Keith Hampshire
Born (1945-11-23) 23 November 1945
Dulwich, London, England
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actor
Years active1960s–present

Keith Hampshire (born 23 November 1945) is an English-born singer and actor. He recorded three songs which were top ten hits in Canada, and hosted the CBC Television show Keith Hampshire's Music Machine. His voice has been compared to David Clayton-Thomas.[1] In the United States his highest charting single,"Daytime Night-time", reached No. 51 on Hot 100.[2]

Early life

Hampshire was born in Dulwich, London, England. He moved with his family to Canada at the age of six. He lived in Toronto and later Calgary, where he took singing lessons, and formed several short-lived high-school bands which performed in local venues.[3]

Career

After graduating from high school, Hampshire began working as a radio disk jockey.[3] Between July 1966 and mid-August 1967, He lived in the UK and was a DJ for the offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline South. His show was called "Keefer's Commotions", and later "Keefer's Uprising".

Beginning in 1971, Hampshire recorded a number of pop music singles, including his #1 version of "The First Cut Is the Deepest", which topped the RPM 100 national singles chart in May 1973.[4]

In 1974, Hampshire was nominated for a Juno Award as Male Vocalist of the Year.[5] That year he became the host of the CBC Television show Keith Hampshire's Music Machine.[6]

In 1981, Hampshire released an album, Variations, through Freedom Records.[1]

In 1983, Hampshire, with the Bat Boys, recorded a song entitled "OK Blue Jays" which became an unofficial anthem for the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team.[7] Blue Jays fans frequently sing it during the seventh-inning stretch of home games. The song was written by Alan Smith, Pat Arbour, Jack Lenz and Tony Kosinec. The song was remixed by Rob Wells and Chris Anderson of Big Honkin' Spaceship Inc. in 2003.[8]

On 18 June 2005, Hampshire was hired to host a 1960s–1970s based oldies radio show on CHAY-FM in Barrie, Ontario. That year 20th Century Masters released an album of his past singles, The Millennium Collection: The Best of Keith Hampshire.[1]

Filmography

Discography

Singles

  • 1967 - "Millions of Hearts" (b/w Lonely Boy)
  • 1971 - "Ebenezer" (b/w Sing Angel Sing) (#81 Canada)
  • 1972 - "Daytime Night-time" (b/w Turned the Other Way) (#5 Canada),(#51 US)
  • 1973 - "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (b/w You Can't Hear the Song I Sing) (#1 Canada), (#70 US)
  • 1973 - "Big Time Operator" (b/w You Can't Hear the Song I Sing) (#5 Canada), (#81 US)
  • 1974 - "For Ever and Ever" (b/w Jeraboah) (#47 Canada)
  • 1974 - "Hallelujah Freedom" (b/w Waking Up Alone) (#59 Canada)
  • 1976 - "I'm Into Something Good" (b/w Just Another Fool)
  • 1981 - "I Can't Wait Too Long" (b/w Nobody's Child)
  • 1983 - "OK Blue Jays" (b/w same) (#47 Canada) - as "The Bat Boys"

Albums

  • 1972 - Oops! (original cast recording)
  • 1973 - The First Cut
  • 1981 - Variations
  • 2005 - The Best of Keith Hampshire: The Millennium Collection

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Keith Hampshire: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Keith Hampshire". AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 368.
  3. 1 2 "Keith Hampshire". AllMusic Biography by John Bush
  4. ↑ "Top Singles", RPM - Volume 19, No. 13, May 12, 1973
  5. ↑ "Juno Award Nominations Listed". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 9 March 1974. p. 54. ISSN 0006-2510.
  6. ↑ "Hampshire Hosts CBC Rock Show". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 25 August 1973. p. 47. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. ↑ "Voice of OK Blue Jays recalls recording famous tune — more than 30 years ago". CBC News, Oct 11, 2015
  8. ↑ "A Podcast Conversation With ... Keith Hampshire". FYIMusicNews. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
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