Peter Beckett (born 10 August 1948) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

musician and songwriter who has written songs for many prominent recording artists, his own bands and solo work, and for several films. He is likely best known as the lead singer and guitarist for 1970s

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

group

Player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

, which scored a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

number one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in 1977 with " Baby Come Back".

Early life

Beckett was born in the

Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth. Etymology The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...

district of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England on August 10, 1948. He was influenced by seeing the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

perform at the famous

Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...

Career

At 16, he recorded his first record, "All Night Stand", with a band called 'The Thoughts'. "All Night Stand" was written by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

from

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

. He then joined a band called 'Winston G and The Wicked', later renamed 'Whip'. After they disbanded, Beckett auditioned for

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recog ...

on the heels of " Come and Get It", and was on Peter Ham's and Tommy Evans' short list, but they ultimately offered the job to

Joey Molland Joseph Charles Molland (born 21 June 1947, Edge Hill, Liverpool) is an English songwriter and rock guitarist whose recording career spans five decades. He is best known as a member of Badfinger, the most successful of the acts he performed wit ...

. Beckett then joined a progressive rock band called

Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

, recording two albums, ''Paladin'' and ''Paladin Charge!.'' Beckett moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1974 and performed with 'Skyband' before joining up with

JC Crowley John Charles Crowley (born November 13, 1947, in Houston, Texas) is an American musician. In his career, he has been a member of the band Player, has recorded one studio album "Beneath the Texas Moon" RCA Records 8370-2-R 1988 and charted several ...

Ronn Moss Ronald Montague Moss (born March 4, 1952) is an American actor, musician and singer/songwriter, a member of the band Player, and best known for portraying Ridge Forrester, the dynamic fashion magnate on the CBS soap opera ''The Bold and the Be ...

, and John Friesen in 1976 to form

. Player enjoyed a number one hit in 1978 with " Baby Come Back" - written by Beckett and

. After recording four albums, Player split up and Beckett began writing songs for other recording artists such as

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

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 ...

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

and for films and television during the 1980s. During the years 1982-88, Beckett joined with Steve Kipner and concentrated on songwriting for other major artists. In the late 1980s the two formed Think Out Loud, releasing the eponymous ''Think Out Loud'' album in 1988 on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. Nearly ten years later, the two produced a follow-up Think Out Loud album ''Shelf Life'', released on MTM Records in 1997. Beckett joined up with the

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums rea ...

in 1989 and toured with them for over eight years. In 1991, Beckett released his first solo album, ''Beckett''. Getting back together with

in 1995, they recorded Player's fifth album, ''Lost in Reality'' and toured the United States. Since then, Beckett has produced, written and played on two solo albums for Ronn Moss and composed music for the soap opera ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

,'' which starred Moss. Beckett and Moss had a world tour in 2006 which included some dates in the United States. Beckett is also working on a second solo CD and continues to write film scores and material for other artists. In 2013, Player released ''Too Many Reasons'' on Frontiers Records. Beckett and Moss joined the Sail Rock Tour 2013 with

Christopher Cross Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's T ...

Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs " Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and po ...

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a Scottish born singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock so ...

, Orleans,

Firefall Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band ...

Robbie Dupree Robert Dupuis (born December 23, 1946), known professionally as Robbie Dupree, is an American singer best known for his hit songs "Steal Away" (No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100) and " Hot Rod Hearts" (No. 15). Early life Robbie Dupree was ...

and

John Ford Coley John Ford Coley (born October 13, 1948) is an American singer, classically trained pianist, guitarist, actor, and author most known for his partnership in the musical duo England Dan & John Ford Coley. Early life Coley was born John Edward Coll ...

, performing all over the United States and Canada. In 2015, they joined the Rock The Yacht tour with

Ambrosia In the ancient Greek myths, ''ambrosia'' (, grc, ἀμβροσία 'immortality'), the food or drink of the Greek gods, is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus ...

, Robbie Dupree, Stephen Bishop and Little River Band. They also perform annually with The Yacht Rock Revue. Beckett is currently working on a country CD, Peter Beckett - Limey Cowboy and since September 2017 continues to tour with his band Peter Beckett's Player.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Beckett'' (1991)

with Player

* ''

'' (1977) * ''Danger Zone'' (1978) * ''Room with a View'' (1980) * ''Spies of Life'' (1981) * ''Electric Shadow'' (Japan) / ''Lost in Reality'' (US) (1995/1996) * ''Too Many Reasons'' (2013)

with Think Out Loud

* ''Think Out Loud'' (1988) * ''Shelf Life'' (1997)

with Ronn Moss

* ''I'm Your Man'' (2000) * ''Uncovered'' (2005)

Soundtrack appearances

* "Jenny" (from ''

Where the Boys Are '84 ''Where the Boys Are '84'' (onscreen title: ''Where the Boys Are'') is a 1984 American sex comedy film that was directed by Hyman Jack "Hy" Averback (the last film he ever directed) and starred Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal, and Lynn-Ho ...

'') (1984) * "How Can the Girl Refuse" (from '' Major League'') (1989) * "Until You Let Go" with Jeanette Clinger (from '' Frankie and Johnny'') (1991)

Guest appearances

* "Stripe!" with Noriyuki Makihara (from ''Songs From N.Y.'') (2007)

References

External links

Official Peter Beckett website Peter Beckett's Player websiteOfficial Limey Cowboy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Peter 1948 births Living people 20th-century English singers 21st-century English singers English rock singers English pop singers English male singer-songwriters British soft rock musicians Musicians from Liverpool Player (band) members Little River Band members RSO Records artists