Thomas Perry (musician)
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Thomas Perry (born April 28, 1963 in Germany), is a rock/pop singer/songwriter. His real name is Thomas Wellnowski.
His fascination for music began at the age of five when he would secretly listen to the private record collection of one of his bigger brothers. The first songs he was affected by were "Hey Jude" by The Beatles and "The Air That I Breathe" by The Hollies.
It wasn't long before he found himself behind a real drum kit taking regular drum lessons by the age of seven and joining the school choir. In addition, he also joined a local orchestra where he learned to play trumpet and guitar and also experienced his first stage performances.
At the age of nine he began writing his own songs. He went on to form his school band, performing at school festivals and participating in a local talent competition. At the age of fifteen, his mind was made-up. He wanted to become a professional musician.
He was 16 years of age when along with the Coraci brothers from Australia he formed his first band - Javelin. Very soon they earned an excellent reputation in the local area, playing live on every possible given occasion and collecting a growing number of fans.
In 1985 Thomas joined the band Surprises as a lead vocalist and immediately took a part in writing songs for the album "Together We are Strong". In 1989 Surprises recorded their second album - "Longing for the Daylight", which also was the last one. The same year the band split-up, due to internal problems between the band members, as well as management...
Thomas stepped back from the idea of forming or joining a new band and decided to go for a solo career. He signed an exclusive deal with BMG, and in early summer of 1992 the maxi single called "Fieber bei Nacht", co-produced by Thomas was released.
In recent years he has been working on new music projects, as singer, composer, and "jack of all trades" musician of some talent. This comes after his work in the late 90's on "The Ballad Album", where he performed his own compositions along with Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell, and greats like Dominic Miller (of Sting fame) and Simon Edwards ( Peter Gabriel, Talk Talk). Perry's voice can also be heard on Bobby Kimball's (Toto) first solo album "Rise Up".
His vocal style can best be described as a cross over between Freddie Mercury and George Michael.
[edit] Discography
As part of Surprises
As a solo artist
- Fieber Bei Nacht (1992)
- This Time (1998)
- The Ballad Album (1998)
- Herman-ze-German & Friends - Rock Ballads (2001)
Selected work with other artists
- Wonderland / Zauberland (1994) - Matthias Reim
- Rise Up (1994) - Bobby Kimball's (Toto) solo album
