Kevin Dempsey made his first impression on the English music scene as part of the progressive pop/rock band Dando Shaft, which he co-founded with Dave Cooper and Martin Jenkins (his future Whippersnapper bandmate). Following the group's breakup in 1972, he spent time in India before heading to America, where he joined Blue Aquarius, a jazz outfit. He also played Latin music with Los Bohemios, and did session work with Alice Coltrane. Dempsey later returned to England, where he formed a folk duo with singer Polly Bolton and organized the jazz outfit Pzazz. He spent most of the 1980s and early '90s as a member of Whippersnapper, along with Jenkins, Chris Leslie, and Dave Swarbrick. He and Leslie later recorded together as a duo, and Dempsey and Swarbrick have also worked together as a duo into the 21st century. ~ Bruce Eder