Peter Combe
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Peter Charles Combe OAM (; born 20 October 1948) is an Australian children's entertainer and musician. At the
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
he has won three ARIA Awards for Best Children's Album, for ''
Toffee Apple Candy apples (or toffee apples in Commonwealth English) are whole apples covered in a sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle. These are a common treat at fall festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as ...
'' (1988), '' Newspaper Mama'' (1989) and ''
The Absolutely Very Best of Peter Combe (So Far) Recorded in Concert ''The Absolutely Very Best of Peter Combe (So Far) Recorded in Concert is the first live album by Australian children's musician Peter Combe. It was recorded in 1990 and released in April 1991 and peaked at number 69 on the ARIA Charts. The album ...
'' (1992) and three additional nominations (''
Chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of China, Chinese origin that have been used as Kitchen utensil, kitchen and List of eating utensils, eating utensils in most of East Asia, East and Southe ...
'' (1990), ''Little Groover'' (1996) and ''Live It Up'' (2017)). His best-known tracks are "Toffee Apple", "Spaghetti Bolognaise", "Mr Clicketty Cane", "Juicy Juicy Green Grass" and "Newspaper Mama". His ''Christmas Album'' (November 1990) reached the
ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
top 50.


Biography


1948-1979: Early life

Peter Charles Combe was born in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
on 20 October 1948 as the third of four children. His early influences from the 1950s were
the Springfields The Springfields were a British folk-pop vocal trio who had success in the early 1960s in the UK, US and Ireland. They included singer Dusty Springfield and her brother, songwriter Tom Springfield, along with Tim Feild, who was later replace ...
; he learned to harmonise from an early age. He was inspired by folk singers of the 1960s, including
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...
,
Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
,
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
and
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
. He formed a folk group and taught himself guitar. Later he became fascinated by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
. By 1969, Combe was a primary school teacher and in the early 1970s, he was a specialist music teacher. He taught junior school music at
Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend ...
in the late 1970s. He started writing songs for his students and in 1973 he wrote his first "operettas" for them. One of the early ones, ''Bows Against the Barons'', is based on Geoffrey Trease's novel of the same name, relating the legend of Robin Hood. The song, "Robin Hood's Dream", appeared on his 1988 album, ''Newspaper Mama''. In 1975, Combe moved to Sydney and aspired to be the next
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
. There he appeared in the rock musical, ''Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club''. He taught at inner Sydney primary schools, performed in pubs and clubs as a singer-songwriter. He wrote a children's musical, ''Frederick WhatsHisName & his TwoLegged Six String Guitar'', which provided the track, "Spangle Road". Another of his musicals is based on Norman Lindsey's book, ''
The Magic Pudding ''The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff'' is a 1918 Australian children's book written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay. It is a comic fantasy, and a classic of Australian childr ...
''. In 1977, Combe migrated to England where he became a presenter on ''
Music Time "Music Time" is the sole studio track released on the live Styx album, '' Caught in the Act''. It peaked at #40 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart the week of June 2, 1984. When the concert was released on DVD, the video for this song was ...
'', a
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
educational program. He explained that "Someone in Adelaide had given me the name of a BBC producer. I rang and said I had just arrived
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and do you have any shows I can audition for. They wanted someone for ''Music Time'', I auditioned, made the short list and got the job." Combe and co-presenter, Kathryn Harries, introduced musical concepts in an entertaining format. The show was used by teachers as part of their music programs and was a resource for other music educators. Besides being played in Britain for six years, it was re-broadcast on ABC TV. In late 1979, the Combe family moved back to Australia, where he presented ''Let's Have Music'', an
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
(ABC) radio program, which was used for primary school music education.


