Peter Bardens | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1945-06-19)19 June 1945 Westminster,London, England |
| Died | 22 January 2002(2002-01-22) (aged 56) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Progressive rock |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, vocals |
| Years active | 1965–2002 |
| Labels | Transatlantic,Arista,Capitol, Miramar, HTD,Castle Music |
| Formerly of | Them,Shotgun Express,Camel,Keats, Mirage |
Peter Bardens (19 June 1945 – 22 January 2002) was an English keyboardist and a founding member of theprogressive rock groupCamel. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs withAndrew Latimer. During his career, Bardens worked alongsideRod Stewart,Peter Green,Mick Fleetwood andVan Morrison. He recorded eleven solo albums.
Bardens was born inWestminster,[citation needed]London, England,[1] to Marie Marks andDennis Bardens, the latter a novelist and biographer, and grew up inNotting Hill. He studied fine art atByam Shaw School of Art, and learned the piano, before switching to theHammond organ after listening toJimmy Smith. In 1965, he spent a brief spell withThem after leaving The Cheynes. After leaving Them, he formed a band called The Peter B's, releasing a single, in 1966, called "If You Wanna Be Happy" (b/w "Jodrell Blues"), an instrumental version of the old standard.[1] He moved on and formed Peter B's Looners which eventually morphed intoShotgun Express, a band that playedsoul music and featuredRod Stewart,Peter Green, andMick Fleetwood.[2] Fleetwood later said Barden's recruitment into the band kick-started his musical career.[1]
From August 1968 to February 1970, he formed The Village with featured futureElvis Costello and The Attractions bassistBruce Thomas and Bill Porter (drums).[3] They released a single "Man in the Moon"/"Long Time Coming".[3]
In 1970, Bardens recordedThe Answer, an album featuringPeter Green andAndy Gee. Bardens recorded an eponymous album in 1971 which was released in the United States asWrite My Name in the Dust before formingCamel in 1972.[2] He left Camel in 1978 to join Them bandmateVan Morrison's band. He recordedWavelength with Morrison and appeared in the line up of the album's promotional tour. By the end of the 1970s, Bardens began exploringelectronica and released the albumHeart to Heart in 1979.
Bardens co-wrote "Looking for a Good Time" withBobby Tench, featured as theB-side of the single "Chain Gang" (1982), which Tench had recorded as a tribute toSam Cooke. During that era, Bardens also played withthe Alan Parsons Project. In 1984, he became a member ofKeats (an Alan Parsons Project offshoot) and released an album with them.
In 1985 he recorded the single "Solo" with the band Solo, and in 1986 he produced aLeo Sayer version of the song.[4][5]
Bardens continued to release a number of solo electronic albums includingSeen One Earth (1987), which found chart success in the United States.[6] The first single from the album, "In Dreams", was met with commercial success as well. The song enjoyed heavy airplay on rock stations in the U.S. and Australia, whereTriple M Brisbane, the most popular radio station in the country at the time, added it to their playlist. In 1988, he followed this withSpeed of Light (1988) which featuredMick Fleetwood. "Gold" from this album was released in the U.S as a single and found some success onMTV.
He releasedWater Colours in 1991, andBig Sky in 1994. Also in 1994, with his former Camel bandmateAndy Ward and former members ofCaravan, he formed the band Mirage for a brief European tour. A subsequent, all-American version of the band, with only Bardens and guitarist Steve Adams from the original line-up, did more touring in 1996.
His last concert, subsequent to being diagnosed with abrain tumour, was in Los Angeles in the summer of 2001.[7] Other performers who joined him at his concert includedMick Fleetwood,John Mayall,John McVie,Sheila E. andBen Harper.[1]
Bardens died fromlung cancer inMalibu in January 2002, at the age of 56,[1] and is interred in theHollywood Forever Cemetery. A double CD,Write My Name in the Dust: The Anthology 1963–2002, was released after his death and included tracks recorded throughout his career.[2]
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