead Singer of Tomorrow – where is he now?".Hawksmoor Publishing.4 January 2022.
- ^Unterberger, Richie."Keith West | Biography & History | AllMusic".AllMusic.Retrieved10 October2016.
- ^abcdefgColin Larkin,ed. (1997).The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music(First ed.).Virgin Books.p. 469.ISBN0-7535-0149-X.
- ^"The In Crowd [UK] Discography".45cat.Retrieved10 October2016.
- ^abRoberts, David (2006).British Hit Singles & Albums(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 596.ISBN1-904994-10-5.
- ^"Wherever My Love Goes - Keith West | Songs, Reviews, Credits".AllMusic.Retrieved16 June2021.
- ^"Moonrider - Moonrider | Songs, Reviews, Credits".AllMusic.Retrieved16 June2021.
- ^"Burns/Hayman prototype hybrid guitar".Guitarz.blogspot.co.uk.13 February 2011.
- ^"Thinking About Tomorrow – Excerpts from the life of Keith West - Book".Hawksmoor Publishing.Retrieved9 February2022.
- ^"Keith West".The Official Charts Company.
- ^"Keith West".Ultratop.
- ^"Keith West:Excerpt from A Teenage Opera".Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
- ^"Keith West".Top 40.
- ^"Keith West".Flavour of New Zealand.
- ^"Bubbling Under the Hot 100".Billboard.4 November 1967. p. 18.
External links[edit]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
