Songman Perry Keyes has been referred to as “Redfern’s answer to Bruce Springsteen”, while Peter Garrett has said, “Peter is the real deal; songs from the heart, from the Aussie street. He is a rare talent.” The Sydney Morning Herald, meanwhile, said “Perry Keyes is a Sydney romantic who can see the battered beauty beneath the gloss.” Yet, despite this, his name is not as familiar as many Australian songwriting greats, though it probably should be. Throughout the ’90s he remained largely absent from music, later picking up work as a taxi driver. In 2002, Bek-Jean Stewart and Grant Shanahan of Sydney band Eva Trout helped him break out of his musical hibernation. The Eastern, Ballarat – July 24.
