Christopher John "Ace" Kefford (born 10 December 1946) 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 ...

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

. He was the co-founder of

The Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...

in October 1965 with Trevor Burton, after meeting

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

at Birmingham's Cedar Club, following a

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

by Bowie's band Davy Jones and the Lower Third. The duo invited Roy Wood, then

Carl Wayne Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in ...

and

Bev Bevan Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944) is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II. Bevan also was drumm ...

to join and complete the classic Move line-up. Kefford's mid-1968 departure from The Move came after a period of heavy gigging and experimentation with LSD, and a nervous breakdown following a package tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience and

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 groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

, which took the form of a

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

. Wayne believed that the start of The Move's downfall was Kefford's departure, because it placed guitarist Trevor Burton into the vulnerable position of having to play more instruments, and the band could well have survived if they had recruited a keyboardist to replace Kefford. Wood recalled of Kefford, "Ever since the day we formed none of us really got on very well with him. He was a very strange person. He was very aggressive and Ace and Trevor urtonused to have a lot of fights all the time." After leaving The Move, Kefford embarked on a solo album with

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

, at the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

and

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...

Studios in London. Eight songs were recorded, including a cover of

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of ...

's " Save the Life of My Child", featuring

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

on guitar. However, Kefford suffered a breakdown during the project and walked out, with the album remaining unreleased until 2003 (as ''Ace The Face'',

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

). Kefford formed The Ace Kefford Stand in 1968, which included guitarist Dave Ball, bassist Denny Ball, and drummer Cozy Powell. Kefford's later life has been plagued by alcohol, drugs, suicide attempts and time spent in psychiatric facilities.

Discography

The Move

* " Night of Fear" / "Disturbance", Deram (1966) * " I Can Hear the Grass Grow" / "Wave the Flag & Stop the Train", Deram (1967) * " Flowers in the Rain" / "(Here We Go Round) the Lemon Tree",

Regal Zonophone Regal may refer to: Companies * Regal Beloit, usually referred to as Regal, an American manufacturer of electric motors * Regal Cinema (disambiguation), several cinemas of that name * Regal Cinemas, a major American theater chain * Regal Cinem ...

(1967) * "

Fire Brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

" / "Walk Upon the Water", Regal Zonophone (1968) * ''Move'', Regal Zonophone (1968) * '' Something Else from The Move'', Regal Zonophone (1968)

The Ace Kefford Stand

* "

For Your Love "For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues root ...

" / "Gravy Booby Jam",

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

(1969)

Solo

* "This World's An Apple" / "Gravy Booby Jam", Atlantic (1969, along with Big Bertha) * ''Ace The Face'', Castle Music Records (2003)

References

External links

Allmusic.com biography page for The Move
1946 births People from Moseley The Move members Living people English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English male singers English rock singers {{UK-bass-guitarist-stub