Peter Van Hooke (born 6 April 1950) is an English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
drummer and producer with over 350 credits to his name. He was the drummer for the English band
Mike + The Mechanics
Mike and the Mechanics (stylised as Mike + The Mechanics) is an English rock supergroup formed in Dover in 1985 by Mike Rutherford, initially as a side project during a hiatus period for his earlier group Genesis. The band is known for hit singl ...
(from 1984 to 1995) and also drummed for
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 ...
's band, Headstone, and
Ezio. During the 1980s he co-produced (along with
Rod Argent
Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the ...
) many of
Tanita Tikaram
Tanita Tikaram (born 12 August 1969) is a British pop/ folk singer-songwriter. She achieved chart success with the singles "Twist in My Sobriety" and " Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, ''Ancient Heart''.
Background
Tikaram was born i ...
's hits.
Education and early life
Van Hooke grew up in
Stanmore
Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, England and attended
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
History
A committee of Nonconformist me ...
. His schoolmate
Chaz Jankel
Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With ...
(later of
the Blockheads
The Blockheads are an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current member ...
) lived close by, and the two formed The Call of The Wild. This band became the
Ric Parnell
Ric Parnell (13 August 1951 – 1 May 2022) was an English rock drummer. Notable for his work in the band Atomic Rooster, he is probably best known for his role as the ill-fated drummer Mick Shrimpton in the film ''This Is Spinal Tap''.
Caree ...
Independence, featuring the son of bandleader
Jack Parnell
John Russell Parnell (6 August 1923 – 8 August 2010) was an English musician and musical director.
Biography
Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London, England. His uncle was the theatrical impresario Val Parnell.
During hi ...
as vocalist.
Recording career
Van Hooke played drums on Van Morrison's albums from 1978's ''
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...
'', ''
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 ...
'' (1979), ''
Common One
''Common One'' is the twelfth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1980. The album was recorded over a nine-day period at Super Bear Studios, near Nice, on the French Riviera. Its title is in the lyrics of t ...
'' (1980), ''
Beautiful Vision
''Beautiful Vision'' is the thirteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in February 1982. It continued Morrison's departure from R&B at the time, instead favoring Celtic folk and American jazz in its musi ...
'' (1982), ''
Inarticulate Speech of the Heart
''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'' is the fourteenth studio album by People of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1983. Morrison said he arrived at the title from a Shavian saying: "that idea of commun ...
'' (1983), the live album, ''
Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast
''Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast'' is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1984. It was recorded from four live shows in March 1983 at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, Northern Ireland (Morrison's b ...
'' recorded in 1983 and released in 1984, and ''
The Philosopher's Stone'' (1998). For some years he also was the drummer in Morrison's touring band which sometimes included two simultaneous drummers. He can also be heard on
Louis Clark
Louis Clark (27 February 1947 – 13 February 2021) was an English music arranger and keyboard player.
He trained at Leeds College of Music. He is best known for his work with Electric Light Orchestra and '' Hooked on Classics''. Clark started ...
's album ''(per-spek-tiv) n.'' (1979) and
Chris de Burgh's albums ''
Into the Light'' (1986) and ''
Flying Colours'' (1988).
He was also in demand as a session drummer in the 70s and 80s, and was one of the first UK drummers to own a set of Syndrums, initially coming to prominence on the
Marshall Hain
Marshall Hain were a British pop- rock duo known for their 1978 hit " Dancing in the City", a UK No. 3 single in the UK Singles Chart in mid-1978 and number 3 in Australia.
Overview
The duo comprised keyboard player Julian Marshall and vocali ...
hit "Dancing in the City". He joined
Stackridge in time to play on their 1976 album ''
Mr. Mick'', though the band broke up not long after.
Production career
Van Hooke created and co-produced the television series ''
Live from Abbey Road
''Live from Abbey Road'' is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/ documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season ...
'' which was aired on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in between 2006 and 2009 in the United Kingdom.
He co-produced his former Mike + the Mechanics bandmate
Paul Carrack's album ''A Different Hat'' (2010), on which Carrack performed with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
.
He also co-produced with Rod Argent
Soraya
Soraya ( fa, ثریا) is a feminine Persian name. It is derived from the Arabic name for the Pleiades star cluster, ''Thurayya'' ( ar, ثريّة). The name is also popular in Europe due to its association with Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, th ...
's debut album ''
On Nights Like This'' (Titled in Spanish: "En Esta Noche") in 1995 and her second album ''
Wall Of Smiles'' (Titled in Spanish: "Torre De Marfil") in 1997.
Personal life
Van Hooke is married and has three sons.
Collaborations
With
Joshua Kadison
Joshua Kadison (born February 8, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and writer, who was born in Los Angeles, California. He is perhaps best known for the top 40 hits " Jessie" and " Beautiful in My Eyes" from his debut album '' Pai ...
* ''
Painted Desert Serenade'' (Capitol Records, 1993)
With
Sally Oldfield
Sally Patricia Oldfield (born 3 August 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She is the sister of composers Mike and Terry Oldfield.
Early life
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Oldfield was raised in the Roman Catholic faith of her mother, Maureen. Sp ...
* ''Strange Day in Berlin'' (Bronze, 1983)
With
Jennifer Rush
Jennifer Rush (born Heidi Stern; September 28, 1960) is an American pop and rock singer. She achieved success during the mid-1980s with several singles and studio albums including the million-selling single " The Power of Love", which she co-w ...
* ''
Wings of Desire
''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its ...
'' (Columbia Records, 1989)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Hooke, Peter
1950 births
Living people
People from Stanmore
English rock drummers
British male drummers
English record producers
Van Morrison
English session musicians
English people of Dutch descent
Mike + The Mechanics members
Stackridge members