Peter Doyle (Singer)
| Peter Doyle | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Peter John Doyle |
| Born |
28 July 1949 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 13 October 2001 (aged 52) Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1958–2001 |
| Associated acts | The New Seekers |
Peter John Doyle (28 July 1949 – 13 October 2001) was an Australian pop singer who had success with a number of Top 40 hits in Australia in the 1960s, then success internationally as a member of the New Seekers in the early 1970s, before resuming a solo career in 1973.
He started his career at the age of 9 appearing on a children's television talent show called Swallow's Juniors and appeared as a regular on that show for the next five years. At the age 10 he made his first recording on a 78rpm acetate, "Lucky Devil"/"If Irish Eyes Were Shining". He was performing in Sunday afternoon pop shows at Melbourne's Festival Hall at the age of 14 and at 16 he was signed to a record contract with Ivan Dayman's Sunshine label (whose roster included top singers such as Normie Rowe and Tony Worsley). This led to regular appearances on Melbourne's teen TV show, "The GO Show".
From 1965 to 1967, he released ten 45 records in Australia, of which seven made the Top 40, the most successful of which were a cover of Conway Twitty's Speechless (The Pick Up), and a rousing version of Solomon Burke's Stupidity. He was backed by Melbourne band The Phantoms on all these recordings. He then recorded two singles with the band Grandmas Tonic as lead vocalist. His last two singles, once again under his own name, were for the Astor label although he was still backed on them by Grandma's Tonic,(ex-members of Tony Worsley's backing band 'The Fabulous Blue Jays').
May 1968 saw him join the vocal trio 'The Virgil Brothers', Australia's answer to The Walker Brothers. The Virgil Brothers released two singles in Australia in 1968, "The Temptations 'Bout to Get Me" (a Top 5 hit) and "Here I Am". They then relocated to the UK where they recorded their third single, When You Walk Away with producer David McKay. He then quit the trio which broke up soon after.
In 1970, not long after the Virgil Bros had dissolved, he joined the second line-up of The New Seekers. Recommended by Melbourne radio DJ Stan Rolfe. This line-up was their most successful and enduring and during his time with them they had a string of international hits, such as Melanie Safka's "What Have They Done to My Song Ma", Delaney & Bonnie's "Never Ending Song of Love" and "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing".
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