Chester Kamen (born in Hackney, London) is an English session

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, whose work has included performing with

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and Gabrielle.

Early life

Kamen started playing the guitar at the age of 11, and at 18, he turned professional. His first recording was with the band called Numbers. Kamen and the Numbers vocalist, Ouida, teamed up and were discovered by

who produced their self-penned single entitled, "Pick Up In a Nightclub". He is the elder brother of

Nick Kamen Ivor Neville "Nick" Kamen (15 April 1962 – 4 May 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and model. He was best known for "Turn It Up" from 1989, the singles "Each Time You Break My Heart" from 1986 and "I Promised Myself" from 1990, ...

and

Barry Kamen Barry Owen Kamen (22 September 1963 – 3rd October 2015) was a British artist, stylist and model of mixed Burmese, Irish, Dutch and French descent. He was best known as an original member of Ray Petri's Buffalo movement. Early life Barry Ka ...

. Chester has three children; Joni, Finley, and Ben. Although they both frequently worked with Pink Floyd musicians, he is not related to

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

Career

In 1985, Kamen performed on stage at

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alongside

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

's guitarist David Gilmour as part of

's backing band, first playing with Ferry on his '' Boys and Girls'' album also in 1985. He continued to work with Ferry into the 1990s. Kamen joined him for the 1989 dates of his '' Bête Noire'' tour and was the lead guitarist on the 1994 dates of his Mamouna tour. Kamen also co-wrote and co-produced some of the tracks on Ferry's ''Bête Noire'' album including the song "Seven Deadly Sins" along with

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...

. Around 1990, Chester formed a band called Wildlife with

Geoff Dugmore Geoff Dugmore (born 12 April 1960) is a Scottish drummer, musical director and producer. He was a member of the bands The Europeans, and Wildlife. Career Educated at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow, Scotland, Dugmore started his musical career ...

and Steve Barnacle which toured with

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

. They produced an album eponymously named Wildlife with Epic ref Epic 467361 2. These are not to be confused with other bands of the same name. They appear to have been short lived and didnt produce any other material apart from a Single/EP In 2002, when

continued his In The Flesh Tour, Kamen was brought on board to replace Doyle Bramhall II, who had other commitments and could not commit to the tour. Kamen's association with Waters continued, when he replaced

Andy Fairweather-Low Andrew Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's R ...

on guitars and backing vocals, for the 2008 leg on Waters'

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tour. Kamen also notably appeared with Waters and David Gilmour when they performed a short set together for the charity Hoping Foundation, in Oxfordshire, England on 11 July 2010. In 2016, Kamen toured as part of David Gilmour's band, taking part in his

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. In May 2021, Kamen released the track "Stories" performed by his band The Twins: "Dedicated to the memory of my two beloved little brothers, Nick and Barry".

Selected discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamen, Chester Living people English record producers English rock guitarists English session musicians Lead guitarists 20th-century English composers 20th-century British guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) People from Hackney, London