Keith Gemmell (born 15 February 1948) is a rock musician and saxophone player best known for being a member of British art rock band Audience from 1969 to 1972. He is now a music educator, author and journalist.
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Gemmell was born Keith William Gemmell in Hackney Hospital, Hackney, London. He started by playing the recorder, and at the age of 13 was attracted to the clarinet on hearing Acker Bilk's Stranger on the Shore.[1] He has cited his early influences as the British trad jazz bands of the day, before hearing Georgie Fame's Yeah Yeah, which drove him to try the saxophone. By his late teens, he was "playing rock, jazz and blues saxophone at the age of 17 in smoky European clubs and US army bases ... backing the popular soul artists of the day."[2]
Audience had no lead guitarist, and Gemmell's reeds replaced this traditional role in a rock band.[2]
After Audience, Gemmell joined Stackridge[2] and played on their albums The Man in the Bowler Hat, Extravaganza and Mr. Mick.[3]
Following session work, he then joined the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, with whom he toured extensively and remained with for 14 years.[2]
Gemmell is now a lecturer in Popular Music and Music Technology at MidKent College, and still composes and arranges.[4] He has written several instructional books concerning computer-based music[4] and is regular writer for Music Tech Magazine.[2]