1980-1992: Commercial success

In 1980 he recorded his first album, ''Vagabond'', which was aimed at adults. The title track had been recorded by ex-pat Australians,
the Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...
, in 1977. After two more years teaching, Combe issued his second album, '' Songs for Little Kids''. It was recorded and produced by Combe at Axent Recording Studio in Sydney and appeared on ABC Records on cassette. At that time, children's albums comprised nursery rhymes, which were sung and played in a simple traditional style. Combe recalled, "record companies used to think anyone could write songs for children, anything was good enough. You would get whole albums where the only accompaniment was acoustic guitar." Combe introduced new concepts in children's songs, writing to appeal to children and their parents: they were funny and relevant. He arranged them with contemporary instrumentation, using his ''Music Time'' experience to introduce children to different musical concepts, genres and instruments. Combe started performing concerts in schools – about 200 school shows a year over three years. His next cassette, ''
Spaghetti Bolognaise and More Songs for Little Kids ''Spaghetti Bolognaise and More Songs for Little Kids'', also known as Spaghetti Bolognaise, is the third studio album by Australian children's musician Peter Combe. It was released in June 1985 and was certified platinum in Australia in May 1993 ...
'' (1985), was soon renamed as ''Spaghetti Bolognaise'' after its lead track. In 1986, he returned to England for an eight-month stay – he wrote material for his next album, ''
Toffee Apple Candy apples (or toffee apples in Commonwealth English) are whole apples covered in a sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle. These are a common treat at fall festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as ...
'' (June 1987). Back in Australia he met Diana Manson, then the head of ABC Music, and they worked on the first ever children's music video filmed in Australia – "Toffee Apple" – to promote the new album. The music video was played during children's programming on ABC TV, and helped established Combe as Australia's first kids' pop star: he was referred to as King of the Kids. At the
ARIA Music Awards of 1988 The Second Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 29 February 1988 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. Cliff Richard was the host, with Bryan Fe ...
Combe won the inaugural
ARIA Award for Best Children's Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Children's Album is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Ind ...
category for ''Toffee Apple''.ARIA Awards for Peter Combe: * Search Results 'Peter Combe': * 1988 winners: * 1988 winners and some nominees: * 1989 winners and nominees: * 1990 winners and nominees: * 1992 winners and nominees: * 1996 winners and nominees: In
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, he won his second ARIA for Best Children's Album, for '' Newspaper Mama'' (1988). ''
The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' correspondent described him as "the master of loony tunes for kids"; with this album having "a selection of original songs with the title track accompanied by an imaginative video." His next album, ''
Chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of China, Chinese origin that have been used as Kitchen utensil, kitchen and List of eating utensils, eating utensils in most of East Asia, East and Southe ...
'' (September 1989), was also nominated in that category in the following year but it did not win. ''
Peter Combe's Christmas Album ''Peter Combe's Christmas Album'' is the seventh studio and first Christmas music album by Australian children's musician Peter Combe. It was released in November 1990 and peaked at number 49 on the ARIA Charts, becoming Combe's highest charting ...
'' (November 1990) reached the
ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
top 50. His first live album, ''The Absolutely Very Best of Peter Combe (So Far) Recorded in Concert'' (1991), won his third trophy for Best Children's Album, in
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
. Touring highlights were selling out the Sydney Opera House (twice) and the Melbourne Concert Hall, Carols in the Domain in Sydney, Carols nights in Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, filming Christmas Under the Stars at the Adelaide Festival Centre, Family Concerts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at the Festival Theatre and Entertainment Centre – plus numerous television appearances and radio interviews. Combe's albums have received 7 gold and 3 platinum accreditations. From 1989 to 1991, Peter presented another radio program, ''Ticklepot'', on ABC Radio National. His co-presenter Henry Salter played the part of Monkey, and the 10-minute program followed the adventures of Peter and Monkey through songs and stories. In all, 420 programs went to air over a period of 3 years. Ticklepot was voted best children's radio program in the world in New York in 1991.


1993-present: Continued success

In 1993, Peter's musical version of May Gibbs' classic book "Snugglepot & Cuddlepie", was performed in the Adelaide Festival of Arts. This was originally performed as a cantata with orchestra, choirs and soloists. It was reproduced the following year in the Adelaide Festival Theatre with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra – and this was recorded and is still available on CD. There have been many subsequent performances around Australia, some as a cantata and others with an accompanying script. Further albums of new songs were to follow -''Spook'' (1993), ''Little Groover'' (1996), ''Best Friends'' (1999), plus some picture books with CD by Scholastic – ''Wash Your Face in Orange Juice'' and ''Juicy Juicy Green Grass''. From 2003 to 2006, Combe read and sang a number of classic fairy tales. These were released on CD as ''Classic Fairy Tales'' ''Classic Fairy Tales Vol 2'' and ''Classic Fairy Tales Vol 3''. In 2006, he crossed over to the genre of
political commentary Political criticism (also referred to as political commentary or political discussion) is criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government. See also * Bad Subject ...
with his song "Free David Hicks". Since 2005, Combe has started playing pub gigs around Australia aimed at young adults who grew up listening to his music. A clip of the live performance at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne is available showing a crowd of young adults singing along to lyrics such as "Wash Your Face in Orange Juice", and "Belly Flop on a Pizza? Ewww!". ''Live It Up'', was released on 6 April 2017. Combe toured the album across Australia In 2018 Combe performed his 1990 ''Peter Combe's Christmas Album'' in full across the country in a national tour.


Personal life

Combe resides in Adelaide, South Australia and spends time at his holiday house in
Carrickalinga Carrickalinga (from Kaurna Karrakardlangga / Karragarlangga) is a small coastal town in South Australia about south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula overlooking Gulf St Vincent. The town has no shops, with the nearest being in Normanville ...
. Combe and his wife Carol have four children - a son and three daughters - who have all performed with him over the years: Joni, Alice, Emily and Thomas 'Thom'; and eight grandchildren, including Amelie, Hugo, Holly (Joni's children), Oliver and Eliza (Alice's children). From 1995 to 2000, Joni was the presenter of
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
television series ''
Here's Humphrey ''Here's Humphrey'' was an Australian children's television series produced by Banksia Productions for the Nine Network, which first aired on 24 May 1965 and last went to air in 2009. It features an anthropomorphic brown bear character (a p ...
'', then from 1998 to 2001, she played the role of Rainbow Rhapsody in all three home videos (''The Fairies/Fairy Hello!'', ''A Fairy Merry Christmas'' and ''Farmyard Magic'') and four of the albums (''The Fairies'', ''A Fairy Merry Christmas'', ''Farmyard Magic'' and ''A Magical Fairy Party'') of '' The Fairies''. Both of the shows were filmed in Adelaide. Emily and Thomas performed together in the band "The Finishing School". Growing up, Combe's father would wake him up at 6am to play tennis and he admits he's quite a good player. Combe's favourite artists are
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...
and
The Springfields The Springfields were a British folk-pop vocal trio who had success in the early 1960s in the UK, US and Ireland. They included singer Dusty Springfield and her brother, songwriter Tom Springfield, along with Tim Feild, who was later replace ...
.


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums


Compilation albums


Box sets


Awards and nominations


APRA Music Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the
Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.


ARIA Music Awards

The
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combe, Peter 1948 births ARIA Award winners Australian guitarists Australian singer-songwriters Australian children's musicians Acoustic guitarists Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Australian pianists Australian television presenters Australian schoolteachers Living people Musicians from Adelaide Ukulele players Male pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians Australian male guitarists Australian male singer-songwriters