Jim Keays
Encyclopedia
James "Jim" Keays is an Australian musician who fronted rock
band The Masters Apprentices
as singer-songwriter
, guitar
ist and harmonica
-player during 1965–1972, and subsequently had a solo career including leading Jim Keays' Southern Cross. The Masters Apprentices had Top 20 hits on the Go-Set
National Singles Charts with "Undecided", "Living in a Child's Dream", "5:10 Man", "Think about Tomorrow Today", "Turn Up Your Radio" and "Because I Love You". He also wrote for the teen newspaper, Go-Set, as its Adelaide correspondent in 1970 and its London correspondent in 1973. The band reformed periodically, including in 1987–1988 and again subsequently. Keays, as a member of The Masters Apprentices, was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
in 1998. He published his memoir
s, His Master's Voice: The Masters Apprentices: The bad boys of sixties rock 'n' roll in 1999.
From 2000, he has performed in Cotton Keays & Morris
alongside other former 1960s artists, Darryl Cotton
and Russell Morris
. In July 2007, Keays was diagnosed with myeloma, which caused his kidneys to fail. As of February 2009, the cancer is in remission after chemotherapy
and stem-cell transplants.
, Scotland
, where his unwed mother put him up for adoption at six months old. He was adopted by James Keays (Sr.) and Jessie Cameron (née
Caldwell) Keays, a childless couple from Clydebank
, they migrated to Australia on RMS Asturias leaving Southampton
on 5 September 1951, four days before he turned five. They settled in Beaumont
, a suburb of Adelaide
. He attended Burnside
Primary School and then Norwood High School. Keays played "Aussie Rules" football
up to under-17s and golf—a passion shared with his father. His interest in rock music
began when he heard, "Rip It Up
" by Little Richard
and "Great Balls of Fire
" by Jerry Lee Lewis
on a school friend's turntable when he was 11.
instrumental/dance band formed in Adelaide in 1964 with Mick Bower on rhythm guitar
, Rick Morrison on lead guitar
, Brian Vaughton on drums
and Gavin Webb on bass guitar
. After The Beatles toured Australia, The Mustangs changed style and advertised for a lead singer, Keays was the successful applicant. After he joined, the band played one set of instrumental covers of The Shadows
and The Ventures
followed by a second set of originals in the beat
style with Keays on vocals.
(deliberately omitting the apostrophe), Bower supplied the name because "we are apprentices to the masters of the blues—Chuck Berry
, Bo Diddley
, Jimmy Reed
, Elmore James
and Robert Johnson". Early original songs were largely written (or co-written) by Bower including Top 20 hit singles, "Undecided" and "Living in a Child's Dream".
Whilst a member of The Masters Apprentices, Keays was one of hundreds of potential conscripts whose 20th birthday, 9 September, was picked in a 1966 ballot. He was able to legally avoid the draft by signing with the Citizens Military Force
(CMF, later renamed the Army Reserve) and eluded a "short back and sides" haircut with the aid of a girlfriend, who pinned his long hair up under his slouch hat
whenever he attended CMF sessions. By February 1967 the band had relocated to Melbourne
. In late 1967 he began to experiment with the drug LSD
. After Bower left the band in September 1967 because of a severe nervous breakdown
, Keays became the de facto leader, while various line-up changes followed.
In January 1968, Colin Burgess
(ex-The Haze) joined on drums, followed by Doug Ford
(ex-The Missing Links, Running Jumping Standing Still) on lead guitar. Ford and Keays began working as a songwriting team, beginning with "Brigette", released as a single in June, which peaked into the Top 40. Glenn Wheatley
(from Brisbane's blues group Bay City Union) had joined on rhythm guitar in May and later took over bass guitar.
The Masters Apprentices became the 'bad-boys of Rock', Keays was interviewed for teen newspaper, Go-Set, by staff reporter, Lily Brett
and the 'expose' was printed on 17 July 1968, headlined "Sex is thrust upon us", the article and its follow-up, "Whose breasts are best?", revealed aspects of the bacchanalian groupie scene
:
The 'bad-boy' publicity also frustrated manager, Darryl Sambell's plans to market them as a wholesome teen combo. Keays stated that there was a backlash from the interview: the roadway outside his flat in East St Kilda
was daubed with the slogan "Band Moll's Paradise" in one-metre (three-foot) high letters, threats of physical beatings by male audience members and press claims that they were "sex maniacs".
In April 1970, EMI released the group's most popular single, "Turn Up Your Radio", produced by Howard Gable, and engineered by Ern Rose. It was recorded at a late-night session and Keays later recounted that he was so drunk when he recorded his vocals that he had to be held up to the microphone. The song was deliberately designed to be loud and offensive, and was intended as the final nail in the coffin to their ill-conceived teenybopper
image. It was released just before the start of the 1970 radio ban
—a major dispute between commercial radio stations and record companies—which resulted in the banning of many major-label releases. Despite little commercial radio airplay, the song raced up the charts and peaked at #7 nationally.
Ford and Keays wrote four of the band's Top 20 hits with "5:10 Man" (#16 on the Go-Set National Top 40 Charts, 1969), "Think About Tomorrow Today" (#12, 1969), "Turn Up Your Radio" (#7, 1970) and "Because I Love You" (#12, 1971). From July 1970, the band had tried to break into the United Kingdom market but disbanded in 1972 without achieving any UK charting.
the Mulwala
Festival in April 1972.
In March 1973, he played the role of 'The Lover' in the Australian version of The Who
's rock opera
, Tommy. In January 1974 Keays compèred the fourth annual Sunbury Pop Festival, then he compiled tracks from The Masters Apprentice's latter career and designed the cover for the collection
, entitled Now That's It's Over, with liner notes written by the late Howard Lindley. EMI released "Rio de Camero" / "Thyme to Rhyme" as a single in August 1974, the A-side garnered reasonable airplay but did not chart.
In late 1974 Keays recorded his debut solo album, Boy from the Stars, which was an ambitious concept LP
with the Science Fiction
theme of an alien arriving on Earth to warn of the misuse of power sources. Session musicians included: David Allardice on piano
, James Black on guitar, Geoff Bridgeford on drums, Joe Creighton on bass guitar, Mick Elliot on guitar, Dennis Garcia on keyboard, Billy Green on guitar, Marcia Hines
on backing vocals and Lobby Loyde
on guitar. His first single, "Kid's Blues", was released in December. Some tracks from Boy from the Stars were performed at the final Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1975, where his all-star backing group, Jim Keays Band, was joined by Wheatley, recently returned from the UK, in their last performance together for over ten years. Ironically, after ripoffs endured as The Masters Apprentices, Keays and his band were the only group at Sunbury who were paid—Keays had wisely arranged an outside sponsor—low attendance and the huge $60,000 fee paid to headliner Deep Purple
meant that none of the other Australian acts were paid, and the festival organisers went into liquidation soon after. The second single, "The Boy from the Stars", was released in February. He followed with, "Give It Up", an anti-drug song, and toured with Allardice, Bridgeford, Creighton, Elliot and Garcia in his backing band.
He formed Jim Keays' Southern Cross with Rick Brewer (ex-Zoot
) on drums, Rex Bullen (Bakery) on keyboards, George Cross (Clydehouse) on bass guitar and Elliot. They reworked, "Undecided" which was issued as a single for CBS Records
in December 1975, by then the line-up had changed to Peter Laffy ( Fox) on guitar, Ron Robinson on bass guitar and John Swan
(Fraternity) on drums. During 1977, he teamed up with Phil Manning
(ex-Bay City Union, Chain
) on guitar to form Manning/Keays Band. By 1978 he formed another version of Jim Keays Band with Black, Robinson, and David Rowe on drums. Black was replaced by John Moon (Buster Brown
) on guitar and Geoff Spooner on guitar. Renamed as The Keays in 1979, his band was Moon, and Peter Marshall on bass guitar, Nigel Rough on drums (Loose Trousers) and Bruce Stewart on guitar (Loose Trousers). This line-up released the single, "Lucifer Street" in 1980, Stewart became seriously ill and the album, Red on the Meter was delayed until 1983. Keays and Moon joined as guest musicians with The Incredible Penguins
(containing future bandmates Wayne Mathews and Moon) in 1985, for a cover
of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
", a charity project for research on Fairy penguins
, which peaked at #10 on the Australian Kent Music Report
in December.
