Few artists can regale an audience with a tirade of hilarious, curmudgeonly banter, then bring them almost to tears with a self-penned song featuring the acoustic guitar, and then go on to amaze them with lightning-fast fusillades of spangling banjo-rolls. But one such is Keith Pearson, award-winning prolific writer of world-class songs, and one of Britain's best banjo players. Even as a solo performer Keith can hold an audience enthralled for an entire evening with his humour, voice, songs and virtuoso guitar playing and has achieved near-legendary status in Australia, where he has worked regularly during the last fifteen years or so, as front man of Treacle Line.
Keith Pearson first learnt his craft during the classic Folk renaissance of the mid-60s. Throughout the 70s, he toured, and performed on radio as a solo singer/songwriter, both abroad and on the Folk circuit, as well as fronting the original Treacle Line and the Right Hand Band. Choosing to stay with music, rather than Variety Entertainment, Keith resisted the temptation taken by some of his Folk contemporaries to abandon his instrument in order to become a stand-up comic or TV presenter.