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John Keeble Spandau Ballet

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I have been with Premier for 25 years now and they remain the best drum company in the world.

Information

John Keeble has spent most of his life “hitting things with other things”…

It all began at 8.20am on the 6th July 1959, or so it is written. John was born into the Brecknock, North London on the cusp of a new decade and despite being rather too young to fully explore the Swingin’ 60’s there were some high points.

He managed to miss the rise of a scouse band called the Beatles, England won the World Cup shortly after his seventh birthday and a few years earlier his parents had bought him a toy drum kit.

By the time the '70s arrived, John had made some important decisions. It was apparent that at some stage in the future, he would have to earn a living and given that his parents or indeed anyone else that he had met, had never exactly enthused about their jobs, he thought that it would be good to be able to look forward to work.

This led John to three possible career paths; 
  • Play football for Arsenal (of course!). 
  • Keep wicket for England.
  • Or play drums
It all seemed so very simple at the age of ten.
The early '70s were devoted to the honing of these skills; Incessant football and cricket games in the local park and hours spent constructing ‘drum kits’ from a plethora of household items. Weekly trips to West End music shops facilitated hours of awe and wonder and much ogling of the shiny metal and wood. A growing record collection and regular gig attendances enthused his soul, and ‘Rock Star’ became the Holy Grail.
At sixteen, John bought his first drum kit for £45 from Exchange and Mart which he promptly housed in his school music room. It was in this room that John would practice at lunchtimes and after school and in the autumn of ’76, together with some other pupils, he formed a band. They would become Spandau Ballet.
The '80s were spent living the dream as the band performed across the globe and had many worldwide hits. 
Since then John has performed extensively with Tony Hadley on his solo projects and has worked with many artists and bands including Fish, 69 Daze, The Herbs and Pacific (featuring the greatly missed legend John McGeoch). Recently he has worked on a number of projects with Tim Deluxe and also has his own band “I Play Rock”.
John is currently very busy indeed being in Spandau Ballet and enjoying it rather a lot…never forget how great you are.

Equipment

Premier Series Elite in Black Sparkle Lacquer

  • 8" x 8" Maple Power Tom
  • 10" x 9" Maple Power Tom
  • 12" x 10" Maple Power Tom
  • 14" x 12" Maple Power Tom
  • 16" x 16" Maple Floor Tom
  • 18" x 16" Maple Floor Tom
  • 22" x 18" Maple Bass Drum (x2)
  • 14" x 7" Maple Snare Drum

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