Pete Atkin
| Pete Atkin | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 22 August 1945 |
| Origin | Cambridge, England |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, radio producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 1967–2005 |
| Labels | EMI, Essex Music, RCA |
| Associated acts |
Clive James, Footlights |
Pete Atkin (born 22 August 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series This Sceptred Isle.
Born in Cambridge on 22 August 1945, Atkin attended Romsey County Primary School and The Perse School, where he learnt to play the violin. In 1959 he formed a church youth club band called The Chevrons for whom he played piano with four schoolfriends. He studied Classics and English at Cambridge University where he was a member of St John's College. In 1966 he joined Cambridge Footlights, becoming the musical director for the revues.
Atkin made his first recording in 1967: a private pressing of 160 copies of While The Music Lasts. Next year he was taken to EMI with Julie Covington to record the most popular number from the 1967 Revue Show: the complex Duet, which had appeared on his first album. At six minutes, it was too long to be a single and has never received commercial release; the tape has since been lost. Atkin released another privately pressed album in 99 copies entitled The Party's Moving On in 1969.
Essex Music funded the recording of fourteen tracks in 1969. The producer, Don Paul, was a friend of the disc jockey Kenny Everett, who played, amongst others, the song Master of the Revels which is the first track on his first album Beware of the Beautiful Stranger. The lyrics to this, and all but two of the other tracks on the album, by Atkin, were written by Clive James who met Atkin whilst they were both members of Footlights.
Before the release of Beware of the Beautiful Stranger in 1970 Atkin, Covington and Dai Davies recorded a series of twelve 15-minute programmes edited by James for London Weekend Television. These shows, also called The Party's Moving On, each featured three songs and were broadcast only in London late at night. They led to the commissioning of the larger revue format series What Are You Doing After The Show?
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