PETER ANDRE--HIS STORY
'Born in Harrow, England
on 27 Feb 1973, Peter Andre spent his formative years in
Australia - his family having relocated to Surfer's Paradise when he was ten years
old. The youngest in a family of four brothers and one sister, music preoccupied
Andre's life from an early age, particularly during his teenage years: Motown music, Stevie Wonder
was rarely off the stereo, his playground impersonations were note perfect and no
one could touch him on the dance floor...
Peter knew he had something going on: he started to phone the producers of a
talent contest, singing to them down the phone and begging for a chance to
perform. His persistence paid off and Peter was given his chance. He performed a
version of Bobby Brown's 'Don't Be Cruel' and stole the show! A record company
head was on the judging panel that night and offered Peter a recording contract
live on air. The years since have witnessed an endless stream of highs and lows
with only one thing ever remaining constant: the dream and desire to succeed.
Fast forward to 1993 and a 20 year old Peter Andre was fast becoming Australia's
brightest young star, a string of hit singles and an outstanding debut album was
released, receiving both critical acclaim and commercial success. The self titled
gold album, a refreshing mixture of bump'n'grind, swing and sweeping ballads
included nine songs written or co-written by Peter himself. Andre was asked to
support both Bobby Brown and Madonna on their Australian tours and ended the
year by sweeping the board at The Australian Music Awards winning Best New Act,
Best New Dance Act and Highest Selling Single for 'Gimme Little Sign'.
Not content with his breakthrough in Australia, Peter moved back to London
shortly afterwards to pursue his ultimate ambition of making it in his home country.
Unknown in the UK at this time, the task ahead of him was daunting since he would
have to start from scratch. Adamant that he would not re-release his Australian
singles, he set his sights on recording a new album.
The first release 'Turn It Up' was released in March 1995. The single, an infectious
swing/pop crossover was greeted with enthusiasm by the British press but failed to
dent the top 40. Unbowed, Peter returned to the studio, breaking only to perform at
an endless series of Roadshows and PJA performances. During May and June British
fans had their first chance to capture Andre live when he supported East 17 on
their UK and European tour.
'Mysterious Girl'. the second British single from Peter, fell just short of the Top 40 in
September whilst the video gained an unprecedented No1 position on cable TV
show 'The Box' for 9 weeks running. Overseas, the single gained a top 5 position in
Australia and gave Peter his first No1 position in New Zealand.
Peter's third single finally provided validation for the past year's hard work when
'Only One' released in March '96 stormed into the charts at No 16. At long last Peter
performed on Top Of The Pops, the hysteria surrounding his instore appearances
and PJA's had translated into record sales, his dream of making it was edging ever
closer to reality.
With the dawn of another hot summer, 'Mysterious Girl' was remixed and
re-released on May 20th 1996 - the eve of Peter's support slot on Boyzone's nationwide
summer tour. The single entered the charts at No 3. Ten weeks later the record
was still nestling within the top 5 and undoubtedly had become the summer
anthem of 1996. Peter was presented with a platinum disc, 'Mysterious Girl' had
sold an incredible 700,000 copies in the UK alone and was climbing the charts all
over Europe.
'Flava' released on September 2nd entered the UK charts directly, straight at No.1,beating Spice
girls & the Fugees to the position. The single, plus a wondeful dance video highlighted his talents &
showcased Peter's eclectic style, travelling from the pure pop of 'Only One' through
the lilting summer reggae of 'Mysterious Girl' to a hands in the air swing anthem
that serves to exemplify the diverse influences at work in Peter's songwriting.
Having sold in excess of 2,000,000 singles all over Europe, 'Natural': the debut UK
album was released on September 30th. A musical travelogue: the album suprised
and delighted in equal measure. Produced by some of the world's top producers
(Cutfather & Joe, Mykael S. Riley, Ollie J and Andy Whitmore), 'Natural' had been
two years in the making - the perfect platform for one of the most versatile and
exciting young performers in the world today.
'Natural' entered the UK Album Charts at No.1 in the first week of release. Peter's
first ballad and fourth single 'I Feel You' was released in November and again
gained the No. 1 position in the first week or release. With December a traditional
time for reflection there could be no doubt that alongside the Spice Girls, Peter
Andre's meteoric rise to prominence was the pop story of 1996.
Peter Andre took to the road to headline his first nationwide tour throughout
February and March 1997. 'Natural' the final single from the debut album released
on February 24th entered the charts at No.6, providing Andre with his fourth
consecutive top ten hit. Come the summer of 1997, Peter Andre upped gear once
again and played his biggest headline concert to date on his July arena tour.
Peter Andre spent the rest of the summer criss-crossing the Atlantic to work on
new material for his second album 'Time'. Teaming up with some of the
top songwriters and artists in the world today including Diane Warren, Montell
Jordan & Coolio, the new material showcases a more mature Andre sound. The first
indication of what to expect came with the release of 'All About Us' - a sublime
slice of swing which entered the charts at No.3 in July.
The second single, the beautiful ballad 'Lonely', stormed the top ten in November,
paving the way for the album 'Time' released in November to widespread acclaim.
Music Week predicted that Andre's talent can take him as far as that other Greek
songwriter who made the transition from teen idol to mature artist, George Michael.
Q hailed Andre as "a revelation", while NME applauded his "confidence
and class" and the Evening Standard noted that he displayed "more crunch thaN
your average teen sensation groups". The teen press naturally raved about Peter's
latest long-player. Most making it album of the month, with TV Hits simply calling it
"stunning".
Fresh from turning on the Oxford Street Xmas lights, fresh from making a
showstopping appearance as 'Batman' in the '97 Smash Hits awards, Peter
delivered an unforgettable performance playing Battersea power station as part of
the Midland '97 festival.
Next up for Peter was the release of 'All Night All Right', featuring Warren G in
January '98. Another version featured Coolio.A-listed by Radio 1 for 6 weeks, the single entered the
charts at No.16. In July Peter released 'Kiss The Girl' taken from Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' which
shot straight into 
the UK chart at No.9.'
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