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Tim Keegan

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Tim Keegan is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. Keegan has recorded and performed with various bands and as a solo artist. He has worked with a number of noted musicians including Robyn Hitchcock – he can be seen in Jonathan Demme's film about Hitchcock, Storefront Hitchcock[1][2] – and played guitar on the Blue Aeroplanes' Rough Music album.[3]

Keegan's first band was Railroad Earth, formed in 1988 in Guildford, Surrey. Keegan sang and played rhythm guitar. The other members in the original line-up were Duncan Smith (vocals and guitar), Liz Waller (piano and keyboards) and David Ashford (bass guitar).

In 1992, Railroad Earth changed their name to Ringo and released their only album, Call It Home. The other members of Ringo were Patrick Ranscombe (lead guitar), Andy Prins (bass guitar) and Graham Russell (drums).The album was recorded by noted alt-rock producer Gary Smith at his Fort Apache Studios. The album was released on Dog Gone Records, a label owned and run by REM's former manager Jefferson Holt.

Ringo split up in 1994 and Keegan continued to work solo and in combination with a number of other musicians. His first post-Ringo band was Homer, consisting of Keegan, Patrick Hannan (of The Sundays), Andy Metcalfe (of the Soft Boys and Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians), Jake Kyle and Andrew Claridge. Homer released two singles in 1995, "Lucky Thirteen" and "Superkeen". During this period, the band served as the backing band for Robyn Hitchcock, and played on several of the tracks on Hitchcock's Moss Elixir album.[4][5] Additionally, the band toured with Hitchcock,[5] and played small dates throughout the south of England in the summer of 1995. The shows typically featured an opening Homer set, followed by a Robyn Hitchcock set. During the late 1990s, both Tim Keegan and Jake Kyle accompanied Hitchcock, including the 1997 and 1998 fan shows.

Keegan's next group formation recorded under the name Tim Keegan & the Homer Lounge and featured Keegan (vocals and guitar), Jake Kyle (bass guitar), Daron Robinson Drugstore (lead guitar) and Lindsay Jamieson (drums and keyboards). Tim Keegan & the Homer Lounge released two CD EPs ("Disconnected" and "Save Me From Happiness") and a US only mini-album on CD ("Long Distance Information"). Most of the tracks on these releases were subsequently released under the name Tim Keegan & Departure Lounge.

Keegan's next and most critically successful band was Departure Lounge.[6][7][8] Departure Lounge featured Keegan (vocals and guitar), Jake Kyle (bass guitar), Chris Anderson (piano, keyboards and guitar) and Lindsay Jamieson (drums). Keegan, with Departure Lounge, supported Robyn Hitchcock on a US tour in 1999.[9] Departure Lounge released 3 albums: "Out Of Here" on their own Meek Giant label in 1999 (the US version, "Out Of There" (Flydaddy, 2000), featured a revised track listing), the instrumental album "Jetlag Dreams" (Bella Union/Naive, 2001) and the Kid Loco-produced "Too Late To Die Young" (Bella Union/Naive/Nettwerk, 2002). These albums all received warm critical praise. "Too Late To Die Young" was made 'Album of the Week' on BBC 6 Music.

Departure Lounge disbanded in 2003 and since then Keegan has worked on solo projects and has also appeared as guest vocalist on these other artists' releases: Kid Loco, Josh Rouse, Emilie Simon, Tahiti 80, Saint Etienne, aswefall, Olga Kouklaki.

His first solo album, Foreign Domestic (recorded in Nashville, Paris and London) was released in 2007, receiving positive reviews in the British and French press. His cover version of Destiny's Child's song "Survivor" appeared on the compilation albums "La musique de Paris Dernière 4" in France and "Tory Burch Foundation: Volume 1" in the USA.

Keegan continues to perform with Hitchcock, including on the latter's recent tours reviving his I Often Dream of Trains album and he appears in John Edgington's live performance film "I Often Dream Of Trains In New York", which was released as a DVD and CD in 2009.

Keegan lives in the UK on the West Sussex coast with his wife and two children. A second solo album, "The Long Game" is due for release in 2015.

References

  1. ^ [1] IMDB entry for Storefront Hitchcock. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  2. ^ Reece, Doug (17 October 1998). "Popular uprisings". Billboard. 110 (42): 24.
  3. ^ [2] Blue Aeroplanes discography. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  4. ^ [3] Robyn Hitchcock's notes on Moss Elixir. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  5. ^ a b Considine, J.D. (5 March 1997). "Leaping head first into songs: Robyn Hitchcock brings a winning formula as he pops into town with Moss Elixir". The Baltimore Sun. p. E1.
  6. ^ Edwards, Mark (13 June 1999). "Record of the week: Tim Keegan and Departure Lounge". The Sunday Times. p. 18.
  7. ^ Aston, Martin (19 June 1999). "Out of Here: Tim Keegan and the Departure Lounge". The Times. p. 11.
  8. ^ SFO (3 August 2007). "Tim Keegan". The Sun. p. 46.
  9. ^ "The best of What's Out There". Austin American-Statesman. 21 October 1999. p. 14.
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