Peter Bardens (19 June 1945 – 22 January 2002) was an English keyboardist and a founding member of the British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

group

Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs with

Andrew Latimer Andrew Latimer (born 17 May 1949) is an English musician and composer. He is a founding member of the progressive rock band Camel and the only member who has been with them since their formation in 1971. Best known as a guitarist and singer, L ...

. During his career, Bardens worked alongside

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, Peter Green,

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...

and

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 ...

. He recorded eleven solo albums.

Career

Bardens was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, to Marie Marks and Dennis Bardens, the latter a novelist and biographer, and grew up in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

. He studied fine art at

Byam Shaw School of Art The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by John Liston Byam Shaw and ...

, and learned the piano, before switching to the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

after listening to Jimmy Smith. In 1965, he spent a brief spell with

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...

after leaving The Cheynes. After leaving Them, he formed a band called The Peter B's, releasing a single, in 1966, called "If You Wanna Be Happy" (b/w "Jodrell Blues"), an instrumental version of the old standard. He moved on and formed Peter B's Looners which eventually morphed into

Shotgun Express Shotgun Express was a short-lived British R&B band formed in London in May 1966. Although it achieved little success at the time, it is notable for having briefly included such subsequently famous musicians as Rod Stewart, Mick Fleetwood, Peter ...

, a band that played

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

and featured

, Peter Green, and

. Fleetwood later said Barden's recruitment into the band kick-started his musical career. From August 1968 to February 1970, he formed The Village with featured future

Elvis Costello and The Attractions Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

bassist

Bruce Thomas Bruce Thomas (born 14 August 1948 in Stockton-on-Tees, England) is an English rock bass guitarist, best known as bassist for the Attractions; the band formed in 1977 to back Elvis Costello in concert and on record. In addition to his work ...

and Bill Porter (drums). They released a single "Man in the Moon"/"Long Time Coming". In 1970, Bardens recorded ''The Answer'', an album featuring Peter Green and

Andy Gee Andy Gee (born Andreas Gröber, 1 September 1950 in Berlin) is a German guitarist and musician, best known for his time with Peter Bardens, Steve Ellis and as a temporary member of Thin Lizzy. Career Gee began playing guitar in 1958, and was a ...

. Bardens recorded an eponymous album in 1971 which was released in the United States as ''Write My Name in the Dust'' before forming

in 1972. He left Camel in 1978 to join Them bandmate

's band. He recorded ''

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 ...

'' with Morrison and appeared in the line up of the album's promotional tour. By the end of the 1970s, Bardens began exploring

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

and released the album ''Heart to Heart'' in 1979. Bardens co-wrote "Looking for a Good Time" with

Bobby Tench Robert Tench (born 21 September 1944) is a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger. Tench is best known for his work with Freddie King and Van Morrison, as well as being a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Humble Pie, Str ...

, featured as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the single "

Chain Gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...

" (1982), which Tench had recorded as a tribute to

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

. During that era, Bardens also played with the

Alan Parsons Project The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompani ...

. In 1984, he became a member of

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculos ...

(an Alan Parsons Project offshoot) and released an album with them. In 1985 he recorded the single "Solo" with the band Solo, and in 1986 he produced a

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

version of the song. Bardens continued to release a number of solo electronic albums including ''Seen One Earth'' (1987), which found chart success in the United States. The first single from the album, "In Dreams", was met with commercial success as well. The song enjoyed heavy airplay on rock stations in the U.S. and Australia, where

Triple M Brisbane 4MMM (identified on air and in print as Triple M) is a commercial FM rock radio station in Brisbane, Australia. It broadcasts on the Triple M network on 104.5 MHz frequency. Station history 4MMM started on the FM band at 104.1 MHz on August 2 ...

