
These are the musical memoirs of Denis King, beloved composer of over twenty hit musicals, countless TV theme tunes and hundreds of (very familiar!) advertising jingles.
Best known for his timeless 'Black Beauty' theme, Denis is also the composer of the classic musical 'Privates On Parade' as well as 'Stepping Out', 'A Saint She Ain't' and many more. He has been Alan Ayckbourn's long-time musical collaborator, and has worked as a composer/conductor/musician with most of the great names in popular entertainment of the past fifty years. These include: include Tony Bennett, Nina Simone, Stephen Sondheim, Albert Finney, Barry Humphries (Dame Edna), Maureen Lipman, Elaine Stritch, Dudley Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Sammy Davis Jnr, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Cahn, Howard Keel and Judy Garland.
But before all of that, in the 1950s, Denis was one-third of Britain's first ever 'boy band' and enjoyed huge – if now forgotten – success.
Key Changes is Denis's funny, gripping and candid memoir of that remarkable career, which began at the age of 13 and took him to the heights of theatre, film and TV. With Denis performing much of his own music, he tells stories, remembers showbusiness legends, spills the beans on numerous celebrities - great and small - and describes a life in entertainment from behind the scenes.
In Episode Four Denis and his brothers hit the big time (well, as big as you could get in those days, as a small beat combo from Hornchurch). They get a fan club, do the rounds of London's celebrity clubs and hangouts, and mingle with some fairly remarkable personalities – a few true legends of entertainment, but also a handful of rather less... savoury characters. Fame and notoriety in the swinging 60s were,it seems, never too far apart.