Peter Gammond (30 September 1925 – 6 May 2019) was a British music critic, writer, journalist, musician, poet, and artist.

Peter Gammond was born in

Winnington Winnington is a small, mainly residential area of the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England. Industry Winnington is the home to Brunner Mond UK chemical works, where soda ash is created. Polythene, the material used in many plastic items (e.g ...

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. The son of John Thomas Gammond (1892–1970), a clerk, and Margaret Heald (1898–1985), Gammond inherited his musical interests from his father, who was a skilful and well-known amateur cellist and instrument repairer. After early preparatory school in

Weaverham Weaverham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. Just off the A49, it is just to the west of Northwich and south of the River Weaver, and has a population of ...

, where he lived from 1930 to 1950, he was educated at Sir John Deane's Grammar School, where he attained distinctions in English and Art in the Higher School Certificate examinations. He won a scholarship to Manchester College of Art, having at the time an ambition to be a cartoonist, but at the age of 18 in 1943 was called up and served in the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

as a tank driver mainly in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, ending with the

25th Dragoons The 25th Dragoons was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1941 to 1947. Previous regiments bearing the number have been: * De La Bouchetiere's Regiment of Dragoons was re-formed in 1716 as the 25th D ...

, which was involved in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

conflict prior to Indian independence in 1947. Upon returning to civilian life in 1947 Gammond continued his studies at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, until 1950, where he read English. While at Oxford, he became well known in literary circles as a poet, appearing in three editions of ''

Oxford Poetry ''Oxford Poetry'' is a literary magazine based in Oxford, England. It is currently edited by Luke Allan. The magazine is published by Partus Press. Founded in 1910 by Basil Blackwell, its editors have included Dorothy L. Sayers, Aldous Huxley ...

'', and as a cartoonist and writer with '' Cherwell''. As poetry editor of the university magazine, ''The ISIS'', Gammond worked under editors R. J. Harvey,

Alan Brien Alan Brien (12 March 1925 – 23 May 2008) was an English journalist best known for his novel ''Lenin''. This took the form of a fictional diary charting Vladimir Lenin's life from the death of his father to shortly before his own demise in 1924. ...

, Robert Robinson, and Derrick Cooper. Gammond appeared in ''Oxford Viewpoint'', where a study of his poetry by

Irving Wardle John Irving Wardle (born 20 July 1929) is an English writer and theatre critic. Biography Wardle was born on 20 July 1929 in Manchester, Lancashire, the son of John Wardle and his wife Nellie (Partington). His father was drama critic on the ''B ...

was also published. During his time at Oxford, he composed and produced an operetta, ''Love and Learning'', and played trombone in a university jazz band led by John Postgate. On leaving Oxford, Gammond worked for a time in a

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

pub and as a rates assessor in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

, before joining the publicity department of the Decca Record Company in 1952, as an editor and sleeve-note writer, which led to his liaising closely with some of the leading classical and operatic performers of the time. He left the company in 1960 to become a freelance writer, critic and author. From 1964, Gammond edited ''Gramophone Record Review'', later known as ''Audio Record Review'', and remained as Music Editor when this was later incorporated into ''

Hi-Fi News ''Hi-Fi News & Record Review'' is a British monthly magazine, published by AV Tech Media Ltd, which reviews audiophile-oriented sound-reproduction and recording equipment, and includes information on new products and developments in audio. It i ...

'', until 1980. He died in May 2019 at the age of 93.

Writing, publications and broadcasting

Gammond's publications number over forty books, among them studies of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, Offenbach and record collecting. His oeuvre also includes volumes on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

, with biographical studies of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

and

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

, and the ''Oxford Companion to Popular Music''. Record sleevenotes, for virtually every record company of the day, accounted for a large percentage of his freelance work and total over three hundred. Gammond is particularly well known for his six contributions to the ''Bluffer’s Guides'', including the best-selling ''Bluff Your Way in Music'', which launched the series in 1966. So influential was his contribution in this area that ''The Times'' dedicated a leading article to Gammond on his death, celebrating the way in which 'the pioneer of talking off the top of your head enriched the national conversation'. As editor of ''Audio Record Review'', Gammond instigated the annual 'Audio Awards', later the ''

Hi-Fi News & Record Review ''Hi-Fi News & Record Review'' is a British monthly magazine, published by AV Tech Media Ltd, which reviews audiophile-oriented sound-reproduction and recording equipment, and includes information on new products and developments in audio. It i ...

'' Audio Awards', for 'services to the gramophone', which were the first of their kind for many years; recipients included

Sir Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conducting, conductors". Gramophone (magazine), Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another com ...

Sir Peter Pears Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( ; 22 June 19103 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years. Pears' musical career started ...

Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possess ...

, and

Dame Janet Baker Dame Janet Abbott Baker (born 21 August 1933) is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.Blyth, Alan, "Baker, Dame Janet (Abbott)" in Sadie, Stanley, ed.; John Tyrell; exec. ed. (2001). ''New Grove Dictionary ...

. Gammond was a regular broadcaster for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

, contributing criticism to programmes on jazz, providing interval talks (for instance on

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

), and featuring in the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

'Building a Library' in ''Record Review'' on Saturday mornings, for instance with his choice of recordings of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

and

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

. He also had an extended slot on the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

arts programme, ''Round Midnight'' and on Forces Broadcasting. Gammond served as the British representative on the annual panel of adjudicators for the

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...

in the 1970s and 1980s. Gammond was a prolific poet. He was long an admirer of

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

and was a past Chairman (1997-2002) and a Vice-President (from 2010 to 2019) of The Betjeman Society, the journal of which (''The Betjemanian'') he edited from 1996 to 2006. Gammond's publications include a number of volumes and bibliographic studies on Betjeman, and he scripted and appeared in the award-winning video ''Betjeman's Britain'' and its sequel ''Betjeman's London''.

Musical contacts

From his early days, but in particular during his time with Decca, ''Audio Record Review'' and ''Hi-Fi News'', as well as in connexion with adjudicating the Grand Prix du Disque, Gammond encountered many of the most prominent musicians of the post-war decades. As a boy he met

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

, he played bar billiards with Finzi while at Oxford, where he also lunched with

Sir Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with th ...

on the same day he hosted

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

, and years later he dined with

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

at the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. While compiling articles and publicity material he encountered such composers as

Sir Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music ...

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

and

Sir William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade (entertainmen ...

, and interviewed such singers as

Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casaz ...

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. O ...

Birgit Nilsson Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide répertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner a ...

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid- ...

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano ...

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...

, Carlo Bergonzi,

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

and

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

. Gammond also interviewed and wrote about a number of eminent conductors, including

Sir Malcolm Sargent Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Antal Doráti Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Antal Doráti was born in Budapest, where his father Alexander Doráti was a vi ...

Josef Krips Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. Life and career Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

Sir Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

and

Sir Yehudi Menuhin ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

provided the preface to Gammond's ''The Meaning and Magic of Music'', and he counted among his friends

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

and

Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...

. Through his writing on jazz, Gammond met

and had extensive contact with

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

Other activities

Gammond gave talks for several recorded music societies, many of which he served as president, including the Sunbury Music Club, which was based in

Upper Halliford Upper Halliford is a small village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England approximately west of central London. It is part of the Shepperton post town and is in the Metropolitan Green Belt. The closest settlements are Shepperton, Char ...

until its disbandment in 2015. He was a long-standing and frequent contributor to The Friends of

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

's annual 'Torbay Musical Weekend' at the Palace Hotel,

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

since its inauguration in 1970 until 2007; he was appointed its vice-president in 2009 and served as president from 2014. It was at Gammond's invitation that musical conductors including

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

addressed these gatherings. In 1964, Gammond founded an informal music group which to this day meets on the first Tuesday of each month in members' houses.Gammond's ''Schubert'' (London, 1982) is dedicated to this group, which he refers to as the 'Shepperton Music Circle'. Taking place in the environs of

Shepperton Shepperton is an urban village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately south west of central London. Shepperton is equidistant between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD ...

