It is with a heavy heart that I pen this tribute to my Manchester-born, Canadian-bred friend Keith Sharp who, after a short illness, passed away peacefully early on the morning of October 18. Keith was co-founder and Editor-In-Chief of Music Express magazine, the only contemporary publication in the history of the Canadian music industry to execute national record retail circulation via records stores, and national newsstand circulation.
Along with partner and publisher Conny Kunz, Keith launched Music Express in 1976. The magazine was based in Calgary until 1980, at which point they moved the operation to Toronto. That was when this writer came on board and remained on board, on and off, for 44 years. Right from the start, Keith championed Canadian artists and gave them widespread exposure that they had not enjoyed previously.
“At the time you had record labels wanting to hype new releases by Rush. April Wine and Max Webster, as well as fledgling indie labels trying to promote their rosters,” Keith said in a 2021 interview. “They were all fodder for interviews and most of the newspapers really didn’t have music people covering the scene very well. Over the years I’ve had a lot of feedback from artists saying ‘You’ve been there right there from the beginning’, and ‘You’ve been supportive of us and helped our career’. You appreciate that kind of gratitude and the fact that you were actually able to perform that kind of thing with them.”
Keith was also able to spot new talent from a mile away, as was the case with Bryan Adams. “When Conny and I went to the band Sweeney Todd, we saw this kid walking around our office and Conny, being Conny, said ‘Isn’t it past your bedtime son?’ He pointed to a poster of Sweeney Todd on the wall and said that he was the lead singer of the band. We watched the show and thought he was really good and told him to stay in touch. We interviewed him when his first album came out and ever since that time Bryan and I have had a very tight relationship. It’s thrilling to have the recollection that Music Express played an active role in his career from the very beginning.”
Perhaps the most significant year in the history of Music Express was 1986, as this would be when it cracked the U.S. market. Keith had distributed some of his magazines through wholesalers in the U.S. and that is how he struck gold ending up with a distribution deal via 1,100 Musicland/Sam Goody record retail stores across America. When the U.S. deal ended, the magazine fell under new ownership and hard times, and folded in 1993. That allowed Keith to launch Access Magazine, which he ran successfully until 2010. It wasn’t too long after Access closed shop that Music Express, like the famous phoenix, rose from its print ashes and reinvented itself as an online magazine with Keith returning to the helm until the end. Special thanks go out to webmasters Ted Van Boort, Joyce Domingo and Olivia Ingle for their consistently superb layouts of the online mag. For a complete history of Music Express, be sure to check out Keith’s book, ‘Music Express, The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Canada’s Music Magazine’ (Dundurn Press).
Keith also ran a company called Music Express Entertainment, which provided booking services for bands like The Box, Steel Horse Gypsies, and One Ugly Cowboy. Over the last couple of years I’ve been fortunate enough to attend shows by these bands with Keith, as well as a smoking show at the El Mocambo by Lee Aaron, another artist Keith has followed and supported since Day One. When told of his passing Lee emailed “I am so incredibly sad. I’ve known him since I was 18 years old. He has done SO much to elevate Canadian music and was so faithful and supportive to the artists he loved. I will miss his witty conversations and silly Brit jokes. I have no words right now.”
I am most thankful for the close relationship I have had with Keith over the years. In 1981 he and Conny attended my wife and I’s wedding. The following year saw the formation of the Music Express soccer team which included Keith in goal, Triumph’s Rik Emmett, Teenage Head’s Frankie Venom, and the all-time worst defensive pairing in football, myself and B.B. Gabor. Our first ‘big’ match was against Iron Maiden, and defying the odds that a heavy metal band can actually play football, they handed us our butts on a platter. Keith adored the music of Iron Maiden and he had a close relationship with them until the end. In fact, when he heard about Keith’s illness, their manager Rod Smallwood sent an email that read “Keith, I am told you are quite unwell so we won’t see you at the Toronto show as usual. We all hope you fight on and recover well and see you next time. Be strong mate, we are thinking of you. Rod and all of Maiden. Eddie sends his best too”
While Iron Maiden was one of his passions, his true love was English football, and I can’t tell you the number of times Keith reminded me about England beating Germany in 1966 for their only World Cup win. He was also a huge Manchester City supporter, as Conny explained during a phone call after his passing.
“He was my soccer buddy,” she says. “We’d always compared notes because I’m an Arsenal fan and he’s a City fan. His ashes are going to be placed in a Manchester City football, and they’re going to drive it to the east coast and throw it into the ocean.”
My heartfelt condolences go out to Keith’s wife Karen, his son Kyle and their family. My heartfelt thanks go out to Conny Kunz and the Music Express alumni who have stayed in touch, including Kerry Doole, Tarin Elbert, Drew Masters, Ken Tizzard and Lenny Stoute. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of the loyal Music Express readers who have stuck with us over the years. Keith Sharp was the heart and soul of Music Express and the publication will not go on without him. What a long, strange, wonderful trip it’s been. Thank you Keith.
