Keighley's first release was "Lose It to You" on The Cue Record Label in 1981 under the name Nevil Rowe. This record was produced at Crescent Studios,
Bath, by
David Lord and Darren Hatch, later of the
Italo disco group
My Mine.
Roland Orzabal and
Curt Smith from the band
Graduate, later
Tears for Fears, played on the recording with
Manny Elias on drums. In 1982, Keighley formed his first band and started performing live gigs in and around London under the new name Belouis Some. He chose the name Belouis Some because he thought his given name was "very un-rock and roll" and he wanted a name that was ambiguous, given that he was a solo artist at a time when being a solo artist wasn't fashionable, and was performing live with a band at the time. He came up with "the Belouis something band", inspired by the song "
Louie Louie" (popular at the time due to the film
The Blues Brothers), but with the pressure of promoting scheduled gigs he ran out of time to find a second name to replace "something" so settled on Some. The lineup included guitarist Scott Taylor who later became a founding member of
Then Jerico and on keyboards Phil Harrison from
the Korgis. Belouis Some played numerous gigs the following year with his band developing his songs and musical style and after a gig at The Embassy Club, Old Bond Street in the summer of 1983, Belouis Some signed to Tritec Music owned by Paul and Michael Berrow, who at the time managed
Duran Duran. In 1985, a new version of "Target Practice" was recorded and produced by
Steve Thompson and
Michael Barbiero; this new track was included on Some's first album and also later released as a single.
Some People 1985 Belouis Some's first album
Some People was released in 1985. Initial production had taken place on some tracks in
London at Maison Rouge,
Good Earth and
AIR Studios produced by Ian Little and Pete Schwier with musicians
Guy Fletcher,
Chester Kamen, Andy Duncan, Gary Twigg, and
Gary Barnacle.
Some People was produced by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero in
New York City in late 1984 to early 1985, recorded at
Mediasound. Belouis Some had been introduced to Thompson and Barbiero in New York in spring 1984, when they had been asked to do a dance mix of the original version of "Target Practice"; at this stage Some was not satisfied with the London recording sessions and asked if they would produce and re-record the tracks "Imagination" and "Walk Away". Some was introduced to guitarist and arranger
Carlos Alomar who asked
Bernard Edwards and
Tony Thompson from
Chic to play. Other musicians were
Jack Waldman on keyboards,
Jimmy Maelen on percussion and Rick Bell on sax.
Robin Clark, Frank Simms and Diva Grey sang backing vocals. Thompson and Barbiero were then asked to re-record "Target Practice" and "Aware of You", with overdubs and remixes of "Some People", "Jerusalem" and "Stand Down".
Carmine Rojas, Alan Childs, Dave Lebolt and Kurt Yahjian were added to the recording line up with
Earl Slick playing lead guitar on "Target Practice". During these sessions Danny Socolof became Some's manager, later joined by
Bill Curbishley and Jackie Curbishley's Trinifold Management. The
video for the first single release from the album, "
Imagination", was directed by
Storm Thorgerson and caused controversy as it contained full frontal nudity. Using the 12" version, it was a big success in bars and clubs, and the worldwide premier of the "Imagination" video was held at
Studio 54. An alternative version without the nudity used the 7" edit of the track, suitable for
MTV and mainstream TV. The video for the second single, "
Some People", also directed by Thorgerson, was used as a
Swatch television advertisement in the US. In spring 1985, Belouis Some supported
Frankie Goes to Hollywood on their North American tour with band members Chester Kamen, Gary Twigg, Larry Tolfree,
Bias Boshell, Robin Clark and Sandy Bar. Some was sponsored by Swatch on the tour. Some's contribution to the
Pretty in Pink soundtrack, "Round, Round" (released February 1986) was written especially for the film and was produced by Bernard Edwards and recorded in Los Angeles in August 1985. The album was listed in
Rolling Stone's list of "The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time". "Round, Round" propelled Belouis Some towards audiences outside of the clubs and
college radio in the US and so, after worldwide chart success and extensive touring, and
The Business and has been used in many national and international TV adverts including
Panasonic,
Barclays Bank and
Rimmel London. In May 1986, whilst on tour in the UK, Belouis Some also performed at Swatch Live at the
Beacon Theatre, New York. Swatch Live also featured
skateboarder Rodney Mullen. 's
Magic Tour,
Knebworth August 1986 In the summer of 1986, Belouis Some was one of the support acts on
Queen's
Magic Tour appearing at
Knebworth, Paris and Manchester.
Belouis Some '' sessions, Right Track Recording Studio, New York 1986 In late 1986, Belouis Some recorded his self-titled second album
Belouis Some at Right Track and
The Hit Factory in New York, produced by
Gary Langan and Guy Fletcher. In February 2023, producer Lee Rose with Belouis Some released a
tech house version of "Imagination" on Deevu Records. In January 2024, it was announced that Belouis Some will join
the Alarm and Jay Aston's
Gene Loves Jezebel on the "Live Today Love Tomorrow" tour of North America in spring and summer 2024. In April, the tour was postponed due to
Mike Peters' (the Alarm) sudden diagnosis of high grade
lymphoma. Belouis Some played his first live show in over 30 years at the o2 Academy Islington London in November 2024, as a double bill with Gene Loves Jezebel.
2025–present In February 2025, Some played a sold out headline gig at the
Troubadour. Some later announced he would tour the US in April 2025 with Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel on the Hit & Run Tour, playing his first US dates since 1988. Some joined the
Lost 80's Live 23rd anniversary US tour in the summer of 2025. In December 2025
Academy Music Group Belouis Some supported
Trevor Horn at the
o2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. In March 2026 Belouis Some announced a Spring tour, headlining in the USA at the end of April 2026. ==Personal life==