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

, and

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, the meetings explore the musical repertoire through recordings and live performances. Gammond was a member of

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

since 1962 and was President of the Shepperton Rotary Club from 1969 to 1970. He was much involved in local charitable work and in 1990 helped to found 'Care in Shepperton', a group of volunteers which offers neighbourly help and support to the indisposed, elderly and housebound; he served as its chairman from 1991 to 1996.

Select bibliography

* Peter Gammond, ed. The Decca Book of Jazz. London: Frederick Muller, 1958. * Peter Gammond, ed. Duke Ellington: His Life and Music. London: Phoenix House, 1958. * Peter Gammond. Terms Used in Music: A Short Dictionary. London: Phoenix House, 1959. * Peter Gammond and

Peter Clayton Peter James Clayton (25 June 1927 – 10 August 1991) was an English jazz presenter on BBC Radio, jazz critic, and author. From October 1968 until his death in August 1991, Clayton presented jazz recordings, interviews, studio performances, and ...

. 101 Things: A Collection of Cartoons. London: Elek Books, 1959. * Peter Gammond. A Guide to Popular Music. London: Phoenix House, 1960. * Charles Fox, Peter Gammond, Alun Morgan; with additional material by Alexis Korner. Jazz on Record: A Critical Guide. London: Hutchinson, 1960. * Peter Gammond, with Burnett James. Music on Record: A Critical Guide. London: Arrow Books, 1962–1964. Vol. 1, Orchestral Music A-L. Vol. 2, Orchestral Music M-Z. Vol. 3, Chamber and Instrumental Music (with supplement to Vols 1 and 2). Vol. 4, Opera and Vocal Music (with supplement to Vols 1-3). * Peter Gammond. Know about Jazz. London; Glasgow: Blackie,

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

* Peter Gammond and Peter Clayton. 14 Miles on a Clear Night: An Irreverent, Sceptical, and Affectionate Book about Jazz Records. London: Peter Owen, 1966. * Peter Gammond. Bluff Your Way in Music. London: Wolfe, 1966. * Peter Gammond. The Meaning and Magic of Music. Feltham: Paul Hamlyn, 1968. * Peter Gammond, comp. Your Own, Your Very Own!: A Music Hall Scrapbook. Shepperton: Ian Allan, 1971. * Peter Gammond. One Man's Music. London: Wolfe, 1971. * Peter Gammond, comp. and ed. Best Music Hall and Variety Songs. London: Wolfe, 1972. * Peter Gammond. Musical Instruments in Colour. Poole: Blandford Press, 1975. * Peter Gammond. Scott Joplin and the Ragtime Era. London: Abacus, 1975. * Peter Gammond. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Recorded Opera. London: Salamander Books, 1979. * Peter Gammond. The Magic Flute: A Guide to the Opera. London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1979. * Peter Gammond. The Good Old Days Songbook: Sixty Songs from the Golden Age of Music Hall, selected with an introduction and notes by Peter Gammond. London: British Broadcasting Corporation; EMI Music Publishing, 1980. * Peter Gammond, ed. consultant. An Illustrated Guide to Composers of Classical Music. London: Salamander, c. 1980. * Peter Gammond. An Illustrated Guide to Composers of Opera. London: Salamander, c. 1980. * Peter Gammond. Offenbach: His Life and Times. Speldhurst: Midas, 1980. * Peter Gammond and Raymond Horricks, ed. The Music Goes Round and Round: A Cool Look at the Record Industry. London: Quartet Books, 1980. * Peter Gammond and Raymond Horricks, ed. Brass Bands. Cambridge: Stephens, 1980. * Peter Gammond. Operas: Les Auteurs, les Compositeurs, les Librettistes, les Oeuvres, les Interpretes, les Disques. Paris: Fernand Nathan, 1981. * Peter Gammond. Schubert. London: Methuen, 1982. * Peter Gammond. A Critical Guide to the Best Recordings of Opera on Compact Disc, including Choral Works and Songs. London: Salamander Books, 1986. New York: Harmony Books, 1987. * Peter Gammond. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera. London: Peerage, 1986. * Peter Gammond and Peter Clayton. Jazz A-Z. London: Guinness Books, c. 1986. * Peter Gammond. Bluff Your Way in British Class. London: Ravette, 1986. * Peter Gammond. Offenbach. London: Omnibus, 1986. * Peter Gammond and Peter Clayton. Bluff Your Way in Jazz. London: Ravette, 1987. * Peter Gammond. The Bluffer's Guide to Bluffing. London: Ravette, 1987. * Peter Gammond. Duke Ellington. London: Apollo, 1987. * Peter Gammond. The Encyclopedia of Classical Music. London: Salamander, c. 1988. * Peter Gammond and Peter Clayton. The Guinness Jazz Companion. Enfield: Guinness, 1989. * Peter Gammond. The Oxford Companion to Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. * Peter Gammond. The Bluffer's Guide to Opera. London: Oval Books, 1993. * Peter Gammond. The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Classical Music: An Essential Guide to the World's Finest Music. London: Salamander, 1995. * Peter Gammond and John Heald, comp. A Bibliographical Companion to Betjeman. Guildford: The Betjeman Society, 1997. * Peter Gammond. The Bluffer's Guide to Golf. London: Oval, 1999. * Peter Gammond and John Heald. Sir John Betjeman 1906-1984: A Checklist of Writings by and about Him. Guildford: The Betjeman Society, 2005. * Peter Gammond. The Little Book of Betjeman. Cirencester: Green Umbrella Publishing, 2006. * Peter Gammond. The Day I Met Myself: Selected Poems. G2 entertainment, 2014. Contributions to: * The Decca Book of Opera. London: Werner Laurie, 1956. * Charles Osborne, ed. The Dictionary of Composers. London: The Bodley Head, 1977. * Denis Arnold, ed. The New Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. * The Great Composers and Their Music. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 1984–86. * The Dictionary of National Biography 1986–1990. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. * Alison Latham, ed. The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. * (The New) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. (20 entries by Gammond.) * Introduction to Little Book of Musicals. Woking: Demand Media Ltd., 2014.

