Keith Altham, who has died aged 84 after suffering from Parkinson’s disease, was a music journalist and broadcaster who in the 1970s pioneered a brand-new career: rock music PR. After founding KA Publicity in 1971 he became the most celebrated music publicist in Britain, with a remarkable list of clients, many of whom he had interviewed as a writer. They included the Rolling Stones, the Who, Marc Bolan, the Beach Boys, Slade, Status Quo and Van Morrison.
Keith was a natural PR, because he understood the needs of both artists and music journalists, and because he had a flair for publicity, even while still a journalist. In 1966, when working at the New Musical Express, he was approached by the music entrepreneur Larry Page and asked if he could suggest a stage name for Reg Ball, a bricklayer who was lead singer for a struggling band, the Troggs. Altham suggested Reg Presley – and the name stuck. It appeared in the next issue of the NME (without Ball having been informed) and band’s next single, Wild Thing, was a hit.
