Peter Blakeley

For the Canadian Olympic bobsledder, seePeter Blakeley (bobsleigh).

Peter Blakeley
Background information
Birth name	Peter Blakeley
Born	(1960-12-02)2 December 1960 Sydney, Australia
Genres	Soul
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter, performer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Truetone Capitol Giant
Website	peterblakeley

Peter Blakeleyis an Australianwhite soul/adult contemporarysinger and songwriter.

Blakeley was a lead singer ofthe Rockmelonsin the mid-1980s. He launched a solo career in 1987 and had a massive hit single in Australia in 1989 with "Crying in the Chapel",which was not a remake of the 1950s song"Crying in the Chapel".In 1990, he won anARIAaward for Single of the Year with "Crying in the Chapel",the first single taken from his albumHarry's Café De Wheels.The song went platinum in 1990.

Ian McFarlane,rockmusic journalistand author ofEncyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop(1999) wrote: "Peter Blakeley has been described by the founder of Atlantic RecordsAhmet Ertegun,as 'The finest White Soul singer I have ever heard.' "

1978–1987: Early years

Peter Blakeley's earliest breakthrough came when he was invited byRichard Claptonto accompany him on an Australian national tour in 1978. Clapton would prove to be an important mentor in the early years. By this stage, Blakeley was closely involved with Sydney's music scene, which was at that time concentrated in the inner-city suburbs of Darlinghurst and Kings Cross.

Peter was involved with a number of line-ups between 1979 and 1984 including, Peter Black and The Reds (1980), The Blakeley Trio with Steve Stewart (Slime Men, Surry Hillbillies) and Denis Meagher, PM withChris Baileyand Malcolm Green, Rat Tat Tat (1984) with Geoff Stapleton,Paul Abrahams,Jeff Raglus, Viola Dana and The Starlight Wranglers (1984) and Paris Green (1984).

The next phase of Blakeley's career prior to him forming Peter Blakeley & The Resurrection, was a spell as featured vocalist with pioneer pop/electronic outfitThe Rockmelons.Peter can be heard on their second single "Sweat It Out" released on the Truetone Records label in 1985. Around this time, Peter also began performing and recording withWendy Matthews,an affiliation which would continue through to the 1990 release of theAbsent Friendssingle "I Don't Want to Be with Nobody but You"which featured Blakeley on backing vocals.

Peter Blakeley's commercial profile began to rise with the formation of Peter Blakeley & The Resurrection in 1986. This line-up includedWendy Matthews,Mark Punch, Hughie Benjamin,Paul Abrahamsand Peter Kekel. With this line-up, Blakeley supported a number of international touring acts includingEric Clapton,the majority of the material presented in his live set at this stage was later recorded and released on the 1987 mini-albumVicious.Two singles were released during 1986, "Must Be Chemical" and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar".

"Must Be Chemical" and another song, "When I Was a Little Boy" were included on the soundtrack of the stage musicalIllusionwhich was released towards the end of 1986 by ABC music.Illusionwas commissioned by theAdelaide Festival of Artsand featured words from noted Australian authorPeter Careyarranged to music by composerMartin Armiger.The single "Must Be Chemical" b/w "When I Was a Little Boy" was Blakeley's debut solo release for the Truetone label.

Viciouswas produced by the renownedRicky Fataar(well known for his work withThe Beach Boys,Bonnie RaittandThe Monitors) and released through the Truetone Records label. Two singles lifted from this record, "Caterina" and "Bye Bye Baby" received support from commercial radio as did the album trackCattle Train.This album was later released for the American market asThe Truetone SessionsbyCapitol Recordsin 1988.

1988–1994: Commercial success

Peter Blakeley moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to sign withCapitol Recordsin the US. The first US release was 'The Truetone Sessions' in 1988 onCapitol Records.In 1989, he released the albumHarry's Café De Wheels,which was executive produced byPeter Asher.

Artists involved with the album includedLinda Ronstadt,Siedah Garrett,Wendy MatthewsandAndrew Gold,in addition to legendary session musicians such asJeff Porcaro,Jim KeltnerandLarry Klein.The lead single "Crying in the Chapel" was produced byStewart Levinewho worked extensively withSimply Red.Harry's Café De Wheelsspawned a total of four singles including, "Crying in the Chapel","Quicksand ","The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face",and" You Never Heard It From Me ". The album was well received and highly successful, especially in Australia and Europe.

Towards the end of 1989, Blakeley contributed vocals to some of the tracks onCher'sHeart of Stonealbum. This release was also produced byPeter Asherand featured musical contributions from a number of people involved in the recording of theHarry's Café De Wheelsalbum including,Andrew Gold,Frank Wolf, andWaddy Wachtel.

In 1990 he worked briefly with the Australian groupAbsent Friendswhich featuredWendy Matthewsas lead vocalist. Blakeley provided the backing vocal and harmony on the song "I Don't Want to Be with Nobody but You"which peaked at number 4 in the Australian charts in May of that year. He was also instrumental in the band's arrangement and selection of the song. The single was the most successful song released by the Absent Friends and was lifted from the albumHere's Looking Up Your Address.

Between 1990 and 1991 Blakeley embarked on two world tours which took in the US, UK, Australia and Western Europe to promote the release of theHarry's Café De Wheelsrecord. Members of Blakeley's touring band during this time includedTeenie Hodges,Hopeton Hibbert, Junior Baillie, Roger Mason, Ron Francois andDeni Hines.By this stage, the single "Crying in the Chapel" had charted on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts in the US and received significant radio support across Europe. Subsequent singles released from the album also charted in Australia.

Blakeley's follow up recordThe Pale Horsewas released in 1993 byGiant/Warner in America. The album represented a different musical direction for Blakeley and incorporated stronger elements of Funk and Blues thanHarry's Café De Wheelswhile still retaining a distinctive Soul sound. The album was recorded at thePaisley Park Studiosin the US owned byPrinceand included members of the New Power Generation on some of the tracks. The record was produced by Jeff Aldrich, David Z andAndrew Gold.David Zat that time had recently had major chart success with his production ofThe Fine Young Cannibalssong "She Drives Me Crazy".

One of the songs from the albumBe Thankful for What You've Gotwas used in the opening sequence of the filmThe Taking of Beverly Hills,the two singles released from the album were "I've Been Lonely" and "God's Little Elvis".

Discography

Main article:Peter Blakeley discography

Albums

• Vicious–True Tone(1987)
• Harry's Café De Wheels– Capitol (1990)
• The Pale Horse–Giant(1993)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

TheAPRA Awardsare held in Australia and New Zealand by theAustralasian Performing Right Associationto recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1989/90	"Crying in the Chapel"	Most Performed Australasian Popular Work	Won

ARIA Music Awards

TheARIA Music Awardsis an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1990	"Crying in the Chapel"	Single of the Year	Won
		Best Male Artist	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
1991	Harry's Café De Wheels	Best Male Artist	Nominated
		Best Cover Art	Nominated

References

Footnotes

Sources

• Peter BlakeleyatAllmusic
• Peter BlakeleyatAustralian Rock Databaseby Magnus Holmgren
• Peter BlakeleyatBillboard
• Peter BlakeleyatARIA Awards.au
• McFarlane, Ian(1999)."Encyclopedia entry for 'Peter Blakeley'".Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop.St Leonards, NSW:Allen & Unwin.ISBN1-86448-768-2.Archived from the original on 18 April 2004.Retrieved7 May2009.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)