Peter Cox

Peter Cox (front) in Gelsenkirchen (2010)

Peter John Cox (born November 17, 1955 in Kingston upon Thames , Surrey , England ) is an English singer , composer and musician ( guitar , drums ), lead singer and co-founder of the band Go West and former singer of Manfred Mann's Earth Band .

Start of career

Even as a child, Cox was enthusiastic about music and sang in the school choir at the age of 12. He later became a member of the prestigious Choir of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.

According to his own statements, he was not sure at first whether he would rather be a drummer, but then decided to sing.

In 1973 he founded his first band. The name of the band "Bodie" came from a song by the group " Free ", whose singer Paul Rodgers Cox mentions himself alongside Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye as his role model.

At the end of the 1970s, Peter Cox was the lead singer in the band "Terra Nova". The band was founded in 1978 by bassist Colin Pattenden and drummer Chris Slade , both of whom had previously played in "Manfred Mann's Earth Band". In 1980 the album "Terra Nova" was released, for which Cox had written most of the songs with Dave West, among others.

Go West

In 1974, Cox met Richard Drummie (born March 20, 1959, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England). The younger drummie also played in his own band called "Free Agent". The two musicians became friends and initially kept in touch while Cox continued to work on his musical career and performed in various clubs in the Sheffield area.

In 1982 Cox moved back to London and began composing with Richard Drummie under the name "Cox & Drummie". Although they wrote for Peter Frampton , among others , they did not get a record deal themselves .

After being rejected again and again by record companies, they recorded two of their songs in 1985 under the simplest of circumstances ("We Close Our Eyes" and "Call Me"). Your manager John Glover quickly negotiated a record deal with the well-known label " Chrysalis Records ", which also had bands like Spandau Ballet under contract in the 80s . “Cox & Drummie” became “Go West”.

The first album “Go West” was released in the same year and has sold 1.5 million times. The released singles “We Close Our Eyes”, “Call Me”, “Goodbye Girl” and “Don't Look Down” were all well placed in the international charts .

“Go West” became a household name in the media of the 80s. In 1986 they received the BRIT AWARD for “Best British Newcomer”.

In the same year the album "Bangs & Crashes" was released. This album includes the track “One Way Street”, written at the request of Sylvester Stallone for the film “ Rocky IV ” (1985). In the film itself, this song can only be heard for a few seconds from a jukebox .

In 1987 the album "Dancing On The Couch" was released. The album, which is both lyrically and musically demanding, was recorded in Denmark at considerable expense . The singer Kate Bush can be heard in the background in the song "The King Is Dead". Although the singles "True Colors", "I Want To Hear It From You" and "The King Is Dead" all landed in the top 30 of the British charts, the album was not commercially successful. The record company therefore decided not to release a fourth single "From Baltimore To Paris".

Cox and Drummie were brought to the US by producer Ron Fair . Over the next four years, the two musicians worked on a new direction. In 1992 the album "Indian Summer" was finally released, which clearly stood out from the synthesizer sound of the first album and the demanding but "Britpop" -y sound of the second album. “Indian Summer” has an American sound and is sometimes referred to as “Modern Motown ”.

With the song "The King Of Wishful Thinking" the duo achieved their greatest success so far, because it appeared on the OST for " Pretty Woman ", the box-office hit with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the lead roles. The soundtrack to it has been sold millions of times.

Other releases from “Indian Summer” were the Bobby Caldwell song “What You Won't Do For Love” and “Still in Love”.

In 1993 the last album "Aces & Kings - The Greatest Hits" was released, which presented a cross-section of the last three albums. The last joint single was a cover version of Smokey Robinsons and "The Miracles" "Tracks Of My Tears", which came in at number 16 in the UK .

Solo career

Peter Cox decided to go to Los Angeles and work on his solo career while Richard Drummie stayed in England. The duo split in 1993.

In 1997 Cox released his first solo album "Peter Cox", which was produced by Peter-John Vettese, with whom he had also written some of the songs. With the first release "Ain't Gonna Cry Again", Cox immediately entered the British charts at number 37. Joe Cocker later released a cover version of the song on his album "No Ordinary World" (1999). The second single "If You Walk Away" was released, which came to number 24 in the British charts. The third single "What A Fool Believes" was a cover version of the hit by the Doobie Brothers . Cox was also able to place himself in the UK charts (number 39). The entire album made it into the top 100 of the UK album charts.

In the following years Peter Cox worked with and for other artists, including writing the song "Soul Rising" (album "No Ordinary World", 1999) for Joe Cocker together with Peter-John Vetesse.

From Chicago , where Cox now lived, he returned to the UK in 2000 and began working with Richard Drummie again. The first pieces together after seven years were “All Day, All Night” and “Hangin'On For Dear Life”, both of which can be found on the 2001 album “The Best Of Go West - Live At The NEC”, a recording of theirs last concert in 1993 in Birmingham .