Keays was working as a radio DJ
from 1983 to 1987, then he signed with Virgin Records
in UK and recorded another version of "Undecided" with Andy Scott (Sweet
) on guitar and produced by Craig Leon. The single was released in July, followed by a cover
of Count Five
's "Psychotic Reaction
" in October. Keays participated in various reunions of The Masters Apprentices from later 1987. He released his next solo album, Pressure Makes Diamonds co-produced with producer/composer/guitarist Frank Sablotny/Frank Tayla in 1993 on Gemstone Records.This album featured the stand out track "Waiting For The Big One" by Keays/Sablotny. In 1998, Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) inducted The Masters Apprentices into the Hall of Fame
. Keays wrote his memoirs, His Master's Voice: The Masters Apprentices: The bad boys of sixties rock 'n' roll, in 1999. Wheatley also published his memoirs, Paper Paradise, later that year.
From 2000 he has toured periodically as a member of Cotton Keays & Morris
with 1960s artists Darryl Cotton
from Adelaide's Zoot and Russell Morris
from Melbourne's Somebody's Image. ABC-TV series, Long Way to the Top
, was broadcast in August 2001. Keays featured on "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" where he discussed the UK migrant influence on their early work and "Undecided"; and in "Episode 3:Billy Killed the Fish 1968–1973" where he described pioneering pub rock
and the band's groupies. The TV series inspired the Long Way to the Top national concert tour during August–September 2002, which featured a host of the best Australian acts of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The classic line-up of Burgess, Ford, Keays and Wheatley. Performances of "Because I Love You" and "Turn Up Your Radio" at the final Sydney concert, as well as an interview with promoter, Amanda Pelman, feature on the associated DVD
, Long Way to the Top: Live in Concert released in 2002. Keays also continued with Cotton Keays & Morris tours and reunions of The Masters Apprentices. Keays next solo album, Resonator, was released in 2006 on the Liberation Blue label.
As from February 2009, Keays was in remission for myeloma (cancer
of the bone marrow
), diagnosed in July 2007. Myeloma had caused his kidneys to fail while in UK on holiday, he was put on dialysis
and chemotherapy
, then he had stem-cell transplants and returned to performing with Cotton Keays & Morris. He is also writing his second book and recording his next solo album, Caledonia.
, and they have a son, James. In 1981, the couple separated; Keays is grandfather to James' son, Will. Keays' adoptive parents, James and Jessie Keays both died in 1975, his biological mother re-established contact with him in 1984. Keays and his second wife, Karin, are parents of two daughters Holly and Bonnie, and a son, William Grant Keays, who died at six hours old on 1 November 2003.
In July 2007, while in UK on holiday, Keays was hospitalised with kidney failure and placed on dialysis
. He was diagnosed with myeloma and undertook chemotherapy
; as from August 2008 he was "recovering after receiving a stem-cell transplant".
Jim Keays, Jim Keays Band, Jim Keays' Southern Cross, Keays
Cotton Keays & Morris
, Jim Keays and Cotton Keays & Morris
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...
as singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
-player during 1965–1972, and subsequently had a solo career including leading Jim Keays' Southern Cross. The Masters Apprentices had Top 20 hits on the Go-Set
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
National Singles Charts with "Undecided", "Living in a Child's Dream", "5:10 Man", "Think about Tomorrow Today", "Turn Up Your Radio" and "Because I Love You". He also wrote for the teen newspaper, Go-Set, as its Adelaide correspondent in 1970 and its London correspondent in 1973. The band reformed periodically, including in 1987–1988 and again subsequently. Keays, as a member of The Masters Apprentices, was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in 1998. He published his memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s, His Master's Voice: The Masters Apprentices: The bad boys of sixties rock 'n' roll in 1999.
