Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and the early Rolling Stones… all of them and many more were captured by Keith as the decade rocked and rolled over.
In fact this was an almost inevitable development from his work on underground magazines and the fledgling Time Out, both of which fed on the so-called ‘progressive rock’ acts of the day for their editorial and indeed their advertising. Bands who began as counter-culture or hippie favourites soon found themselves entering the rock mainstream and selling hundreds of thousands of albums in the process, whilst still claiming to hang onto their alleged ideological roots.
In this environment Keith found himself in demand not just by the record and management companies who’d used his work when the likes of Fleetwood Mac or the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band were cult heroes, but also by the weekly music ‘papers who were also getting in on the ‘prog rock’ act. His work with many of these artists before and after they hit the big time helped cement Keith’s reputation as someone who could quickly deliver a revealing p.r. or album cover shot and also capture the best moments of a live performance. In particular, Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin at the 1969 Rock Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall stand out as examples of the latter, whilst his studio portrait of Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson neatly captures the manic flautist’s mischievous nature.
All images are available for sale as high-quality hand printed editions.
