Biography

Born in Manchester, England in 1946, Keith formed his first band The Falcons with drummer Malcom Rowe. He was an early fan of American blues singers such as Jimmy Reed and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. Joining a rival group that would eventually become Herman’s Hermits in 1963, by the Spring of ‘64 they had been joined by Derek ‘Lek’ Leckenby and Barry Whitwam, and along with a young Peter Noone and Karl Green. Producer Mickie Most came on board, and over the coming years was responsible for their many huge hits, even outselling the Beatles in the US in 1965. In 1968 Hopwood decided to cut loose of Herman’s Hermits and concentrate on his thriving music company Pluto. Building it into a sizeable business with Malcolm Rowe, eventually leading to a meeting with Cosgrove Hall Films. Hopwood and Rowe co-wrote and produced the music for the classic Wind in the Willows (feature film and series), and the 1989 film adaptation of Roal Dahl’s The BFG, among many others. After 10 successful years, Hopwood moved the countryside. Here he continued to write for children’s animation projects, notably Bob the Builder, a remake of the classic Pingu, and most recently over 100 episodes of Daisy & Ollie, featuring Jason Manford. In 2021, in the grip of Covid lockdowns his son Dan pitched him the idea of finishing off all the songs which had been started but never completed, as an album project. It was perfect timing, and the result Never Too Late, was released February 1st 2022.