From 2000, he has performed in Cotton Keays & Morris
Cotton Keays & Morris
Cotton Keays & Morris is an Australian rock band formed in 2000 consisting of singer-songwriters Darryl Cotton, Jim Keays and Russell Morris. Each has written and recorded numerous hit songs since the 1960s...
alongside other former 1960s artists, Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton is an Australian pop singer, television presenter and actor. Cotton is best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1968, along with Beeb Birtles, Rick Brewer and, later, Rick Springfield....
and Russell Morris
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
. In July 2007, Keays was diagnosed with myeloma, which caused his kidneys to fail. As of February 2009, the cancer is in remission after chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and stem-cell transplants.
Early years
Keays was born on 9 September 1946, in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where his unwed mother put him up for adoption at six months old. He was adopted by James Keays (Sr.) and Jessie Cameron (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Caldwell) Keays, a childless couple from Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
, they migrated to Australia on RMS Asturias leaving Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
on 5 September 1951, four days before he turned five. They settled in Beaumont
Beaumont, South Australia
Beaumont is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside. Founded as a purpose-built village by Sir Samuel Davenport in 1848, it initially struggled due to high land prices in the area. However, with Adelaide's inevitable expansion residents eventually settled...
, a suburb of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. He attended Burnside
Burnside, South Australia
Burnside is a small suburb that is part of the City of Burnside in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide. It is primarily a residential suburb, and was one of the first suburbs of Adelaide...
Primary School and then Norwood High School. Keays played "Aussie Rules" football
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
up to under-17s and golf—a passion shared with his father. His interest in rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
began when he heard, "Rip It Up
Rip It Up (song)
"Rip It Up" is a song written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco. It was first released by Bill Haley and his Comets and Little Richard in 1956. The Little Richard version hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart for two weeks and peaked at number seventeen on the pop chart.-Cover...
" by Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
and "Great Balls of Fire
Great Balls of Fire
"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer...
" by Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
on a school friend's turntable when he was 11.
The Mustangs
The Mustangs were a surf musicSurf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
instrumental/dance band formed in Adelaide in 1964 with Mick Bower on rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, Rick Morrison on lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, Brian Vaughton on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and Gavin Webb on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. After The Beatles toured Australia, The Mustangs changed style and advertised for a lead singer, Keays was the successful applicant. After he joined, the band played one set of instrumental covers of The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
and The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
followed by a second set of originals in the beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
style with Keays on vocals.
The Masters Apprentices
In late 1965, The Mustangs renamed themselves as The Masters ApprenticesThe Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...
(deliberately omitting the apostrophe), Bower supplied the name because "we are apprentices to the masters of the blues—Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
, Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
and Robert Johnson". Early original songs were largely written (or co-written) by Bower including Top 20 hit singles, "Undecided" and "Living in a Child's Dream".
Whilst a member of The Masters Apprentices, Keays was one of hundreds of potential conscripts whose 20th birthday, 9 September, was picked in a 1966 ballot. He was able to legally avoid the draft by signing with the Citizens Military Force
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
(CMF, later renamed the Army Reserve) and eluded a "short back and sides" haircut with the aid of a girlfriend, who pinned his long hair up under his slouch hat
Slouch hat
A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat with a chinstrap, most commonly worn as part of a military uniform. It is a survivor of the felt hats worn by certain 18th century armies. Since then, the slouch hat has been worn by military personnel from many nations including Australia, Britain,...
whenever he attended CMF sessions. By February 1967 the band had relocated to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. In late 1967 he began to experiment with the drug LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. After Bower left the band in September 1967 because of a severe nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
, Keays became the de facto leader, while various line-up changes followed.
In January 1968, Colin Burgess
Colin Burgess
Colin Burgess is an Australian musician who was the first drummer in The Masters Apprentices from 1968–72 and was the original drummer with the rock band AC/DC....
(ex-The Haze) joined on drums, followed by Doug Ford
Doug Ford (musician)
Doug Ford is an Australian rock guitarist and songwriter since the 1960s. During 1968–1972, Ford was the lead guitarist in the Australian pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices and established a successful writing partnership with the group's lead singer Jim Keays.-Biography:Ford was born in Casino,...
(ex-The Missing Links, Running Jumping Standing Still) on lead guitar. Ford and Keays began working as a songwriting team, beginning with "Brigette", released as a single in June, which peaked into the Top 40. Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Dawson Wheatley is an Australian artist manager and entertainment industry executive.Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s and in the late 1960s became nationally famous as a member of leading pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices...
