KEITH BAXTERKeith Baxter, who died on 4 January, 2008, aged 36, was a talented drummer best known for being a member of the rock band 3 Colours Red.3 Colours Red formed in 1995 and were among the new wave of British guitar bands to have success in the late ‘90s, scoring two top 20 albums and several top 40 singles.Before joining 3 Colours Red he was a founding member of ‘folk metal’ pioneers Skyclad and he also went on to play with Elevation, Therapy? and Baby Judas.Keith Baxter, who was born in 1971 in Lancaster, joined Skyclad in 1990 after the group was put together by two former heavy metalers, vocalist Martin Walkyier (of Sabbat) and guitarist Steve Ramsey (Satan). Taking their influence from the Swedish group Bathory, Skyclad were praised for their unlikely blend of folk and heavy metal styles.Mr Baxter recorded five albums with Skyclad before joining 3 Colours Red (the unusual name was taken from the French film Trois Couleurs: Rouge). The band united the talents of several experienced musicians, most notably Forgodsake’s guitarist Chris McCormack and frontman and bassist from Diamond Head, Pete Vuckovic.They combined their song-writing skills to form a style of rock that was both punky and mellow, harder than many of their contemporaries such as Feeder and Ash, but not so hard as to alienate mainstream radio audiences.After releasing their first single on Fierce Panda Records they were discovered by Alan McGee (of Oasis fame) who described them as being the "most exciting band since the Sex Pistols" and signed them to his Creation label.The albums Pure (1997) and Revolt (1999) reached 15 and 17 in the charts respectively, while their biggest hit on the single charts was Beautiful Day (1999) which reached number 11 and led to tours with the likes of Marilyn Manson, Aerosmith and Silverchair.3CR split in 1999, playing their last gigs at the Reading and Leeds Festivals and citing "musical differences" as the reason for the split. In a statement the band said they realised it was "the oldest cliché in the book" but that "in this case it is true".Indeed, the members went their different ways with Mr Vuckovic and Mr Baxter forming Elevation and signing an ill-fated deal with Sony. After being dropped following the sacking of their A&R man, their album was never released.Mr Baxter then joined Northern Irish alternative metal band Therapy? for a year before 3 Colours Red reformed in 2003 to record a third (and final) album The Union of Souls (2003), a more politically-charged record than their previous work.Mr Baxter’s final band, Baby Judas, the ironically self-proclaimed "Pink Floyd of punk rock", were based in his home town of Lancaster. After his death, the band released a statement saying: "Keith will be missed greatly. Not only was he an amazing musician, he had a heavy influence on the music we write."
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