Funny man Jimmy Keys is returning to Bermuda by popular demand for a one night only, New Year's Eve performance at the Fairmont Southampton.

Laughter and giggles abounded throughout this reporter's interview with the comedian.

For those unfamiliar with Mr. Keys, he was all the rage in 1980s and 1990s Bermuda.

The comedian/singer/musician first played at the Henry VIII Pub and Restaurant before moving over to the then Southampton Princess, now The Fairmont Southampton.

He came to Bermuda on a one-month temporary contract — which lasted a further 13 years.

During those years, he told The Royal Gazette, that he evolved and reinvented himself as an artist.

Before coming to Bermuda, Mr. Keys, who was born in Gravesend, Kent, England, spent his early years backing famous soul singers, and then got gigs playing on the piano bar circuit around Europe — before changing his tune to Bermuda Island life.

Mr. Keys and his family left Bermuda six years ago and moved to Florida.

Asked if he missed being here, he said: "I'm really looking forward to coming back, as it will be my first time back at the Fairmont Southampton, although I have did three corporate shows out there since I left.

"I was there for five years in the showroom, which is now closed, but this time I'll be down in the Amphitheatre. So I'm looking forward to it. I hope it is a great turnout because it should be fun.

"I have a lot of new things in the show and it will be high energy."

When asked what was the best thing about Bermuda for him, I was expecting something like, "oh, the weather", but what I heard through his laughter was: "No tax!

"I'm living in Naples, Florida, at the moment, which is like living in Bermuda with income tax.

"But apart from that, I miss the fact of being on a beautiful island where the people are wonderful. I had a great time here."

Mr. Keys said "it was a hard graft" getting his business going in the US.

"I am doing very well in the States, with obviously a lot more stress because I am on the road constantly," he admitted.

"In Bermuda, I was in one place — a pretty stress-free life — and here we built it up from nothing to about 130 shows a year.

"I've made a lot of contacts and one seems to lead to another and I still get people that call me or go to my website www.jimmykeys.com.

"I still get a lot of people inquiring about shows — so Bermuda was great for me and I hope I was great for Bermuda. There are a lot of great memories.

"I've been to (Las) Vegas twice doing shows and I've opened for Tom Jones, so it has gotten me into a lot of different things."

While Mr. Keys had a packed schedule during his time in Bermuda, things have hardly slowed for him.

"I'm busier than ever. In the last two weeks I went to Iowa, then Aruba and now I'm in Philadelphia," he said. "I still miss Bermuda."

On a very personal note, the Island is special to him because Mr. Keys met and married his wife Kim while here working for Henry VIII.

"Kim was here on a convention and she is from Canada," he said.

"I saw her across a crowded bar. I did! I used to commute to Toronto to see her on my night off. It is quite a flight, so I said, 'you better move down!'.

"We got married in Bermuda, at Newstead — I think it is gone now and that is another great reason (to come back).

"I met her and she was there with me for the next seven or eight years. I think to have been there in the 80s and 90s was a great time — it was fun."

So how did a musician transform himself into a comedian and singing entertainer?

"Well I was in a lot of bands in Europe, sort of rock and pop groups," he said. "And then one band I was in, we kind of developed more into a cabaret show and it became a musical comedy show.

"When that split up, I went solo in 1981 and I started on the piano bar circuit around Europe, I was in Spain and Holland and all over the place."

He added: "Then I kind of started using a few props and developing the act and it just came naturally.

"When I came to Bermuda for the first time in 1983, I was developing the comedy side and also using more props. Then, when I started up at Henry VIII in 1984, is where I really developed.

"Right now I have developed routines, but that was how it started — it just evolved. People call me a Vaudeville act, which is something you don't see anymore. It is in demand and people like it."

Mr. Keys, 55, says he began playing piano when he was six years old.

"My mother and my father both played piano, so they got me started and I just took to it," he said. "After six years of classical music and examinations, I was playing in groups at 13 and I probably started playing in bars by the time I was 15.

"I paid my dues and I did a lot of touring through Europe.

"Once I went full time, I worked with a lot of different bands and we backed for a lot of American soul singers like Percy Sledge, Ben E. King and Eddie Floyd.

"I used to listen to them as a kid and then I was playing with them. I've had a lot of different experiences — I should write a book.

"I have kept journals every year, so, if I need to know what happened on January 25, 1973... That's scary!

"I've always done that. I started writing a diary when I was 11 years old."

When asked what was one of the highlights in his entertainment career, he said: "I think it's when I moved from playing in bands to playing on my own.

"It was a transition that was hard at first, but managing to reach a level of entertaining a few hundred people on my own was very satisfying.

"The most I have done was 2,300 people and entertaining is pretty amazing. Then also getting to work with some of the bigger names.

"Also I do a lot of charity work in the States, which is satisfying as well — it is nice to use my talent to help other people."

To youngsters who are thinking of going on the entertainment career path, he said: "It is not easy these days.

"I think, when I was coming through, you really had to pay your dues, you had to go out on the road.

"But I don't suppose that there are a lot of those clubs around these days playing live music — especially in London. In the '60s it was absolutely amazing.

"So go to school and put a band together even if you are playing in your garage. I didn't make any money for years but kept at it."

He suggested that another avenue was song-writing.

"There is a website that you can join and send songs in and they will critique them for you," he suggested. "You have to go to music school and get into bands and it is tough, but it is the greatest thing for a young person to pursue.

"As a teenager, I was doing it and it probably kept me out of trouble. For a little island, it is amazing the talent here and it is hard because there is nowhere to go.

"There are no rules in the entertainment industry, it is a real learning experience. I wish I could help more young people."

Mr. Keys has remained a favourite with many of the Island's residents. Some even remember him jamming in the '80s at the now-defunct White Heron, near Riddell's Bay.

Of those memories, he laughed: "The White Heron! Oh my goodness, it was like 'Faulty Towers'.

"I was never employed there as an entertainer, but we used to go there and jam. It was funny and I got up and played there.

"It was wild in those days, because all the entertainers would go and see the other entertainers play. It was pretty neat."

For the upcoming New Year's Eve performance, his wife will also be coming to the Island.

"We have quite a lot of friends on the Island who are coming out and we need everyone to come out because it is going to be a great night," he said.

[box]The show will be held at the Fairmont Southampton in the Mid Ocean Amphitheatre. Cocktails are from 7 to 7.45 p.m., dinner is from 8 to 10 p.m. and the Jimmy Keys show begins at 10.15 p.m. Dancing will follow the show.

Tickets are $199 per person and include cocktails, dinner, show and dancing.

For more information [tel] 238-8000 to speak with the concierge.