Keith Hartley was born in
Plungington, north-west
Preston, Lancashire. He studied drumming under
Lloyd Ryan, who also taught
Phil Collins the
drum rudiments. His career began as the replacement for
Ringo Starr as a
drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a
Liverpool-based
band, after Ringo joined
the Beatles. He then formed The Keef Hartley (Big) Band, mixing elements of
jazz,
blues, and
rock and roll; the group played at Woodstock in 1969. While in John Mayall's band, Mayall had pushed Hartley to form his own group. A mock-up of the "firing" of Hartley was heard on the
Halfbreed album's opening track, "Sacked". Hartley wrote about his life growing up in Preston, and his career as a drummer and bandleader, including the Keef Hartley Band's appearance at Woodstock. Hartley died of complications from surgery on 26 November 2011, aged 67, at
Royal Preston Hospital in
Fulwood, north Preston. == Discography ==