Peter Skellern (14 March 1947 – 17 February 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s. He had two top twenty hits on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

- " You're a Lady" (1972), which typifies his signature use of brass bands and choral arrangements for a nostalgic and romantic feel, and " Hold On to Love" (1975). In the 1980s, Skellern formed the band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

with Julian Lloyd Webber and

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...

and established a musical comedy partnership with

Richard Stilgoe Sir Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe (born 28 March 1943) is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician, and broadcaster who is best known for his humorous songs and frequent television appearances. His output includes collaborations with Andrew ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

. Over his career, Skellern wrote and performed music for film, television and stage, notably writing and starring in ''Happy Endings'', a 1981 BBC

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

of comic musical plays. Skellern's songs have been recorded by

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, Davy Jones,

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

and

Jack Jones Jack Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *Jack Jones (American singer) (born 1938), American jazz and pop singer *Jack Jones, stage name of Australian singer Irwin Thomas (born 1971) *Jack Jones (Welsh musician) (born 1992), Welsh mu ...

, amongst others. After developing an inoperable

brain tumour A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and second ...

, Skellern was ordained as a deacon and priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

in October 2016. He died four months later.

Career

Peter Skellern was born in

Bury, Lancashire Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the historic county boundarie ...

, to Margaret (née Spencer) and John Skellern. He attended Derby High School and studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

. After graduating with honours in 1968, Skellern struggled to make headway in a career as a concert pianist and instead focused on pursuing popular music. Answering a ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' advert, Skellern joined the band The March Hare as keyboardist. This gave the classically-trained musician experience in rock and pop. The March Hare became Harlan County in 1970, but failed to achieve any success and disbanded. Skellern continued to pursue a career in pop, represented by the band's manager Johnny Stirling. This led to a record deal with

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

for recording and

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

for publishing, signed on 5 May 1972. Skellern's first song to become a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

was " You're a Lady", released on 11 August 1972. The record featured Skellern accompanied by members of the Congregation, who had previously recorded the top ten hit "

Softly Whispering I Love You "Softly Whispering I Love You" is a song written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook originally recorded by the duo under the name of David and Jonathan David and Jonathan were, according to the Hebrew Bible's Books of Samuel, heroic figures ...

", and the Hanwell Band. "You're a Lady" reached number 3 on the

and number 50 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The accompanying album '' You're a Lady'' and subsequent singles failed to chart. Success for Skellern followed three years later with " Hold On to Love" which reached number 14 on the UK chart. He also sang the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

to the

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

series ''

Billy Liar ''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popular songs. The semi-comical story is about William Fisher, ...

'' (1973). For three years in the 1970s he worked on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

's '' Stop the Week''. A non-charting song, "Too Much I'm in Love", received radio play. In 1978, Skellern had a minor hit with the 1930s Ray Noble song "

Love Is the Sweetest Thing "Love Is the Sweetest Thing" is a popular song written in 1932 by British band leader and singer Ray Noble. Using guest vocalist Al Bowlly, Noble's recording was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic, bringing Noble his first American succe ...

" (which featured backing by the

Grimethorpe Colliery Band The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. Along with the Blac ...

), winning the Music Trades Association award for best middle of the road song. This followed his departure from

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

after his previous album, '' Hard Times'', had failed to chart despite a guest appearance by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

. In 1981 he wrote, composed and performed in a series of musical playlets for the BBC called ''Happy Endings''. Two years later he hosted the ''Private Lives'' television

chat show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sho ...

. He wrote the lyrics for the song "One More Kiss, Dear" from the film ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's ...

'' (1982). In 1984, Skellern performed the theme song for the

programme '' Me and My Girl''. In the same year, he formed a group called

with

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

Julian Lloyd Webber and

. The group released a self-titled album in 1984 on the Warner Bros. Records label which earned a silver record. The group performed live on television, but a planned concert tour was cancelled when Mary Hopkin became ill. In 1987, Skellern wrote and performed the theme music and song for the

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

series ''Flying Lady''. Skellern provided the voice of Carter Brandon in the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

adaptations of Peter Tinniswood's ''Uncle Mort's North Country''. The show was produced by Pete Atkin. Skellern collaborated with

and in musical comedy with comic songs such as "Joyce the Librarian". They released three live albums; ''A Quiet Night Out'', ''By the Wey'' and ''Who Plays Wins''. Toward the end of his career Skellern wrote pieces of sacred

choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

, including "Waiting for the Word" (which was written for the BBC's ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...

'' programme of 19 August 2001), ''Six Simple Carols'' and ''The Nativity Cantata'' written for a

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

choir, the Aeolian Singers. The work was first performed by them in 2004 and was later recorded.

Illness and death

In October 2016, it was revealed that Skellern had developed an inoperable

and that he had fulfilled a lifelong calling to be ordained in the

. Under a special faculty from the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

, he was ordained both as a deacon and priest on 16 October 2016 by the

Bishop of Truro The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury. History There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Crediton ...