, the most popular radio station in the country at the time, added it to their playlist. In 1988, he followed this with ''Speed of Light'' (1988) which featured

. "Gold" from this album was released in the U.S as a single and found some success on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. He released ''Water Colours'' in 1991, and ''Big Sky'' in 1994. Also in 1994, with his former Camel bandmate Andy Ward and former members of

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

, he formed the band

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

for a brief European tour. A subsequent, all-American version of the band, with only Bardens and guitarist Steve Adams from the original line-up, did more touring in 1996. His last concert, subsequent to being diagnosed with a brain tumour, was in Los Angeles in the summer of 2001. Other performers who joined him at his concert included

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleet ...

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

and

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...

. Bardens died from lung cancer in Malibu in January 2002, at the age of 56, and is interred in the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

. A double CD, ''Write My Name in the Dust: The Anthology 1963–2002'', was released after his death and included tracks recorded throughout his career.

Discography

Solo studio albums

*1970 – ''The Answer'' *1971 – ''Peter Bardens ('Write My Name in the Dust' in the U.S.)'' *1976 – ''Vintage 69'' *1979 – ''Heart to Heart'' *1987 – ''Seen One Earth'' *1988 – ''Speed of Light'' *1991 – ''Water Colors'' *1993 – ''Further Than You Know'' *1994 – ''Big Sky'' *2002 – ''The Art of Levitation'' *2005 – ''Write My Name In The Dust: The Anthology 1963–2002''

Solo singles

*1971 – "Homage to the God of Light" *1987 – "In Dreams" *1988 – "Gold" *1988 – "Whisper in the Wind" *1991 – "A Higher Ground"

Studio albums with Them

*''

The Angry Young Them ''The Angry Young Them'' is the first album by the Northern Irish rock and roll group Them. The album was released in the UK in June 1965. The band's lead singer and songwriter was Van Morrison. In the U.S., the album was released as ''Them'' ...

'' (1965)

Studio albums with Van Morrison

*''

'' (1978)

Studio albums with Camel

*''

'' (1973) *''

'' (1974) *'' The Snow Goose'' (1975) *''

Moonmadness ''Moonmadness'' is the fourth studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. It was released in April 1976 on Decca and Gama Records and is their last album recorded by the group's original line-up of Andrew Latimer, Peter Bardens, Doug F ...

'' (1976) *''

Rain Dances ''Rain Dances'' is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. It was released in 1977 on Gama Records/Decca Records, and brought a major change to the band's lineup, by replacing bassist Doug Ferguson with ex-Caravan member ...

'' (1977) *'' Breathless'' (1978) *''

The Single Factor ''The Single Factor'', released in 1982, is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. The album was essentially a contractual obligation album, created under pressure from Decca Records to produce a hit single, and the "made ...

'' (1982) (guest)

Live albums with Camel

*''

Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall ''Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall'' is a 1973 live double album by various artists recorded at an October 1973 Greasy Truckers concert at the Dingwalls Dance Hall at Camden Lock in Camden Town, London. The concert featured four b ...

'' (1974) (''Camel + Various Artists. Includes 19-minute version of Camel's 'God of Light Revisited) *''

A Live Record ''A Live Record'' is the first live album by the progressive rock band Camel, released in 1978. It is a double LP, composed of recordings from three different tours. LP one features recordings from the ''Mirage'' tour in 1974, and the ''Rain Da ...

'' (1978) (''live, various venues 1974, 1975, 1977'') *'' Pressure Points: Live in Concert'' (1984) (''live, 11 May 1984, Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK'') *''

On the Road 1972 Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in Guildford, Surrey, in 1971. Led by guitarist Andrew Latimer, they have released fourteen studio albums and fourteen singles, plus numerous live albums and DVDs. Without achieving mass popula ...

'' (1992) (''live, venue unspecified'') *'' Gods of Light '73-'75'' (2000) (''live, various venues'')

Single with the band Solo

*"Solo" (1985)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardens, Pete 1945 births 2002 deaths Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Camel (band) members Canterbury scene Deaths from lung cancer in California English rock keyboardists English rock pianists English organists British male organists People from Westminster Them (band) members Mirage (British band) members 20th-century male musicians Progressive rock keyboardists Shotgun Express members