Keith West
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Keith West (* 6. December 1943 as Keith Alan Hopkins in Dagenham , Essex , England ) was a member of the 1960-years- psychedelic rock band Tomorrow . But he became known mainly through his participation in the project A Teenage Opera by Mark Wirtz , when he sang the song Excerpt from a Teenage Opera and thus created a million-seller and evergreen .
Life
In 1964 Keith West became the lead singer of the London rock group In Crowd, which later changed its name to Tomorrow . A member of the band was u. a. the guitarist Steve Howe (later Yes ). In 1967 he met producer Mark Wirtz. He had created the title A Touch of Velvet, a Sting of Brass (1965) under the name Mood Mosaic , which would later become the signature tune of the German music programs Beat-Club and Musikladen . Together they wrote Excerpt from a Teenage Opera . The single (also known as Grocer Jack ) became a top 10 European hit and sold millions of copies. In Germany, the song reached number 2 on the hit parade in November 1967. On the back of the single, the Mark Wirtz Orchestra immortalized itself with Theme from a Teenage Opera . The follow-up single Sam was no longer a success, however, and West withdrew from the music business in frustration.
Both Excerpt from a Teenage Opera and Sam were pre-releases of the planned rock musical Teenage Opera . However, the complex and expensive production of Excerpt from a Teenage Opera was responsible for the fact that the record company classified the project as too great a financial risk and stopped further work on the album.
In 1973 Keith West made a comeback and formed the band Moonrider with former Animals guitarist John Weider. However, there was no success here either. Furthermore, the band Nazareth released the song My White Bicycle in 1975 , a song that Keith West had composed for Tomorrow in 1966.
Keith West then worked as a producer and recording engineer, mainly in the advertising industry. His Excerpt from a Teenage Opera is now one of the classic one-hit wonders .
In 1999, West and Howe re-recorded the 1969 Dylan song Lay Lady Lay .
Web links
- Biography at Allmusic
- Keith West at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | West, Keith |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hopkins, Keith Alan (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 6, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dagenham , Essex, England |