Laurence O'Keefe (born 2 January 1965 in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

, best known as a member of Dark Star and

Levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

. Prior to joining

in 1990, O'Keefe had played with several artists including

The Jazz Butcher The Jazz Butcher was the alias of British singer/songwriter Pat Fish (Patrick Huntrods). It also served as the name of the band, though adjuncts were frequently used to distinguish between Fish’s persona and band itself (The Jazz Butcher Consp ...

. Levitation released several EPs and single plus one album, and split in 1994. He reunited with former Levitation bandmates

Christian Hayes Christian David "Bic" Hayes (born 10 June 1964) is an English rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Best known as the frontman of Dark Star and guitarist with Levitation, he has also released solo material as Mikrokosmos, which was produced b ...

and

David Francolini David Thomas Giuseppe Francolini (born 13 September 1969) is an English rock drummer, songwriter and record producer, best known as the drummer in Dark Star and Levitation. Career Prior to forming Levitation, Francolini played with several ban ...

in 1996 to form Dark Star, who released ''Twenty Twenty Sound'' in 1999 before splitting in 2001. He also formed

The Hope Blister The Hope Blister were an ambient band that were active from 1997 to 1999. History The band was directed by 4AD Records founder Ivo Watts-Russell, with the music played by singer Louise Rutkowski, bass player Laurence O'Keefe and string arrang ...

with

Ivo Watts-Russell Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954) is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the indie record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director". Ea ...

in 1997.Strong, Martin C. (2003). ''The Great Indie Discography''. Edinburgh: Canongate. pp. 381, 835. .Kellman, Andy (undated)
"Dark Star Biography"

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 24 September 2013.Ankeny, Jason (undated)
"The Hope Blister Biography"

. Retrieved 24 September 2013. Following the demise of Dark Star, O'Keefe has continued work as a session musician and toured with the likes of Sophia,

Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are an Australian music duo first established in Melbourne. Currently composed of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group formed in 1981. They relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane des ...

and

Martina Topley-Bird Martina Gillian Topley-Bird (''née'' Topley; born 7 May 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, ''Maxinquaye'' (1995). Sh ...

References

External links

* 1965 births English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English rock bass guitarists Alternative rock bass guitarists British alternative rock musicians British indie rock musicians British trip hop musicians Ambient musicians Living people Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Psychedelic rock musicians Dark Star (band) members Levitation (band) members Dragons (band) members {{England-musician-stub