Alphonso Keil

Singer, guitarist and drummer: Alphonso Keil was born in Western Samoa in 1944 and came to New Zealand when he was very young. He was the younger brother of Viking Records recording star, Freddie Keil. He was also the cousin of Olaf, Herma, Klaus, Rudolph and Eliza Keil. This was ths family that made up The Keil Isles. He began his career in the late 1950s, playing rhythm guitar in the Auckland group The Sundowners (4) which was led by Sonny Day. He was also a member of Freddie Keil And The Kavaliers, The Keil Isles and The Zodiacs. In later years he reformed a version of The Kavaliers called The Kavalliers. He put an extra L in the name. A well known Elvis Impersonator, he was a regular sight at Henderson’s Cranwell Park in Auckland New Zealand. He died of cancer in 2008. After his death, the Kavalliers group that he formed in 2002 carried on.