Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)
was an English drummer and bandleader. He fronted his own band, known as the Keef Hartley Band or Keef Hartley's Big Band, and played at

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

. He was later a member of Dog Soldier, and variously worked with

Rory Storm Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...

, the Artwoods and

John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...

Biography

Keith Hartley was born in Plungington, north-west

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

. He studied drumming under Lloyd Ryan, who also taught

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

the

drum rudiment In ''rudimental drumming'', a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associ ...

s. His career began as the replacement for

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

as a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

-based

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

, after Ringo joined

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. Subsequently, he played and recorded with the Artwoods, then achieved some renown as

's drummer (including his role as the only musician, other than Mayall, to play on Mayall's 1967 "solo" record '' The Blues Alone''). He then formed The Keef Hartley (Big) Band, mixing elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

; the group played at Woodstock in 1969. However, the band was the only artist that played at the festival whose set was never included on any officially released album (prior to 2019), nor on the soundtrack of the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. They released five albums, including '' Halfbreed'' and ''

The Battle of North West Six ''The Battle of North West Six'' is the second album by the Keef Hartley Band. At the time, Hartley's six-piece group was appearing augmented with a brass section as The Keef Hartley Big Band, and a number of songs on the album feature this ext ...

'' (characterised by a reviewer for the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'' as "an amazing display of virtuosity"). While in John Mayall's band, Mayall had pushed Hartley to form his own group. A mock-up of the "firing" of Hartley was heard on the ''Halfbreed'' album's opening track, "Sacked". The band for the first album comprised: Miller Anderson, guitar and vocals, Gary Thain (bass), later with Uriah Heep; Peter Dines (organ) and Ian Cruickshank (as "Spit James") (guitar). Later members to join Hartley's fluid line-up included

Mick Weaver Mick Weaver (born 16 June 1944, Bolton, Lancashire, England) is an English session musician, best known for his playing of the Hammond B3 organ. Career Weaver's band performed as Wynder K. Frog and became popular on the student union and club ...

(aka Wynder K. Frog) organ, Henry Lowther (b. 11 July 1941, Leicester, England; trumpet/violin), Jimmy Jewell (saxophone), Johnny Almond (flute),

Jon Hiseman Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, audio engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, wi ...

and Harry Beckett. Hartley, often dressed as an American Indian sometimes in full head-dress and war-paint, was a popular attraction on the small club scene. ''The Battle of NW6'' in 1969 further enhanced his club reputation, although chart success still eluded him. By the time of the third album both Lowther and Jewell had departed. After that Hartley released a 'solo' album (''Lancashire Hustler'', 1973) and then he formed Dog Soldier with Miller Anderson (guitar), Paul Bliss (bass), Derek Griffiths (guitar) and Mel Simpson (keyboards). They released an eponymous album in 1975, which had a remastered release in early 2011 on CD on the Esoteric

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

. In 2007, Hartley released a ghostwritten

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Halfbreed (A Rock and Roll Journey That Happened Against All the Odds)''. Hartley wrote about his life growing up in Preston, and his career as a drummer and bandleader, including the Keef Hartley Band's appearance at Woodstock. Hartley died of complications from surgery on 26 November 2011, aged 67, at Royal Preston Hospital in Fulwood, north Preston.

Discography

Keef Hartley Band *'' Halfbreed'' (1969) *''

'' (1969) *'' The Time Is Near'' (1970) – (NR 191 USA) UK #41 *'' Overdog'' (1971) *''Little Big Band'' (live at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...

) (1971) *'' Seventy-Second Brave'' (1972) *''Not Foolish Not Wise'' (1968–1972 / studio + live) (1999; reissue: 2003) *''Live At Essen Pop & Blues Festival 1969-1970'' (2024) Solo * '' Lancashire Hustler'' (1973) Dog Soldier *'' Dog Soldier ''(1975) UAS 29769, recorded at Island Basing Street Studios, London, 18 November – 15 December 1974 With John Mayall *''

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

'' (1967) *'' The Blues Alone'' (1967) *'' The Diary of a Band - Volume One '' (1968) (live) *'' The Diary of a Band - Volume Two '' (1968) (live) *'' Live in Europe '' (1971) *'' Back to the Roots'' (1971) (some tracks only) *'' Moving On '' (1973) (live) *'' Ten Years Are Gone'' (1973) (studio + live) With Vinegar Joe *''Rock'n Roll Gypsies'' (1972) Michael Chapman (singer) *'' Pleasures Of The Street'' (1975) *'' Savage Amusement'' (1976) *'' The Man Who Hated Mornings'' (1977)

References

External links

Keef Hartley
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

More about Keef Hartley
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Keef 1944 births 2011 deaths English rock drummers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers members Musicians from Liverpool Musicians from Preston, Lancashire Deram Records artists Chicken Shack members The Artwoods members Rory Storm and the Hurricanes members