Peters and Lee were a successful British folk/pop duo of the 1970s, comprising Lennie Peters (22 November 1931 – 10 October 1992) and Dianne Lee (born February 1950).

Background

An uncle of Rolling Stones' drummer Charlie Watts

Charlie Watts

Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...

, Lennie Peters (born Leonard George Sargent, 22 November 1931, London) was blinded in one eye during a car accident when he was five years old. A thrown brick blinded his other eye when he was sixteen. Before Peters and Lee he was a pianist playing the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 pub scene. He recorded two singles on the Oreol label, "Let the Tears Begin" and "And My Heart Cried" in 1963 and 1964 respectively. In 1966 he recorded "Stranger in Paradise" for Pye Records

Pye Records

Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...

 and then "Here We Go Again" on the Gemini label in 1970. The latter he would revisit as Peters and Lee in 1976. He teamed up with actress and dancer Dianne Lee (born Dianne Littlehales, February 1950,, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England) in 1970. Lee would provide backing vocals for Peters' solo act. She was also at the time part of a dance act with her cousin Liz.

Their original act was called Lennie Peters and Melody until their manager suggested the name Peters and Lee. Their first performance was with Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...

 on 30 April 1970 at a concert in Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...

.

Early success

They entered the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks, which they won for a then record of seven times with such songs as "All Change Places", "I'm Confessin'", "Let It Be Me" and "All I Ever Need is You". Following their TV success, a record contract was soon signed with Philips Records

Philips Records

Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...

. This quickly led to a number one hit, "Welcome Home

Welcome Home (1973 song)

"Welcome Home" was a song made popular by Peters and Lee.Originally written by Jean Alphonse Dupre and Stanislas Beldone in French and translated into English by Bryan Blackburn the record was produced by Johnny Franz...

". A successful first album, "We Can Make It", followed. This also reached the number one position, selling over 250,000 copies.

TV appearances

The duo were top of the bill at the Royal Variety Performance

Royal Variety Performance

The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...

in 1973. They were also resident guest stars on The Des O'Connor Show, had slots on Golden Shot, Mike and Bernie Winters' Show, Presenting Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...

, Seaside Special

Seaside Special

Seaside Special was a BBC light entertainment show broadcast from the mid-late 1970s. It was an outside broadcast and was always filmed in a big top in a British seaside resort. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses , but in later seasons, the BBC purchased their own big top to act...

and David Nixon's show.

Peters and Lee had a popular TV series of their own Meet Peters and Lee, including several Christmas specials made by ATV

Associated TeleVision

Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...

. "The Peters and Lee Story" was one Christmas special made for December 27 1975 which starred Mike and Bernie Winters, Cleo Lane and Aiden J Harvey who won New Faces

New Faces

New Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 29 September 1973 to 2 April 1978 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham...

in 1974. Their success made them household names and frequent appearances on Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

also kept their record sales steady.

Their last TV appearance before their split was London Night Out in November 1980, in which they performed four songs from their farewell album.

Solo and reunion

Lee went on to perform mainly in theatre and acting roles, whilst Peters pursued a solo singing career. He recorded his only solo album Unforgettable in 1981 and released three singles, "Record of My Love" in 1981, "Why Me" for Christmas 1982 and "Key Largo" in 1985. Peters also appeared on a few small TV slots, but without a huge success. Despite their fame, neither Peters nor Lee could repeat the success they enjoyed whilst together.

The pair reunited in 1986 with a new single, "Familiar Feelings", to perform on the nostalgia circuit. They also made some TV appearances, performing their new single. The duo went on to record two new albums, one in 1989 and the last in 1992 for their 21st anniversary, before Peters' death from bone cancer in 1992. Their final TV appearance was Pebble Mill

Pebble Mill at One

Pebble Mill at One was a popular British lunchtime chat show broadcast live originally on BBC2 before transferring to BBC1. It was produced from the Pebble Mill facilities of BBC Birmingham, and uniquely was hosted from the centre's main reception area rather than a traditional studio...

in February 1992 with a short interview and a performance of the hit "Hey Mister Music Man". Sporting a broken arm, Peters' illness was apparent. Lee went on to marry Rick Price

Rick Price (bassist)

Rick Price is an English bassist, who has played with various Birmingham based rock bands, most notably Sight and Sound, The Move , Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard...

 of Wizzard

Wizzard

Wizzard was a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...

 and recorded a solo album Chemistry in 1994. She continues to tour with Price as a duo, performing hits and new material.

Discography

Peters and Lee recorded two albums in the US, one being Smile, which included a new recording of their hit "Welcome Home". The album achieved a brief time in the US Billboard charts.

Singles

• "Welcome Home": May 1973, #1
• "By Your Side": November 1973, #39
• "Don't Stay Away Too Long": April 1974, #3
• "Rainbow": August 1974, #17
• "Closer", 1974
• "The Crying Game", 1975
• "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", 1975
• "Hey Mr. Music Man": March 1976, #16
• "Save Me", 1976
• "What is Love", 1976
• "Serenade That We Played", 1976
• "Where is Your Heart", (#22 in the Netherlands) 1977
• "Smile" 1977
• "Let Love Come Between Us", 1977
• "Suspicious Minds", 1977
• "Love (Loving Time)" 1978
• "People Over the World", 1979
• "I Understand", 1980
• "Ocean and Blue Sky", 1980
• "Familiar Feelings", 1986
• "Peace Must Come Again", 1989
• "Isle of Debris", 1989
• "Through All the Years" (planned, but ultimately unreleased), 1992
• "Welcome Home" (used to advertise Walkers Crisps) 1995

Albums

• We Can Make It
  We Can Make It
  We Can Make It is the only number one album in the UK for British vocal duo Peters and Lee. It spent 2 weeks at the top of the chart in 1973.-Tracklisting:#All Change Places#I'm Confessin'#Take To The Mountains#Turn To Me#There They Go#We Can Make It...
  
  January 1973, #1
• By Your Side November 1973, #9
• Rainbow September 1974, #6
• Favourites October 1975, #2
• Serenade 1976
• Invitation December 1976, #44
• Smile 1977
• Love and Affection 1979
• The Farewell Album 1980
• Peters and Lee 1989
• Through All the Years 1992

Compilation albums

• Love Will Keep Us Together 1978
• Spotlight On... 1979
• Remember When 1980
• Yesterday and Today 1982
• All I Ever Need is You 1985
• The Best Of Peters and Lee 1999

External links

• http://markwirtz0.tripod.com/markpwirtz/id9.html Mark Wirtz
  Mark Wirtz
  Mark P. Wirtz is an Alsatian born pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and stand-up comedian. As a producer, Wirtz's most famous output is from the mid to late 1960s, when he worked at Abbey Road Studios with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, under contract to EMI...
  
  (producer) discography
• http://www.priceandlee.org/
• http://www.richardwho.com/collectors/brianmattocks/pl/index.asp