Real things: Russell Morris, Jim Keays and Darryl Cotton play at Geelong’s waterfront next month.
ERIN PEARSON
THE late 1960s was a pioneering time in music, according to veteran Australian rock music legend Jim Keays.
“The Beatles were still around and there weren’t the distractions that there are now,” he said.
“Every kid was into music. It was an exciting time.”
Keays, the former lead singer of The Masters Apprentices from 1965 to 1971, has been playing the sounds of the ’60s alongside two other legends of Australian rock since 2000 in Cotton, Keays and Morris (CKM).
Keays said he and bandmates Darryl Cotton and Russell Morris had a steady schedule of shows.
“We’re doing 100 gigs a year because we appeal to the baby boomer market. All the hits we had were in the era when those people were growing up, so the music was a part of their youth.
“That’s the great thing about music, it’s timeless. It’s great to be able to bring joy to people.”
Cotton rose to Australian fame in pop band Zoot alongside Rick Springfield and Beeb Birtles.
Morris shot to success as part of Somebody’s Image before releasing hit single The Real Thing in the late ’60s.
Keays said the three watched musical genres evolve during their respective careers in bands and as solo artists.
“When we first started we were garage punk music and then it became psychedelic music then progressive rock,” he laughed.
“This all happened whilst we were juggling 15 gigs a week. It was just ridiculous.
“This doesn’t happen now and thank God it doesn’t.”
Keays said the music of the ’60s and ’70s would never die.
“The good thing about CKM is that a lot of the songs we do have lived on largely due to radio stations like Gold FM and Because I Love You has been used in lots of television ad campaigns,” he said.
“To be gainfully employed 40 years after we began our music careers is unbelievable.
“And long may it last!”
Cotton Keays and Morris will play at Geelong’s Deakin Waterfront Cafe on August 14.
