Keith Forsey

Keith Forsey
Born	2 January 1948 London, England
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1960s–present
Labels	RCA Victor, Epic, Casablanca, Hansa, Oasis
Associated acts	Giorgio Moroder, Steve Schiff
Website	Official website

Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English soundtrack composer,^[1] drummer, songwriter and record producer.

Career

Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the early 1970s. By late 1970s, he was a pioneer of disco, working with artists such as Lipstique, Claudja Barry and Boney M. He became Giorgio Moroder's drummer and played on Donna Summer's club records, including Bad Girls. Forsey's own band, Trax, however, was not as popular. Forsey was influenced by Moroder and began experimenting with electronics and European dance rhythms. Like Moroder, Forsey started producing albums himself, and in 1982 produced Billy Idol's solo debut album, Billy Idol. Idol's 1983 follow-up, Rebel Yell, went even further, combining Forsey's affection for synthesized pop, Idol's punk grit and guitarist Steve Stevens' heavy metal sound. 1983 was the year that established Forsey as a producer. He co-wrote "Flashdance... What a Feeling" with Moroder and Irene Cara, who also performed the track, for the movie Flashdance. In 1984, the song earned an Academy Award. The popularity of Flashdance led to his (co-)writing songs featured on the soundtracks of Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, The NeverEnding Story and The Breakfast Club. The song "Don't You (Forget About Me)", from The Breakfast Club, was originally intended for Billy Idol, who declined. It was instead recorded by Simple Minds in 1985 and topped charts in several countries.

In 2003, Forsey produced the guitar pop band Rooney. 2005 saw his return to Billy Idol, producing Devil's Playground.^[2]

References

1. Bronson, Fred (2003-10-01). The Billboard book of number 1 hits. Random House Digital, Inc. pp. 616–. ISBN 978-0-8230-7677-2. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
2. Michael Sutton. "Keith Forsey | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-08.

External links

• Keith Forsey at the Internet Movie Database
• Keith Forsey discography at Discogs
• Keith Forsey at Keith Forsey website