Keith Top of the Pops… – “Two of the Beatles Are Dead” MP3 (PopMatters Premiere)

Keith Top is the poster boy for spontaneity. Touring with Art Brut back in 2006, the headlining band lost their support group and Keith stepped in immediately to fill the slot. Then he formed a band with a few of the Art Brut boys, performing just a few songs with no rehearsal. That “no rehearsal” aesthetic continues with Keith Top of the Pops and His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band and extends to a “no soundchecks” rule as well, aiming for an immediacy and rawness in expression. Keith pens the bands tunes and thrusts them upon his musical mates to play straightaway without advance prep, capturing something of the essence of the early punk movement. In August, the band will release their debut album, cheekily titled F*ck You! I’m Keith Top of the Pops, and today we premiere the equally brashly titled, “Two of the Beatles Are Dead”. The album releases via Corporate Records UK, a “pay-what-you-like” label founded by Keith Top and the Indelicates. According to the label, “anyone can post their music to the site and all proceeds go towards the artist.”