Education
Born on 26 October 1946 at Park Hospital, Davyhulme area of Manchester, he attended Urmston Grammar School.
Born on 26 October 1946 at Park Hospital, Davyhulme area of Manchester, he attended Urmston Grammar School.
Hopwood also served as a keyboardist, singer and guitarist for the post-Peter Noone outfit, Sour Mash, which recorded an unreleased album, A Whale of a Tale for Radio Corporation of America. A talented musician and composer, he continues to live and work in the music industry in the United Kingdom. Several rare demo recordings from his time in Herman"s Hermits are available through his website. Noone"s heavily accented delivery, together with Hopwood"s muted rhythm guitar work, propelled the track to number one on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart. Contrary to many reports, the song was not an old music hall number, and the Hermits did play on the track as well as on many other Herman"s Hermits records, including all of the band"s number-one United States and United Kingdom hits.
Ralph McTell recorded the theme tune to Cosgrove Hall"s adaptation of The Wind in the Willows written by Hopwood and Malcolm Rowe, and this was released as a single in 1984, after the series was aired on Independent Television. Hopwood also co-wrote the music for Cosgrove Hall"s adaptations of Terry Pratchett"s Soul Music and "Wyrd Sisters" with Philosophy Bush.
Soundtrack albums were released in 1997. Hopwood and Rowe co-wrote and produced the music to the 1989 film adaptation of Roald Dahl"s The BFG. Other Cosgrove Hall shows he composed for were Creepy Crawlies, Alias the Jester with Malcolm Rowe, Foxbusters, Andy Pandy, Discworld, with Philosophy Bush, and Albie, alone.
In 2004 he composed the music for the remake of Pingu for HIT Entertainment, and started work on Bob the Builder television series and Specials, which was to last until production ceased in 2011. In 2013 he formed a music rights company, CHF Music, with Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick, the newly launched company run by Brian Cosgrove and Simon Hall, to look after all the music content for their new shows.
In 1968, Keith Hopwood and Derek Leckenby founded, a company that composes musical scores for commercials, films, and animation.
Leckenby died in 1994, but Hopwood continues operating the company. Pluto Studios has been very successful, providing services to many top acts including The Clash. Hopwood has proved himself a fine soundtrack composer, working mostly on animated television series including the hugely successful "Bob the Builder." Always a composer, he wrote and co-wrote numerous songs recorded by Herman"s Hermits, and other bands such as Brinsley Schwarz.
Hopwood also promoted the singer-songwriter, Helen Watson.
On 21 January 1968 Keith Hopwood married Penny Pagni, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In 1989, Hopwood remarried Maria Verdellis.
They had a son, Daniel (born in 1991).