As part of a revival in the 80s, Go West completed tours of Great Britain and Australia with other artists from the 80s in 2001 and 2002 as part of the “Here & Now” concert series . Cox was now commuting back and forth between his home country of Great Britain and Chicago.

In 2003 the TV station ITV started a mixture of " Big Brother " and " DSDS " for formerly known musicians from the 80s, such as B. Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) and Mark Shaw ( Then Jericho ). The show took the musicians across the USA on a bus. The participants had to perform in a different city every evening and sing well-known songs in front of a live audience. After the early departure of Mark Shaw, who repeatedly caused difficulties, Peter Cox got the offer to fill in for him. After some hesitation, Cox finally agreed. He was the show's favorite for a long time. However, when he forgot the text to Norah Jones "Don't Know Why" on the penultimate show in New York , he had to leave the show. Tony Hadley won the competition.

The show aired in the US and UK and was extremely successful. Building on the show, Cox undertook with Richard Drummie and Tony Hadley in 2004 under the title "Peter Cox & Go West vs. Tony Hadley “a successful tour of the UK. Both a CD and a DVD with the same title were released.

In the same year Peter Cox released his second solo album "Desert Blooms". For which he wrote the song "Glow" with Drummie.

Finally, Cox and Drummie decided to work together again and completed a tour of their home country in 2005 on the occasion of their 20th anniversary of “Go West”.

The music of the Motown era is repeatedly cited by Cox as a stamp for his style. He followed this path with the 2006 album " Motor City Music", which featured cover versions of successful Motown hits.

In 2008, after 15 years, Go West released their fourth album "futurenow", from which the singles "Let Love Come" and "Only Love" have been released.

In addition to regular tours with Richard Drummie, Cox also undertook solo tours through Great Britain in 2006 and 2008 and repeatedly worked with other artists such as Bernie Nolan and Judie Tzuke. In the last few years he has been hired for guest appearances by other musicians and bands, e. B. with Hamish Stuart (formerly " Average White Band ").

From October 2009 to March 2011, Peter Cox was singer in "Manfred Mann's Earth Band" after Noel McCalla left the band. He accompanied the band on their European tour, which took them to Germany (2009), Switzerland and France (2010).

Discography

Solo albums

• 1997: Peter Cox - EMI Records UK # 64; New release 2003
• 2004: Desert Blooms - Blueprint Records
• 2006: Motor City Music - Curb Records
• 2012: Riding the Blinds - Dream Theater Music
• 2013: Damn the Brakes - Blueprint Records

EPs

• 2001: Flame Still Burns - Blueprint Records
• 2002: Nine Miles High - Blueprint Records
• 2005: Game For Fools - Blueprint Recording Corporation Ltd.

Solo singles

• 1997: If You Walk Away UK # 24
• 1997: Ain't Gonna Cray Again UK # 37
• 1998: What A Fool Believes UK # 39

Other recordings

• 1980: Terra Nova (LP) Terra Nova - B & B-Records
• 1985: “That's All It Takes” and “Sleepwalker” on “The Talking City” by David Roach - Coda Records
• 1993: “Come The Revolution” background on “Soul on Board” by Curt Smith - Phonogram
• 1994: “I Only Have Eyes For You” with Nikki Harris on “OST Corrina Corrina” - Sony Music
• 1995: “I Can't Let Go Of You” OST “Let It Be Me”
• 1998: Background on “Secret Agent” by Judie Tzuke
• 2001: Background on “Queen Secret Keeper” by Judie Tzuke
• 2003: “Me & Mrs. Jones”, “Nick Of Time” on “Reborn In The USA” - UMTV
• 2004: “Tony Hadley vs. Peter Cox & Go West ”- Townsend Records
• 2005: “You Are Everything” with Bernie Nolan on “All By Myself” by Bernie Nolan
• 2007: “The Word” and “Paper” background on “Good Grief” by Three Blind Mice
• 2009: “Everyday I Have The Blues”, “Strange Brew”, “You Make It Easy”, “It's Your Thing” and “Holdin 'On” (with Mo Birch) on “Slap My Hand” by Jimmy Copley - Eyes Wide Shut recordings

DVD

• 2004 Tony Hadley vs. Peter Cox & Go West - Townsend Records

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Interview, 25. May 2009, BFBS-Radio on www.bfbs-radio.com
2. ↑ http://www.platform-end.co.uk/html/terranova.html
3. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Terra-Nova-Terra-Nova/release/1182540
4. ^ Go West profile on www.gowestforum.co.uk
5. ↑ Go West profile on www.peter-cox.org
6. ↑ Artist roster “Go West” on www.blueprint-management.com
7. ↑ D. Roberts (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.) London: Guinness World Records Limited. P. 124, ISBN 1-904994-10-5

Web links

• Homepage ( Memento from December 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive )