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Keith Forsey

 
Artist: Keith Forsey
 
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Worked With:

Gary Unwin, Juergen Koppers, Les Hurdle, Harold Faltermeyer, Mats Bjoerklund, Thor Baldursson, Giorgio Moroder, Billy Idol
  • Active: '80s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Percussion, Producer, Drums Representative Album: "Dynamite"

Biography

The man who made punk bankable and took a little-known Scottish new wave band to No. 1 on the U.S. charts also helped to define disco music, the antithesis of underground and alternative rock. Born in January 1948 in London, England, Oscar-winning producer Keith Forsey began his career as a drummer in the early ‘70s, contributing his skills as a percussionist to Krautrock artists like Roy Fleming and Amon Duul II. In the late ‘70s, Forsey became one of disco's pioneers, working with dance artists like Lipstique and Claudja Barry. More importantly, he was legendary disco producer Giorgio Moroder's drummer and appeared on Donna Summer's groundbreaking club records, including the 1979 classic Bad Girls. Less remembered is his own band Trax, essentially a collaboration with Pete Bellotte that spawned two LPs, 1977's Watch Out and 1978's Dancing in the Street. Moroder's influence on Forsey grew continually obvious as he further experimented with electronics and European dance rhythms. Like Moroder, he started producing albums himself. In 1982, Forsey produced Billy Idol's self-titled solo debut. Although it wasn't the first time Forsey was involved with Idol -- Generation X marked the beginning of their long-time partnership -- Billy Idol was a revolutionary disc, giving punk enough studio gloss to make the genre palatable to mainstream FM rock radio without sacrificing any of its punch. 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 fireballs into a multi-platinum blockbuster that is one of the decade's most indelible releases. 1983 was the year that established Forsey not just as a top-drawer producer but a commercially desirable one, too. He co-wrote "Flashdance…What A Feelin'" with singer Irene Cara for the Flashdance movie soundtrack, a No. 1 hit on the U.S. charts. In 1984, the song earned him an Academy Award. The mammoth popularity of Flashdance suddenly gave Forsey the reputation of a soundtrack wiz; it led to a string of blockbuster soundtracks including Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and The Breakfast Club. The Forsey-penned "Don't You (Forget About Me)" for The Breakfast Club was originally intended for Idol to sing; instead, it was given to the Scottish cult group Simple Minds in 1985, handing them a No. 1 smash that is generally considered to be among the most beloved tunes from the ‘80s. The less-is-more trend of the ‘90s saw fewer work from Forsey as keyboards and big production were suddenly frowned upon in rock, especially in the alternative scene wherein he made post-punk acts such as Idol, the Psychedelic Furs, and Simple Minds glossy enough for the masses. In 2003, Forsey produced the guitar pop band Rooney's critically acclaimed eponymous debut. ~ Michael Sutton, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Keith Forsey
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Keith Forsey
Born 2 January 1948 (1948-01-02) (age 61)
London, England
Genre(s) Rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) drums, percussion
Years active 1970s–present
Label(s) Epic, Casablanca, Hansa, Oasis

Keith Forsey (born on 2 January 1948 in London, England) is an British soundtrack composer, drummer, songwriter and record producer.

As drummer and long-time associate of producer Giorgio Moroder, Forsey can be heard on several Donna Summer albums until 1981. He co-wrote several songs on the albums Bad Girls, The Wanderer and I'm a Rainbow. Forsey also formed a dance band called TRAX with Moroder's co-producer Pete Bellotte and produced two dance albums.

Forsey's powerful drum sound was the mainstay of many Moroder productions during the 1970s including Sparks seminal electronic album "Number One In Heaven", "Get On The Funk Train" by Munich Machine (Moroder/Bellotte's in-house band), as well as various other studio/disco acts based in Munich at this time such as Boney M. He also played on Moroder's early 70s international breakthrough novelty Moog synthesizer hit "Son Of My Father", along with an as yet undiscovered Donna Summer.

Forsey was also well-known as the producer for Billy Idol. Forsey began working with Idol in the '70s when he was lead singer for UK Punk band Generation X and stayed with him into his solo career, producing the albums Billy Idol, Rebel Yell, Whiplash Smile, Charmed Life and Devil's Playground.

Forsey is perhaps most famous as the producer of movie soundtracks, including Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop II and The Breakfast Club. Forsey cowrote the #1 worldwide hit single, "Don't You (Forget About Me)", together with Steve Schiff, for the band, Simple Minds. He also produced The Donnas' cover of the Generation X song "Dancing With Myself".

Contents

Awards

  • 1984 Academy Award - "Best Music, Original Song": "Flashdance...What a Feeling" (Forsey/Giorgio Moroder/Irene Cara)
  • 1984 Golden Globe award - "Best Original Song - Motion Picture": "Flashdance...What a Feeling" (Forsey/Moroder/Cara)
  • 1984 Grammy Award - "Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special": Flashdance. Shared between all composers: Forsey, Giorgio Moroder, Irene Cara, Shandi Sinnamon, Ronald Magness, Doug Cotler, Richard Gilbert, Michael Boddicker, Jerry Hey, Phil Ramone, Michael Sembello, Kim Carnes, Duane Hitchings, Craig Krampf, Dennis Matkosky
  • 1986 Grammy Award - "Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special": Beverly Hills Cop. Shared between all composers: Forsey, Marc Benno, Harold Faltermeyer, Micki Free, Jon Gilutin Hawk, Howard Hewett, Bunny Hull, Howie Rice, Sharon Robinson, Danny Sembello, Sue Sheridan, Richard Theisen, Allee Willis
  • 1988 ASCAP Award - "Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures": Beverly Hills Cop II (Forsey/Harold Faltermeyer/Bob Seger)

Award nominations

In 1988, Keith Forsey was nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song for: Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Shared with:

BAFTA Awards

1984

In 1984, Keith Forsey was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Song for: Flashdance (1983)
Shared with Giorgio Moroder, Irene Cara For the song: "What a Feeling".

1988

In 1988, Forsey was nominated for Best Original Song - Motion Picture for: Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Shared with:

  • Harold Faltermeyer (music/lyrics)
  • Bob Seger (lyrics)

For the song "Shakedown".

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Keith Forsey".  Read more

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