(from Brisbane's blues group Bay City Union) had joined on rhythm guitar in May and later took over bass guitar.
The Masters Apprentices became the 'bad-boys of Rock', Keays was interviewed for teen newspaper, Go-Set, by staff reporter, Lily Brett
Lily Brett
Lily Brett is an award-winning Australian novelist, essayist and poet who now lives in New York City. Much of her writing deals with her Jewish family semi-biographically and with her feelings about the Holocaust....
and the 'expose' was printed on 17 July 1968, headlined "Sex is thrust upon us", the article and its follow-up, "Whose breasts are best?", revealed aspects of the bacchanalian groupie scene
Groupie
A groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation....
:
The 'bad-boy' publicity also frustrated manager, Darryl Sambell's plans to market them as a wholesome teen combo. Keays stated that there was a backlash from the interview: the roadway outside his flat in East St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
was daubed with the slogan "Band Moll's Paradise" in one-metre (three-foot) high letters, threats of physical beatings by male audience members and press claims that they were "sex maniacs".
In April 1970, EMI released the group's most popular single, "Turn Up Your Radio", produced by Howard Gable, and engineered by Ern Rose. It was recorded at a late-night session and Keays later recounted that he was so drunk when he recorded his vocals that he had to be held up to the microphone. The song was deliberately designed to be loud and offensive, and was intended as the final nail in the coffin to their ill-conceived teenybopper
Teenybopper
The term teenybopper was invented by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term describes a young teenager, particularly a girl, who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion and culture. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers...
image. It was released just before the start of the 1970 radio ban
1970 radio ban
The Australian 1970 Radio Ban or 1970 Record Ban was a "pay for play" dispute in the local music industry that lasted from May till October...
—a major dispute between commercial radio stations and record companies—which resulted in the banning of many major-label releases. Despite little commercial radio airplay, the song raced up the charts and peaked at #7 nationally.
Ford and Keays wrote four of the band's Top 20 hits with "5:10 Man" (#16 on the Go-Set National Top 40 Charts, 1969), "Think About Tomorrow Today" (#12, 1969), "Turn Up Your Radio" (#7, 1970) and "Because I Love You" (#12, 1971). From July 1970, the band had tried to break into the United Kingdom market but disbanded in 1972 without achieving any UK charting.
Solo and with Southern Cross
After leaving The Masters Apprentices in early 1972, Keays returned to Australia and completed promotional duties for their just released single, "Love Is", which did not chart. He established the Rock On Agency and compèredMaster of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
the Mulwala
Mulwala, New South Wales
Mulwala is a town in the Corowa Shire Local Government Area in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on Lake Mulwala, an artificial lake formed by the damming of the Murray River. At the 2006 census, Mulwala had a population of 1,986 people...
Festival in April 1972.
In March 1973, he played the role of 'The Lover' in the Australian version of The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
, Tommy. In January 1974 Keays compèred the fourth annual Sunbury Pop Festival, then he compiled tracks from The Masters Apprentice's latter career and designed the cover for the collection
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, entitled Now That's It's Over, with liner notes written by the late Howard Lindley. EMI released "Rio de Camero" / "Thyme to Rhyme" as a single in August 1974, the A-side garnered reasonable airplay but did not chart.
In late 1974 Keays recorded his debut solo album, Boy from the Stars, which was an ambitious concept LP
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
with the Science Fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
theme of an alien arriving on Earth to warn of the misuse of power sources. Session musicians included: David Allardice on piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, James Black on guitar, Geoff Bridgeford on drums, Joe Creighton on bass guitar, Mick Elliot on guitar, Dennis Garcia on keyboard, Billy Green on guitar, Marcia Hines
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
on backing vocals and Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde
Lobby Loyde , also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music guitarist, songwriter and producer....
on guitar. His first single, "Kid's Blues", was released in December. Some tracks from Boy from the Stars were performed at the final Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1975, where his all-star backing group, Jim Keays Band, was joined by Wheatley, recently returned from the UK, in their last performance together for over ten years. Ironically, after ripoffs endured as The Masters Apprentices, Keays and his band were the only group at Sunbury who were paid—Keays had wisely arranged an outside sponsor—low attendance and the huge $60,000 fee paid to headliner Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
meant that none of the other Australian acts were paid, and the festival organisers went into liquidation soon after. The second single, "The Boy from the Stars", was released in February. He followed with, "Give It Up", an anti-drug song, and toured with Allardice, Bridgeford, Creighton, Elliot and Garcia in his backing band.
