Keith Christmas

b. 13 October 1946, Wivenhoe, Essex, England. A popular figure on the British folk circuit, Christmas emerged with a rock-orientated style on his 1969 debut, Stimulus. Reminiscent, in places, of Al Stewart, the album featured support from Mighty Baby as well as Matthews Southern Comfort’s pedal-steel guitarist, Gordon Huntley. Fable Of The Wings and Pigmy continued this direction, during which time Christmas toured as support act for many of the top bands of the day, including the Who, Ten Years… Show more After, King Crimson and Roxy Music. A brief liaison as vocalist with the Esperanto Rock Orchestra led to an appearance on their 1974 album, Danse Macabre. That same year, a return to solo work produced Brighter Day, which was issued on Emerson, Lake And Palmer’s Manticore label. This release offered a tougher perspective than previous albums while Stories From The Human Zoo, recorded in Los Angeles, featured assistance from several stellar American musicians, including Steve Cropper and Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn.

Christmas was unable to transform his obvious potential into commercial success, and subsequently spent the last years of the 70s performing low-key concerts in London and at summer festivals. Disenchanted with the music business, he retired from the scene in 1981 to run his own business in London renovating Victorian houses. He re-emerged in the late 80s with a fresh outlook, playing on the folk club circuit with renewed enthusiasm and recording new material. He formed the blues band Weatherman in 1991, issuing an album’s worth of recordings with this unit the following year. In 1996, Christmas released the excellent acoustic set Love Beyond Deals on the HTD Records label. During the late 90s he performed in a duo with his wife Julia, while continuing to work as an ICT and Design Technology teacher. In 2003, he released an instrumental acoustic guitar album on the Woronzow label. ~ Rovi

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