Pete Dello (born Peter Blumsom, 26 May 1942,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, UK) is a 1960s and 1970s singer-songwriter and now music teacher.
Career
Dello started his career as a musician in the
skiffle era of the 1950s and was a founding member of the
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
band Grant Tracy and The Sunsets, after which he joined Steve Darbyshire's backing group, The Yum Yum Band, in the mid-1960s. This led onto him forming
Honeybus, with whom he scored the hit single "
I Can't Let Maggie Go" in 1968.
Quickly leaving Honeybus rather than tour and promote the single, he next cut a solo album ''Into Your Ears'' in 1971, and also worked with John Killigrew. Ultimately he quit the music industry for other interests during the 1970s. Since then ''Into Your Ears'' has become a collectable album, with copies selling for over £1,200 in perfect condition. It has also been re-issued on compact disc in 2005, and again in 2009.
He wrote songs with all his bands (and also for
The Applejacks). The Dello-penned song "Do I Still Figure In Your Life?" has been covered by
Dave Berry,
Joe Cocker,
Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthew ...
,
Dave Stewart,
Paul Carrack,
Dana,
Kate Taylor,
Saturday's Crowd and
Pierce Turner
Pierce Turner (born June 1949) is an Irish singer-songwriter. After forming a duo with Larry Kirwan he went solo in the mid-1980s and has since released several albums.
Biography
Turner grew up in the port town of Wexford, where his mother ...
. His co-writer was Ray Cane. Dello was also a
session musician, and he was hired for
Unit 4 + 2
Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with the song "Concrete and Clay". The track topped the UK chart for one week.
Career Early days
In 1962, Brian Parker, then the guitar player and song ...
,
The Scaffold
The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of musical performer Mike McGear (real name Peter Michael McCartney, the brother of Paul McCartney), poet Roger McGough and comic entertainer John Gorman. ...
and
The Roulettes.
The song "I'm a Gambler" by Lace (1969) was reissued as a single under the pseudonym Red Herring in 1973.
Dello's biggest success "I Can't Let Maggie Go" was given a second round of popularity when it was used for a 1970s Nimble bread TV commercial, which brought him much welcomed royalties which he successfully invested.
Discography
Singles
Sunsets
* 1961 "Cry Of The Wild Goose"
Grant Tracy & The Sunsets
* 1961 "Say When"
* 1961 "Pretend"
* 1962 "The Great Matchmaker"
* 1962 "Taming Tigers"
* 1963 "Everybody Shake"
Steve Darbyshire and the Yum Yum Band
* 5 Decca singles 65–67
Honeybus
* 1967 "Delighted To See You"
* 1967 "Do I Still Figure In Your Life?"
* 1968 "I Can't Let Maggie Go"
* 1973 "For You"
Lace
* 1969 "I'm A Gambler/Go Away"
Magic Valley
* 1969 "Taking The Heart Out Of Love/Uptight Basil"
Leah
* 1973 "Arise, Sir Henry/Uptight Basil"
Red Herring
* 1973 "I'm A Gambler/Working Class Man"
Magneta
* 1974 "I'm A Gambler/Tattered Robe"
Albums
* 1964 ''Teenbeat'' (Grant Tracy and the Sunsets)
* 1971 ''John Killigrew'' (John Killigrew with Pete Dello)
* 1971 ''Into Your Ears'' (Pete Dello And Friends)
* 1973 ''Recital'' (Honeybus) – comeback album (unreleased although promo copies exists are sell for upwards of £800)
* 2018 ''Recital'' (Honeybus) – Hanky Panky Records reissue
Notable compilations
* 1989 ''Honeybus at Their Best'' (Honeybus)
* 1993 ''Old Masters, Hidden Treasures'' (Honeybus)
* 1997 ''At Their Best'' (Honeybus)
* 1999 ''The Honeybus Story'' (Honeybus)
* 2002 ''She Flies Like A Bird : The Anthology'' (features unreleased songs such as "Big Ship") (Honeybus)
* 2018 ''Where Have You Been: The Lost Tracks Of Honeybus'' (Honeybus)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dello, Pete
1942 births
People from Islington (district)
Living people
English male singer-songwriters
Beat musicians