Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, backing vocalist and songwriter of the alternative rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin.

Life and career

Timothy James Rice-Oxley was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

to Charles Patrick and Margaret Rice-Oxley. He has a younger brother, Tom, born in 1979. He had piano lessons when he was a teenager but admitted to hating them and never practicing pieces because they were all

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, which he found boring. After his parents stopped his lessons, Rice-Oxley developed a liking for piano and so taught himself how to play, mainly because of

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 ...

Keane

Rice-Oxley provides live and studio backing vocals for Keane, except for the studio songs "Sunshine", " This Is the Last Time" (demo version) and " Your Love" where he sings the lead vocals, as well as some '' Under the Iron Sea'' DVD and '' Perfect Symmetry'' demos.

Compositions

In 2006, Rice-Oxley co-wrote the songs " Early Winter", and "The Girl Inside" (unreleased) on

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

's second solo album, '' The Sweet Escape''. "Early Winter" has been performed by Keane live. The song " Perfect Symmetry" from the album of the same name is considered by Chaplin to be one of the best Rice-Oxley has written. In 2009, he co-wrote the song "Everything Is Beautiful" for

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

's eleventh studio album, ''

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

''. Rice-Oxley composed all the songs for the side-project Mt. Desolation with Jesse Quin in 2010. That same year Rice-Oxley provided the main vocal in Keane for the first time on the song "Your Love", which appeared on the experimental EP '' Night Train''. He sang the song live. In 2013, he co-wrote the song "Jump" with

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...

for the latter's solo album, ''

Since I Saw You Last ''Since I Saw You Last'' is the fourth solo studio album released by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. The album was released by Polydor Records on 22 November 2013 in Ireland, and on 25 November in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number ...

''. In 2016, he co-wrote the song "Magnificent Time" by Travis. In 2018, he co-wrote the song "Lost My Mind" by

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...

Mt. Desolation

Mt. Desolation is an alt-country side-project that Rice-Oxley formed with bassist Jesse Quin. The band also consists of members of

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

and The Staves. Mt. Desolation released their self-titled debut album on 18 October 2010. The band toured the UK and Ireland in September 2010 and the US and Canada in October 2010. The band's second album, '' When the Night Calls'', was released on 25 May 2018. It was followed by a short tour of the UK in June 2018.

Personal life

Rice-Oxley lives in

Polegate Polegate is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampt ...

, East Sussex. He has two daughters, Lilac and Anna. Reportedly, the effects of touring took their toll on Rice-Oxley's marriage to Jayne, and they split up in 2012 after seven years of marriage.Keane – Back to Battle
1066times.com. 20 August 2015

Awards

Rice-Oxley won an

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

Award for Songwriter of the Year in May 2005.

Discography

With Keane

;Studio albums :* '' Hopes and Fears'' (2004) :* '' Under the Iron Sea'' (2006) :* '' Perfect Symmetry'' (2008) :* '' Strangeland'' (2012) :* ''

Cause and Effect Causality is an influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cause is at least partly responsible for the effect, ...

'' (2019) ;EPs :* '' Retrospective EP1'' (2008) :* '' Night Train'' (2010) :* '' Retrospective EP2'' (2010) :* ''Retroactive – EP1'' (2019) ;Compilations album :* '' The Best of Keane'' (2013)

With Mt. Desolation

;Studio albums :*'' Mt. Desolation'' (2010) :*'' When the Night Calls'' (2018) :*''Through Crooked Aim'' (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice-Oxley, Tim 1976 births Living people 21st-century English pianists 21st-century English bass guitarists Alternative rock pianists Alumni of University College London English male pianists English male singer-songwriters English pop keyboardists English rock keyboardists English rock pianists Ivor Novello Award winners Keane (band) members English male bass guitarists Mt. Desolation members Musicians from Kent Musicians from Oxford People educated at Tonbridge School People from Battle, East Sussex People from Polegate