2003 Guests Information
    
  Keith Donnelly  
Web Site/Email:
  Sorry no web site is know for this act
  Keith Donnelly was born in South Shields in 1955 and has the accent to prove it. His father, a second generation Irishman who married a second generation Scotswoman, was a foyboatman, a harbour worker who ties up ships docking at the port of Newcastle. "You could say that he was into maritime bondage," Keith quips. At the age of 13 he was attracted to the guitar after seeing Cliff Richard playing one in a film. His first instrument was acquired by his father, who bartered it from a Norwegian seaman, and for two years he had classical guitar lessons. At the age of 14 he was introduced to the works of Leonard Cohen and at about the same time was enticed to visit his local folk club, the South Tyne Folk and Blues, where Barbara Dixon was the guest on his first visit. Thus was he set on the slippery slope of folk entertainer. Three years at Warwick University, where he studied Psychology and Education, could not save him. Indeed, the fates conspired most wickedly and arranged that his room mate was a fiddler, one Martyn Oram. Academic work was fitted in between writing songs and visiting folk clubs under the duo name of Waterfall – and later with Gilly Derby becoming a trio. Eventually Martin left the band and Gilly and Keith carried on as a duo, having some great gigs and doing dozens of support shows for artistes like Van Morrison and Phil Cool. It was during these tours that Keith’s sense of humour came to the fore. Eventually the ‘in between bits’ were becoming longer than the songs themselves. Gilly suggested that Keith do his own shows, and in 1997 they went their separate ways
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