Films and scripts

* Betjeman's Britain. Green Umbrella (Studio). Video, 1994. DVD, 2004. * Betjeman's London. Green Umbrella (Studio). Video, 2000. DVD, 2004. * With Lionel Blair. Introduction and script for Music Hall Days. Go Entertain (Studio). DVD, 2002.

Select broadcasts

* The Jazz Scene: New Releases. BBC Light Programme. Monday 19 April 1963, 10.31 pm. * The Jazz Scene: New Releases. BBC Light Programme. Sunday 5 January 1964, 10.31 pm. * The Jazz Scene: New Releases. BBC Light Programme. Sunday 19 April 1964, 10.31 pm. * Record Review: Building a Library: Operetta. BBC Radio 3. Saturday 27 June 1970, 11.30 am. * Record Review: Building a Library: The Best of Johann Strauss. Saturday 22 February 1975, 9.5 am. * Scott Joplin: A Genius Rediscovered. Peter Gammond in conversation with Peter Clayton. BBC Radio 4. 14 October 1977, 4.5 pm; re-broadcast Tuesday 15 July 1980, 4.10 pm. * The Record Industry Blues: A Diagnosis. BBC Radio 3. Saturday 19 July 1980, 12.2 pm. * Moments Musical. 8 programmes on musical theatre from ballad opera to Broadway and beyond. BBC Radio 2. Tuesday 8 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 15 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 22 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 29 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 6 October 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 13 October 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 20 October 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 27 October 1981, 8.0 pm. * The Magic of D'Oyly Carte. Interval feature on the separate careers and talents of William Schwenck Gilbert and Arthur Seymour Sullivan. BBC Radio 2, Saturday 16 March 1985, 8.20 pm.

References

External links

The Betjeman Society

Care in Shepperton

Hi-Fi News & Record Review

Rotary Club of Shepperton and Sunbury

Torbay Musical Weekend
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gammond, Peter 1925 births 2019 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II English biographers English male non-fiction writers English male poets English writers about music Opera critics People from Cheshire People from Northwich Male biographers Royal Armoured Corps soldiers Military personnel from Cheshire