Biography
The individual who rendered punk commercially viable while elevating an obscure Scottish new wave outfit to the top of the American singles chart likewise played a pivotal role in shaping disco, a sound positioned squarely against underground and alternative rock. London native Keith Forsey, an Academy Award recipient, entered the music industry as a drummer during the middle of the 1960s after his birth in January 1948. Percussion duties for Krautrock figures such as Roy Fleming and Amon Düül II occupied him throughout the early 1970s. By the close of that decade he had emerged as one of disco’s early architects, lending his talents to Lipstique and Claudja Barry while serving as the longtime drummer for Giorgio Moroder and contributing to Donna Summer’s landmark club albums, notably the 1979 classic Bad Girls. His own short-lived project Trax, a partnership with Pete Bellotte, yielded the 1977 LP Watch Out and its 1978 follow-up Dancing in the Street. Increasingly drawn to electronics and continental dance rhythms under Moroder’s tutelage, Forsey soon took up production duties. In 1982 he helmed Billy Idol’s self-titled solo debut, the latest chapter in a collaboration that had begun with Generation X and that transformed the punk aesthetic into radio-friendly fare without diluting its force. The 1983 album Rebel Yell pushed this formula further, fusing Forsey’s penchant for synthesized pop with Idol’s raw edge and the incendiary guitar work of Steve Stevens to create a multi-platinum landmark still regarded as one of the era’s signature statements. That same year Forsey co-wrote the chart-topping “Flashdance…What a Feelin’” with Irene Cara for the Flashdance soundtrack, an achievement that earned him an Oscar in 1984 and cemented his status as a go-to producer for major motion-picture albums. Subsequent blockbuster soundtracks for Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and The Breakfast Club followed, the last of which featured his composition “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” Originally slated for Idol, the track instead propelled the cult Scottish band Simple Minds to a number-one hit in 1985 and remains among the decade’s most enduring anthems. The stripped-down ethos of the 1990s curtailed Forsey’s output as expansive keyboard-driven production fell out of favor within rock circles, particularly among alternative acts. Yet he had earlier burnished the commercial appeal of post-punk outfits including the Psychedelic Furs alongside his work with Idol and Simple Minds. In 2003 he returned to the studio to produce the self-titled debut by guitar-pop group Rooney, an album that drew widespread critical praise.