Thinking About Tomorrow: Excerpts from the life of Keith West

Thinking About Tomorrow is the story of rock and roll survivor Keith West, who was inspired by Elvis in the 1950s and worked alongside the greats of the music world in the 1960s. He was a pioneer of psychedelic music and achieved international fame alongside Mark Wirtz with the song Excerpt from a Teenage Opera. Tomorrow evolved from the R&B and mod bands Four + 1 and The In Crowd and had a significant influence on other artists and the way rock music would develop. Keith's career spanned several decades and he embraced punk and indie music in the 80s and 90s. However, the book also reveals the mysterious world of the music industry, where agents, managers, publishers, record companies, songwriters, artists, and the media are all locked together in an endless pursuit of a hit.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 08 February 2021
Publisher: Hawksmoor Publishing

Thinking About Tomorrow is the incredible story of rock and roll survivor Keith West, who has spent his entire career as a professional singer, songwriter, and musician. Born in the 1950s, Keith was inspired by Elvis and went on to become a pop star in the 1960s, working alongside the greats of the music world. He was a pioneer of psychedelic music in the 1960s with songs such as My White Bicycle and Excerpt from a Teenage Opera, which he achieved international fame alongside Mark Wirtz. Tomorrow evolved from the R&B and mod bands Four + 1 and The In Crowd, and their recorded output is small, but their influence on other artists and the way rock music would develop is widely-regarded as enormous. Steve Howe went on to continue his incredible guitar adventures in Yes and Asia, and Twink would continue to influence the rock world as a member of pioneering bands The Pretty Things, The Pink Fairies, and Hawkwind. Keith would go on to have a long career in the music business, embracing punk in the late 70s and indie music in the 80s and 90s. However, this is no straightforward tale of rock and roll hedonism; the book also pulls back the curtain on the mysterious world of the music industry. It reveals how agents, managers, publishers, record companies, songwriters, artists, and the media are all locked together in an endless pursuit of the elusive elixir of their professional lives - a hit. Yet, once lightning has struck, the tragic consequences, the tremendous opportunities, and the money generated can still create ripples half.

Weight: 662g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781838099084