The end of August saw the passing of one of my dearest friends, sixties bass player Keith Dyett. Growing up in Greenford, West London, Keith began playing guitar with his friend and neighbour, Dave Langston. When they became good enough to form a group they recruited other players and began to play gigs at local pubs and clubs in the area.
Dave, who was lead guitarist and vocalist had a larger than average nose and so they named themselves Cyrano and the Bergeracs after the famous French character, Cyrano de Bergerac. Keith had by now taken up the bass guitar. I first became aware of them as they, like all the local groups, would hang out at Jim Marshall’s first tiny shop in Hanwell. The Bergeracs soon proved to be very popular with local audiences as one of the better bands around and it wasn’t long before they toured Germany, where they also were very successful.
Keith was a naturally friendly and gregarious bloke and I soon got to know him. When my professional career stalled in early 1965 I secured an audition with a popular Manchester-based group and Cyrano was kind enough to offer to drive me there in the group’s bandwagon, with Keith coming along for the ride.
I managed to pass the audition and arrange to move to Manchester the following week. Before we got back to London, however, I was propositioned by Cyrano to join the Bergeracs – as lead guitarist! Although I had not played much guitar for a while, the idea appealed to me, especially as my former colleagues from the Regents, Roger Truth and Ray Soper had recently joined the group. With Keith providing a great bottom end, working with the Bergeracs was a great experience and a very happy time for us all. However, after several months, Roger Truth and myself were made an offer of a summer season in Jersey by our old boss, Buddy Britten, which was just too good to refuse!
The Bergeracs carried on for a while with new members but finally decided to disband. Dave ‘Cyrano’ Langston went on to eventually forge a career with the Who, whilst Keith decided to hang up his bass and work for Jim Marshall. Already qualified as a superb carpenter, Keith secured a job building the soon-to-be-famous Marshall amplifiers and speaker cabinets. When Jim moved his operation to Bletchley, Keith, along with new wife Dot, moved up with him to work at the new factory. When Keith’s time at Marshalls ended he was soon recruited by Jim’s son Terry into a new venture, designing and building new amplifiers under the name Thor. Although a great product, the business was not a success and so Keith moved back to West London with his two young sons, Raymond and Steven, securing a job building movie sets at Pinewood Studios. Keith applied his skills to many huge productions including several of the most successful James Bond movies. Eventually he moved into design and worked on some huge projects, most notably Star Wars and Harry Potter films where his knowledge and skills were indispensable.
From the mid-1970s Keith and I became even closer friends on discovering that we shared the same birthday, with Keith being one year older than me. From then on we had more fun than we could wish for. He became part of my family and as often as possible we would persuade him to sit in with the Good Old Boys to keep up his bass playing skills. During the last 12 years of his life, Keith was plagued by ill health, leading to several serious operations, but he always bounced back, always cheerful and never complaining. He seemed Indestructible and a real example to us all with his good humour and positive attitude. His passing leaves a huge void which can never be filled. He was loved by so many people and we will all miss his kindness, generosity and warm personality. Keith, you were a one off, thank you for lighting up our lives! Sleep well…