Peter Van Hooke (born 6 April 1950) is an English rock 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 si ...

(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, whi ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, 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 Nonconformis ...

. His schoolmate Chaz Jankel (later of the Blockheads) lived close by, and the two formed The Call of The Wild. This band became the Ric Parnell Independence, featuring the son of bandleader Jack Parnell 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, tr ...

'', '' Into the Music'' (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'' (1982), '' Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'' (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 Stackridge were a British rock group which had their greatest success in the early 1970s. History Classic period Stackridge Lemon were formed from the remains of a previous band, Grytpype Thynne, by Andy Davis and James "Crun" Walter during ...

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'' which was aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in between 2006 and 2009 in the United Kingdom. He co-produced his former Mike + the Mechanics bandmate

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

'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, ...

'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. ...

* ''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-wr ...

* ''

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 it ...

'' (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