Pete Dello is a 1960s and 1970s singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and now music teacher.

Career

Dello started his career as a musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 in the skiffle era of the 1950s and was a founding member of the rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 Grant Tracy and The Sunsets, after which he joined Steve Darbyshire's backing group, The Yum Yum Band, in the mid 1960s. This led onto him forming Honeybus

Honeybus

Honeybus were a 1960s pop group formed in April 1967, in London. They were best known for their 1968 UK Top 10 hit single, "I Can't Let Maggie Go".-Line-up:The best known line-up consisted of:...

, with whom he scored the hit

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

 single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 "I Can't Let Maggie Go" in 1968.

He wrote

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s with all his bands (and also for The Applejacks

The Applejacks

The Applejacks were a UK pop and beat group of the 1960s. They were the first "Brumbeat" group to reach the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, and were unusual for having a female bass guitarist, Megan Davies....

). The Dello-penned song "Do I Figure In Your Life?" has been covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by the likes of Dave Berry

Dave Berry (musician)

Not to be confused with English 1960s singer Mike Berry.Dave Berry is a British pop singer and former teen idol of the 1960s...

, Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

, Iain Matthews

Iain Matthews

Iain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...

, Dave Stewart, Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...

 and Dana

Dana Rosemary Scallon

Dana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....

. His co-writer was Ray Cane. Dello was also a session musician

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

, and he was hired for bands like Unit 4 + 2

Unit 4 + 2

Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with the song "Concrete and Clay". The track topped the UK chart for one week.-Early days:...

, The Scaffold

The Scaffold

The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of Mike McGear , Roger McGough and John Gorman.-Career:...

 and The Roulettes

The Roulettes

The Roulettes were a British rock and roll group formed in London in 1962. They started out as the group playing behind Adam Faith, who enjoyed a run of chart hits in the 1960s. In 1963 they signed to EMI and began releasing their own material, and in addition they would continue to work with Faith...

.

Quickly leaving Honeybus rather than tour and promote the single, he next cut a solo album

Solo album

A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...

 Into Your Ears in 1971, and also worked with John Killigrew. Ultimately he quit the music industry for other interests during the 1970s.

Singles

Sunsets

• 1961 "Cry Of The Wild Goose"

Grant Tracy & The Sunsets

• 1961 "Say When"
• 1961 "Pretend"
• 1962 "The Great Matchmaker"
• 1962 "Taming Tigers"
• 1963 "Everybody Shake"

Steve Darbyshire and the Yum Yum Band

• 5 Decca singles 65-67

Honeybus

• 1967 "Delighted To See You"
• 1967 "Do I Still Figure In Your Life?"
• 1968 "I Can't Let Maggie Go"
• 1973 "For You"

Lace

• 1968 "People People"
• 1969 "I'm A Gambler"

Magic Valley

• 1969 "Taking The Heart Out Of Love"

Leah

• 1973 "Arise, Sir Henry"

Albums

• 1964 Teenbeat (Grant Tracy And The Sunsets)
• 1971 John Killigrew (John Killigrew with Pete Dello)
• 1971 Into Your Ears (Pete Dello And Friends)
• 1973 Recital (Honeybus) - comeback album(unreleased)

Notable compilations

• 1989 Honeybus At Their Best (Honeybus)
• 1993 Old Masters, Hidden Treasures (Honeybus)
• 1997 At Their Best (Honeybus)
• 1999 The Honeybus Story (Honeybus)
• 2002 She Flies Like A Bird : The Anthology (features unreleased songs such as "Big Ship") (Honeybus)

External links

• [ Pete Dello AMG webpage]