Peter Skellern (14 March 1947 – 17 February 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s. He had two top twenty hits on 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 ...

- "

You're a Lady "You're a Lady" is the debut single by British singer-songwriter Peter Skellern. Skellern's recording of the song was his first and biggest hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart, #7 on the Irish Singles Chart and #50 on the U.S. ''Billboard ...

" (1972), which typifies his signature use of brass bands and choral arrangements for a nostalgic and romantic feel, and " Hold On to Love" (1975). In the 1980s, Skellern formed the band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

with

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

and

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...

and established a musical comedy partnership with

Richard Stilgoe Sir Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe (born 28 March 1943) is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician, and broadcaster who is best known for his humorous songs and frequent television appearances. His output includes collaborations with Andrew ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

. Over his career, Skellern wrote and performed music for film, television and stage, notably writing and starring in ''Happy Endings'', a 1981 BBC

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

of comic musical plays. Skellern's songs have been recorded by

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, Davy Jones,

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

and Jack Jones, amongst others. After developing an inoperable brain tumour, Skellern was ordained as a deacon and priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in October 2016. He died four months later.

Career

Peter Skellern was born in

Bury, Lancashire Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the Historic counties of Englan ...

, to Margaret (née Spencer) and John Skellern. He attended Derby High School and studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

. After graduating with honours in 1968, Skellern struggled to make headway in a career as a concert pianist and instead focused on pursuing popular music. Answering a ''

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 ...

'' advert, Skellern joined the band The March Hare as keyboardist. This gave the classically-trained musician experience in rock and pop. The March Hare became Harlan County in 1970, but failed to achieve any success and disbanded. Skellern continued to pursue a career in pop, represented by the band's manager Johnny Stirling. This led to a record deal with

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

for recording and

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

for publishing, signed on 5 May 1972. Skellern's first song to become a

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 ...

was "

", released on 11 August 1972. The record featured Skellern accompanied by members of the Congregation, who had previously recorded the top ten hit "

Softly Whispering I Love You "Softly Whispering I Love You" is a song written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook originally recorded by the duo under the name of David and Jonathan. This version peaked at No. 23 in Australia on ''Go-Set''s National Top 40 Singles ...

", and the

Hanwell Band The Hanwell Band was a brass band formed in Hanwell, near Ealing, in 1891. It was first known as the Hanwell Town Band but after success in competition it was renamed the Hanwell Prize Band. Another competition win in 1913 in Tottenham expanded ...

. "You're a Lady" reached number 3 on the

and number 50 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The accompanying album ''

'' and subsequent singles failed to chart. Success for Skellern followed three years later with " Hold On to Love" which reached number 14 on the UK chart. He also sang the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

to the

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

series '' Billy Liar'' (1973). For three years in the 1970s he worked on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's '' Stop the Week''. A non-charting song, "Too Much I'm in Love", received radio play. In 1978, Skellern had a minor hit with the 1930s

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...

song "

Love Is the Sweetest Thing "Love Is the Sweetest Thing" is a popular song written in 1932 by British band leader and singer Ray Noble. Using guest vocalist Al Bowlly, Noble's recording was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic, bringing Noble his first American succe ...

" (which featured backing by the

Grimethorpe Colliery Band The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. Along with the Blac ...

), winning the Music Trades Association award for best middle of the road song. This followed his departure from

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

after his previous album, '' Hard Times'', had failed to chart despite a guest appearance by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

. In 1981 he wrote, composed and performed in a series of musical playlets for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Career

Illness and death

Legacy

Discography

Albums

Singles

Recordings of choral music

References

External links