He formed Jim Keays' Southern Cross with Rick Brewer (ex-Zoot
Zoot (band)
Zoot are a pop/rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in 1965 as Down the Line. They changed their name to Zoot in 1967 and by 1968 had relocated to Melbourne...
) on drums, Rex Bullen (Bakery) on keyboards, George Cross (Clydehouse) on bass guitar and Elliot. They reworked, "Undecided" which was issued as a single for CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
in December 1975, by then the line-up had changed to Peter Laffy ( Fox) on guitar, Ron Robinson on bass guitar and John Swan
Swanee (singer)
John Swan, better known as Swanee, is a Australian rock singer. He was born John Archibold Dixon Swan in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952. He is the older brother of rock singer Jimmy Barnes and the uncle of singer and stage performer David Campbell. He emigrated to Australia with his family in 1961...
(Fraternity) on drums. During 1977, he teamed up with Phil Manning
Phil Manning (musician)
Philip John "Phil" Manning is an Australian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. Manning has been a member of various groups including Chain and has had a solo career. As a member of Chain, Manning co-wrote their January 1971 single "Black and Blue", which became their only top 20 hit...
(ex-Bay City Union, Chain
Chain (band)
Chain are an Australian blues band formed in Melbourne as The Chain in late 1968 with a lineup including guitarist, vocalist Phil Manning; they are sometimes known as Matt Taylor's Chain after lead singer-songwriter and harmonica player, Matt Taylor...
) on guitar to form Manning/Keays Band. By 1978 he formed another version of Jim Keays Band with Black, Robinson, and David Rowe on drums. Black was replaced by John Moon (Buster Brown
Buster Brown
Buster Brown was a comic strip character created in 1902 by Richard Felton Outcault who was known for his association with the Brown Shoe Company. This mischievous young boy was loosely based on a boy near Outcault's home in Flushing, New York...
) on guitar and Geoff Spooner on guitar. Renamed as The Keays in 1979, his band was Moon, and Peter Marshall on bass guitar, Nigel Rough on drums (Loose Trousers) and Bruce Stewart on guitar (Loose Trousers). This line-up released the single, "Lucifer Street" in 1980, Stewart became seriously ill and the album, Red on the Meter was delayed until 1983. Keays and Moon joined as guest musicians with The Incredible Penguins
The Incredible Penguins
The Incredible Penguins were an Australian supergroup formed in 1985, which reached the top ten on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with their cover of "Happy Xmas " in December. Contributors included Angry Anderson , Bob Geldof, Brian Mannix , Scott Carne , Colleen Hewett, and John...
(containing future bandmates Wayne Mathews and Moon) in 1985, for a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
"Happy Xmas " is a song written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir....
", a charity project for research on Fairy penguins
Little Penguin
The Little Penguin is the smallest species of penguin. The penguin, which usually grows to an average of in height and in length , is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile.Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names...
, which peaked at #10 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
in December.
Keays was working as a radio DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
from 1983 to 1987, then he signed with Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
in UK and recorded another version of "Undecided" with Andy Scott (Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
) on guitar and produced by Craig Leon. The single was released in July, followed by a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Count Five
Count Five
The Count Five was a 1960s garage rock band from San Jose, California, best known for their Top 10 single "Psychotic Reaction".The band was founded in 1964 by John "Mouse" Michalski and Roy Chaney took over bass duties, two high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived...
's "Psychotic Reaction
Psychotic Reaction
"Psychotic Reaction" is an early garage rock song released by the American rock band Count Five in 1966, and also the title of their only album. The song Psychotic Reaction was written by the five members of the Count Five, Craig "Butch" Atkinson, John Byrne, Roy Chaney, Kenn Ellner and John...
