William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer,

keyboard player A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

, songwriter, singer and

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

Career

Whilst at Sussex University Wingfield and three other students formed the group Jellybread. In 1969, he played keyboards and sang on their ''First Slice'' album, which was produced by Mike Vernon for the Blue Horizon

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

. In the 1970s, Wingfield was a specialist in soul music and regularly contributed articles and reviews to the monthly journal, " Let It Rock" and "

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

". As a performer, he played with the British soul band

Olympic Runners The Olympic Runners were a 1970s British funk band, put together by record producer Mike Vernon who also played percussion, and fronted by singer George Chandler. They also included multi-instrumentalist Pete Wingfield, and had a number of ...

, and Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes. In 1971, Wingfield played the piano on the '' B.B. King in London'' album, and in the following year received similar credits for '' Seventy-Second Brave'', the

Keef Hartley Band Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)
was an English drummer and bandleader. He fronted his own band ...

album. Wingfield played keyboards on

Bryn Haworth Bryn Haworth (born 29 July 1948) is a British Christian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pioneer of Jesus music in mainstream rock. Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, UK, he has released some twenty-two albums and several singles since the 1970s ...

's 1974 album, ''

Let the Days Go By ''Let the Days Go By'' is the first studio album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Bryn Haworth, released in 1974 by Island Records. The first song on the album "Grappenhall Rag" was also issued as a single by Island Records (b/w "I W ...

'' and on his 1975 follow-up '' Sunny Side of the Street''. In 1983, Wingfield played keyboards on Haworth's album, '' Pass It On''. He also played on several albums by

Colin Blunstone Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the English rock band the Zombies, whi ...

including his 1974 album ''

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

''.

"Eighteen with a Bullet"

Wingfield hit the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic in 1975 with "Eighteen with a Bullet," a

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

number involving word play on hit record chart positions—a bullet, in record-chart parlance, referring to a song still selling strongly and/or moving up the charts. It entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on 23 August 1975. On the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending 22 November 1975, the tune lived up to its name by charting at no. 18, with a bullet. The song peaked at no. 15 a week later. It also reached no. 7 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. while peaking at number 31 on the Australian charts in late 1975. The song was Wingfield's only charting single in any of these three countries. "Eighteen with a Bullet" featured on the only album Wingfield released, ''Breakfast Special'', on Island label and also in 1975. A follow-up album, 'Love Bumps and Dizzy Spells', was never released. "Eighteen with a Bullet" later featured on the soundtrack to the 1998 film, ''

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Mackinto ...

''.

Later career

He played piano for the

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

, with Pete Moss on bass guitar, for

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. In 1977, his song "Making a Good Thing Better" appeared on

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

's album of the same name. In 1978 he wrote an amusing cult dance hit for

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

titled "Eyes in the Back of My Head", featured on her '' Tasty'' album. Wingfield also played keyboards with

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

during this period (1975-1980). In 1980, he produced ''

Searching for the Young Soul Rebels ''Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'' is the debut studio album by English pop group Dexys Midnight Runners, released on 11 July 1980, through Parlophone and EMI Records. Led by Kevin Rowland, the group formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, and ...

'' the first album by

. In the 1980s, Wingfield teamed with the film producer

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...

, and co-wrote the songs "It's Good to Be the King" and "

To Be or Not to Be To Be or Not to Be may refer to: * ''To be, or not to be'', the soliloquy from ''Hamlet''. Films and TV, theatre and books * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1942 film), directed by Ernst Lubitsch * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983 film), a remake produced ...

". In 1985, he produced the

Kane Gang The Kane Gang were an English pop trio formed in Seaham in 1982. The group comprised Martin Brammer, Paul Woods and Dave Brewis. They scored several UK and US hits in the 1980s. Named alluding to the movie '' Citizen Kane'', the trio recorded ...

's debut album ''Bad and Lowdown World of the Kane Gang''.
Three years later his production credits appeared on

The Proclaimers ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

UK Top 20 hit " I'm Gonna Be" and their album '' Sunshine on Leith''.

The Pasadenas The Pasadenas were an English R&B/pop group. They had two UK top 10 albums and eight UK top 40 hit singles, including " Tribute (Right On)" (1988), "Riding on a Train" (1988) and " I'm Doing Fine Now" (1992). Career The group scored a UK num ...

1988 song "Tribute (Right On)" was written by Wingfield. Wingfield played with Van Morrison at the 1974

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

, which was one of the two shows featured on Morrison's first DVD (2006). Several years later, Wingfield also did a summer tour of Europe with Morrison's band, featuring the songs from the latter's 1979 album, ''

Into the Music ''Into the Music'' is the 11th studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and was released in August 1979. It includes "Bright Side of the Road", which peaked at number 63 on the UK Singles Chart, and other songs in which Mor ...

''. Beginning with their 1983 reunion shows, Wingfield spent 18 years handling keyboard duties for

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

. He also played on sessions for

The Housemartins The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christiani ...

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...

The Beautiful South The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group The Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's exi ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

and

on his '' Run Devil Run'' album.

References

External links

DMME.NET – An exclusive interview with Pete Sears
* Allmusic – songs {{DEFAULTSORT:Wingfield, Pete 1948 births Living people People from Liphook English record producers English keyboardists English songwriters English music journalists English male singers Island Records artists English session musicians British male songwriters Musicians from Hampshire

Career

"Eighteen with a Bullet"

Later career

See also

References

External links