Pete Saunders

Peter "Pete" Saunders (born 1960) is an English keyboard player, born in Hammersmith, London. At 14 his family moved to Birmingham. At the age of 16, he joined Pub Theatre and wrote songs and performed with them. This was followed by a 2 gig career with John Nester Conrad Shwarz and Terry Johnson in the brilliant hilarious but controversial blues band .Two years later, in 1978, he joined Dexys Midnight Runners in response to an advertisement in his local newspaper. After briefly separating from the band in 1979, he returned in 1980 for the writing and recording of Searching for the Young Soul Rebels,^[1] which peaked in the UK charts at #6.^[2] he wrote the music for two of the songs ,I'm just looking and Thankfully not Living in Yorkshire.

In 1979 he moved to London, where he drove a van for a living whilst playing keyboards where and when he could. During this period, he worked with Arthur Bilingsley, Robin Bibi, Auntie Pus, Dave Ruffey and The Damned. He also joined The Decorators, playing on their first album Tablets. They shared a record label with singer Carmel. Inspired by the single "Bad Day", Saunders auditioned in Manchester and joined her on her first album and wrote the tune for the song "More More More". At the same time as playing with Carmel, he was also playing keyboards for Serious Drinking, which he describes on his website as "some of the most fun I've ever had in music."^[3] He played on their first album The Revolution Starts at Closing Time and the mini album "They May be Drinkers Robin but they are also Human Beings". With the Drinkers he toured the Netherlands and Germany where the band found a new lease of life due to being played on the John Peel show .

Between 1985 and 1987, he played keyboards in Jake Burns and the Big Wheel until he took leave of his senses and this country and took a job as a holiday rep in Rhodes. He then gave up music. Various rubbish jobs led him into decorating which for a while he enjoyed ,feeling independent. Having made a little money from it he bought a digital piano...and with the help of Dave Chumbly recorded a modernised version of Booker T and the MGs' "Soul Limbo".This was taken on by Charlie Gillett who licensed it to Mango Records a subsidiary of Island ..this was released with little or no promotion other than Pete himself having a cake made in the shape of a cricket bat which he took to the BBC commentators at the Oval test match .One of his greatest moments was listening to Jonners and Henry Blofeld talking about it. In 1992 he joined the Jive Aces touring France, Germany and Switzerland with the band. Thereafter, he started playing some dinner jazz in hotels and bars with singers like Sarah Carpenter and Janan Kubba and gigs with The Fallen Heroes until in 1999 he formed his own band The New Originals In 2003 he married Shelley Graham and later that year moved in with her in Islington. He was playing regularly with his band the New Originals with Martin Pyne John Pope Martin Harmer Lee Badau.Tony Rico, Paul Bonner at the Kings Head pub Upper street playing some legendary gigs on Sunday nights. In May 2003 he made the best decision of his life and married Shelley Graham. In 2005 he started working at a London burlesque/cabaret venue in Holborn playing the piano before shows and introducing acts such as Chrys Colombine Vicky Butterfly Roxy Velvet Kitty Bang Bang. This led to him putting shows together like Blues and Burlesque featuring performers like Leah Shand as Vicious delicious and Chloe 'Bouncy hunter "and Hellfire Club featuring lady Beau peep. In 2009 he started working with Ivy Paige and in 2010 started writing songs with her and recording songs such as Queen of Hearts, Music Box and I feel which they recorded with Richard Lobb Ben Epstein and Tom Meadows.

References