" in October. Keays participated in various reunions of The Masters Apprentices from later 1987. He released his next solo album, Pressure Makes Diamonds co-produced with producer/composer/guitarist Frank Sablotny/Frank Tayla in 1993 on Gemstone Records.This album featured the stand out track "Waiting For The Big One" by Keays/Sablotny. In 1998, Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) inducted The Masters Apprentices into the Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
. Keays wrote his memoirs, His Master's Voice: The Masters Apprentices: The bad boys of sixties rock 'n' roll, in 1999. Wheatley also published his memoirs, Paper Paradise, later that year.
From 2000 he has toured periodically as a member of Cotton Keays & Morris
Cotton Keays & Morris
Cotton Keays & Morris is an Australian rock band formed in 2000 consisting of singer-songwriters Darryl Cotton, Jim Keays and Russell Morris. Each has written and recorded numerous hit songs since the 1960s...
with 1960s artists Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton is an Australian pop singer, television presenter and actor. Cotton is best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1968, along with Beeb Birtles, Rick Brewer and, later, Rick Springfield....
from Adelaide's Zoot and Russell Morris
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
from Melbourne's Somebody's Image. ABC-TV series, Long Way to the Top
Long Way To The Top
Long Way To The Top was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary on the history of Australian rock and roll from 1956 to the modern era.-Production:...
, was broadcast in August 2001. Keays featured on "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" where he discussed the UK migrant influence on their early work and "Undecided"; and in "Episode 3:Billy Killed the Fish 1968–1973" where he described pioneering pub rock
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
and the band's groupies. The TV series inspired the Long Way to the Top national concert tour during August–September 2002, which featured a host of the best Australian acts of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The classic line-up of Burgess, Ford, Keays and Wheatley. Performances of "Because I Love You" and "Turn Up Your Radio" at the final Sydney concert, as well as an interview with promoter, Amanda Pelman, feature on the associated DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Long Way to the Top: Live in Concert released in 2002. Keays also continued with Cotton Keays & Morris tours and reunions of The Masters Apprentices. Keays next solo album, Resonator, was released in 2006 on the Liberation Blue label.
As from February 2009, Keays was in remission for myeloma (cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
of the bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
), diagnosed in July 2007. Myeloma had caused his kidneys to fail while in UK on holiday, he was put on dialysis
Dialysis
In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
and chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, then he had stem-cell transplants and returned to performing with Cotton Keays & Morris. He is also writing his second book and recording his next solo album, Caledonia.
Private life
Early in 1970, Keays married his pregnant girlfriend Vicki in Plympton, South AustraliaPlympton, South Australia
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The name is believed to have been given by Henry Mooringe Boswarva to a private subdivision in the area, naming after his home town in Devon, England...
, and they have a son, James. In 1981, the couple separated; Keays is grandfather to James' son, Will. Keays' adoptive parents, James and Jessie Keays both died in 1975, his biological mother re-established contact with him in 1984. Keays and his second wife, Karin, are parents of two daughters Holly and Bonnie, and a son, William Grant Keays, who died at six hours old on 1 November 2003.
In July 2007, while in UK on holiday, Keays was hospitalised with kidney failure and placed on dialysis
Dialysis
In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
. He was diagnosed with myeloma and undertook chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
; as from August 2008 he was "recovering after receiving a stem-cell transplant".
Discography
The Masters ApprenticesJim Keays, Jim Keays Band, Jim Keays' Southern Cross, Keays
Albums
- The Boy from the Stars EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
(1974) - Red on the Meter Rumur/CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(1983) - Pressure Makes Diamonds Gemstone (1993)
- Resonator Liberation Blue (2006)
Singles
- "Kid's Blues" (1974)
- "The Boy from the Stars" (1975)
- "Give It Up" (1975)
- "Undecided" (1975)
- "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll (1976)
- "Lucifer Street" (1980)
- "Undecided" (1987)
- "Psychotic Reaction" (1987)
Cotton Keays & Morris
External links
for The Masters ApprenticesThe Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...
, Jim Keays and Cotton Keays & Morris
Cotton Keays & Morris
Cotton Keays & Morris is an Australian rock band formed in 2000 consisting of singer-songwriters Darryl Cotton, Jim Keays and Russell Morris. Each has written and recorded numerous hit songs since the 1960s...