. Skellern died as a result of the brain tumour in February 2017 at the age of 69, at

Lanteglos-by-Fowey Lanteglos (Old kw, Nant Eglos, meaning ''church valley'') is a coastal civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the east side of the tidal estuary of the River Fowey which separates it from the town and civil parish of ...

, Cornwall. He was survived by his wife Diana, two children and five grandchildren.

Legacy

In 1972, the same year that "You're a Lady" was released, the song was covered in France by folk singer

Hugues Aufray Hugues Jean Marie Auffray (; born 18 August 1929), better known as Hugues Aufray, is a French singer-songwriter and guitarist. Aufray is known for French language covers of Bob Dylan's songs. Aufray knew Dylan and his work from his time in Ne ...

under the title "Vous ma lady", followed later in the year by

with Laurent Vergez in a duet version released on 3 January 1973. Davy Jones from

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

also recorded a version. In the USA charts his song "You're a Lady" met stiff competition of a cover version by

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

, released simultaneously at the time as his own record, by

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...

. It also has been extensively covered since, by artists such as

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

on his 1973 album ''

Me and Mrs. Jones "Me and Mrs. Jones" is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert, and originally recorded by Billy Paul. It describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. In the song, the two meet in secr ...

'' and

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

on his 1974 album ''Telly''. Skellern's other songs have been also recorded by a number of other singers, such as

who included "Make It Easy for Me" on his 1973 album ''

Solitaire Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...

'' and "My Lonely Room" on his 1975 album ''

Andy Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pia ...

''.

recorded Skellern's "Hard Times" on his 1978 album '' Bad Boy''. In her 1985 eponymous BBC television comedy series,

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over se ...

performed an affectionate parody of Skellern's style in a song entitled "Northern Boy", accompanied by a brass band and choir. On 17 April 2017,

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

introduced an hour-long tribute for Skellern on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

. Since 2019, fans have crowdfunded CD reissues of Skellern's back catalogue. Two sets have been released by Mint Audio - ''The Complete Decca Recordings'' (2019) and ''The Complete Island and Mercury Recordings'' (2021). These sets feature all Peter's albums and singles from 1972 to 1982 except for ''Happy Endings''.

Discography

Albums

sources: *'' You're a Lady'', 1972 *'' Not Without a Friend'', 1974 *''Holding My Own'', 1974 *''Hold On to Love'', 1975 *'' Hard Times'', 1975 *''Kissing in the Cactus'', 1977 *''Skellern'', 1978 – UK No.48 *''Astaire'', 1979 – UK No. 23 *''Still Magic'', 1980 *''

Captain Beaky and His Band ''Captain Beaky & His Band (Not Forgetting Hissing Sid!!!)'', commonly shortened to ''Captain Beaky & His Band'' or ''Captain Beaky'', is the title of two albums (volumes 1 and 2) of poetry by Jeremy Lloyd set to music by Jim Parker and recited ...

'' (contribution to Vol. II), 1980 *''Happy Endings'', 1981 *''A String of Pearls'', 1982 – UK No. 67 *''Ain't Life Something'', 1984 *''Oasis'', 1984 *''Who Plays Wins'' with

, 1985 *''Lovelight'', 1987 *''Cheek to Cheek'', 1993 *''Stardust Memories'' (a tribute to Bill Kenny and

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ac ...

), 1995 – UK No. 50 *''Sentimentally Yours'', 1996 *''The Very Best of Peter Skellern'', 1996 *''By The Wey'' with Richard Stilgoe, 1997 *''A Quiet Night Out'' with Richard Stilgoe, 2000 *''You're A Lady: The Best Of Peter Skellern'', Spectrum 2014 *''The Complete Decca Recordings'', Mint Audio 2019 *''The Complete Island and Mercury Recordings'', Mint Audio 2021

Singles

*" You're a Lady", 1972 – UK No. 3, US No. 50, AUS No 2 *" Our Jackie's Getting Married", 1972 *" Hold On to Love", 1975 – UK No. 14, US No. 106 *" Hard Times", 1975 *"

", 1978 – UK No. 60

Recordings of choral music

*"So Said The Angel" on the CD ''Noel!'' (

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

PRCD 768) sung by the Bach Choir of London, 2001 *''The Nativity Cantata and other Christmas Music'', performed by the Aeolian Singers, 2005 *"So Said The Angel" on the album ''A Cotswold Christmas'' performed by the Abbey School Choir, Tewkesbury, 2006

References

External links

*
Peter Skellern
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Discography (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skellern, Peter 1947 births 2017 deaths Church of England priests 21st-century English Anglican priests Deaths from brain cancer in England English pianists English male singer-songwriters Island Records artists People from Bury, Greater Manchester Decca Records artists British male pianists Oasis (1980s band) members