John Leslie Keeble (born 6 July 1959) is an English pop and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

drummer. He is best known for his membership of the 1980s new wave band

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

Early years

Keeble was athletic as a child, playing both football and cricket. He bought his first drum kit at the age of 16 and started pursuing an interest in music in a

Dame Alice Owen's School Dame Alice Owen's School (also known as Dame Alice Owen's or Owen's; referred to by the acronym DAOS) is an 11–18 mixed, partially selective secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England. It i ...

band called The Cut with

Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music ...

Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...

and

Steve Norman Steven Antony Norman (born 25 March 1960) is an English musician who plays tenor saxophone, guitar, percussion and other instruments, for the English band Spandau Ballet. Biography Early years Steve Norman was born in Stepney, east London, and w ...

in 1976. The band soon recruited Kemp's brother

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

on bass, which completed the line-up. The band was later named The Makers, The Gentry and then Spandau Ballet.

Spandau Ballet

Spandau Ballet produced a number of international hits including "

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", "

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

" and "

Through the Barricades ''Through the Barricades'' is the fifth studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 17 November 1986 by CBS Records in the United Kingdom and by Epic Records in the United States. The album reached number seven and remain ...

." In 1984 the band participated in the Band Aid charity project and Live Aid the following year. The band broke up in 1990, after their final studio album, ''

Heart Like a Sky ''Heart Like a Sky'' is the sixth studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 18 September 1989 by CBS Records. The album was mainly distributed in continental Europe. It was the group's last release before disbanding and ...

'', failed to live up to the critical and commercial success of their earlier albums, such as ''

'' and '' Parade''. In 1999, John Keeble, along with fellow band members

and

, attempted to sue former Spandau Ballet guitarist,

, for alleged unpaid royalties. They claimed that an agreement had existed between Kemp and the rest of the band, whereby Kemp, who was the main songwriter in the band, would pay his bandmates a share of the royalties earned. The claims were vigorously denied by Kemp, and Keeble, Hadley and Norman subsequently lost their court case. Although initially vowing to appeal the verdict, they later decided against this. Keeble, with Gary Kemp, was instrumental in setting up Spandau Ballet's reunion in the 2000s. On 25 March 2009, he joined the rest of his original classic-line-up bandmates for a press conference at

HMS Belfast } HMS ''Belfast'' is a Town-class light cruiser that was built for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in London and is operated by the Imperial War Museum. Construction of ''Belfast'', the ...

, to announce that the band had reformed and would conduct a world tour starting in Dublin in October 2009.

Other work

Keeble played drums for

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

, the former lead singer of Marillion, during his first-ever solo show in the Rex Cinema at Lockerbie on 21 March 1989. He performed on his single " State of Mind", the third track on his debut solo album ''

Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors ''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by Scottish neo-progressive rock singer Fish, released in 1990. Fish had departed Marillion in 1988. Although the recordings for this album finished as early as June 1989, EMI Recor ...

''. He has also worked with 69 Daze, The Herbs, Pacific and Tim Deluxe. After the original breakup of Spandau Ballet, Keeble played in the

solo band and was on tour throughout 2006. He has also formed his own rock band, I Play Rock, with Richie B and Chris Paulo Dale, in which he plays drums and provides vocals.

Personal life

Keeble became friends with

when they met at Live Aid. Keeble married his wife Leaflyn in 1988 and Fish gave her away at the wedding. The couple have a daughter Jaime Rae Keeble (born 1990).

References

External links

*
I PLAY ROCK Website
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Keeble, John 1959 births Living people British male drummers English new wave musicians English rock drummers Musicians from London Spandau Ballet members