“My new album Vide Grenier (meaning Emptying the Attic in French) was produced by Simon Edwards (Fairground Attraction, Billy Bragg, Kathryn Williams)and features an outstanding backing band of close mates, collectively known as The Personals. They are Bernd Rest, Jimmy Count, Ginny Clee and Simon Edwards. Vide Grenier follows on from The Long Game (2015) and Foreign Domestic (2007) and features the massive hit singles Pomme de Terre, Intensive Care Unit and Jamie’s Going Snowboarding. This album is my best yet and I’m thrilled to be touring it throughout 2025 with the band so people can hear it live.
I’ve been honing my craft as a performing songwriter in a variety of groups and as a solo
artist since the latter part of the last century. In my other life I’ve done lots of different
jobs; most recently training (and writing songs) to teach foreign languages. Despite not (yet)
enjoying the commercial success of some of my peers and former labelmates (eg. Travis, David
Gray, John Grant, Ron Sexsmith), I’m reliably informed that the catalogue of songs and
recordings I’ve put together so far stands up against any of these, in quality if not in
quantity.
My band Departure Lounge’s first album, Out Of Here(1999) was enthusiastically received by the critics and we had the first ever Album of the Week on the fledgling BBC6 Music back in 2002 with our second album, Too Late To Die Young (Bella Union, produced by Kid Loco). At that time we were invited to tour with Morcheeba, Paul Heaton and The Go-Betweens, which gives you some idea of the broadness of our appeal, or difficulty to categorise, whichever you prefer.
Departure Lounge ceased operations at the end of 2002 only to reunite in 2019 for UK shows to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our debut and ended up recording an album of brand new material in four days in Devon. Transmeridian, came out on Liverpool/Paris-based Violette Records in March 2021 to more rapturous acclaim. The single, Australia, featured special guest Peter Buck from R.E.M. on Rickenbacker 12-string guitar. I’ve known Peter since the nineties, when I played with Robyn Hitchcock for a while.
The legendary Janice Long asked us to record a session for her BBC Radio Wales show and invited
me to meet up for a drink with her in Liverpool. Six months later she was gone.
In 2015 and 2024 I travelled to Arctic Norway to perform at the Snow Station Vadsø festival
alongside John Paul Jones, Penguin Café, The Only Ones, Lenny Kaye, Peter Buck & Mike Mills
from R.E.M. and a host of other superstars. The festival is curated by Michèle Noach, an artist
friend of mine and is one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever been part of.
I live in Worthing on the south coast of England, where I have a long-running monthly live
music residency at local seafront hostelry, The Beach House."
Tim Keegan, September 2024
"Casebook studies in flawless songwriting" (NME)
“A voice somewhere between Lou Reed and Edwyn Collins - made to sing of love and truth"
(les Inrockuptibles)
“The emphasis here is on quality songwriting – think vintage Lloyd Cole or The Go-Betweens in their quieter moments" (Q)
“One of the UK's most exquisite songwriters" (Magic Revue Pop Moderne)
Video links:
On A Good Day (live 2019)
Wendell Gee (R.E.M. cover) - live with Mike Mills Survivor (Destiny’s Child cover - live in Norway) Mercury In Retrograde (Departure Lounge)
Web links:
soundcloud Instagram Facebook Spotify