Cowap, had extraordinary ability as a guitarist and developed a unique sound, a fusion of the Chet Atkins and Buddy Holly styles. He just lived for playing and practising, and according to other Manchester musicians at the time, there was nobody to touch him. He was the ultimate rock ¹n¹ roll player. Groups used to travel from Liverpool to go and watch Cowap playing, and you could see their jaws drop when they saw what he could do.

The Country Gentlemen secured a deal with Decca in May 1963 and cut a single with Mike Smith as producer. This coupled a pulsating beat rendition of "Greensleeves", arranged by Cowap, with the R & B styled flip "Baby Jean", written by Hawkins-Magill-Helm. Released in November 1963, the single represented high energy beat music at its best and was an excellent debut for the group. However, their very unusual and aggressive version of "Greensleeves" was regarded as showing disrespect to an almost sacred tune, and the BBC quickly banned it from being played on the radio! Without airplay the single had no chance of making the charts, but Cowap¹s unusual and powerful arrangement of "Greensleeves" was later copied by fellow Mancunians The Scorpions, who reached No.22 with the song in Holland in 1965. That same year a German beat group called The Lords also "stole" Cowap¹s arrangement for their version aimed at the German market.

With Alan Doyle (ex-Johnny Masters & The Mastersounds, ex-Rainmakers) in as temporary rhythm guitarist, The Country Gentlemen toured around the UK in late 1963/early 1964, as backing group for Billie Davies, who had just had a big hit with "Tell Him". Doyle later went on to play with The Toggery Five, but the group kept the augmented four-piece line-up with rhythm guitar duties being assigned to Terry Morton (ex-Wayne Fontana & The Jets) after the Billie Davies tour. Morton only lasted for a brief time, though. In mid 1964 he left to join The Scorpions, who shortly afterwards found fame in Holland with a series of chart hits including "Hello Josephine" and "Ann Louise" in 1965.

Graham Gouldman came to a Country Gents rehearsal and played them a demo of his song "Look Through Any Window". Cowap & Co. really loved the song and wanted to record it and release it as their next single, but unfortunately for them The Hollies had the priority, and their version reached No. 4 in the UK charts in 1965.

Undaunted by their bad luck, however, The Country Gents did resurface on record that same year, backing female singer Little Frankie (ex-Chimes) on a trio of singles for the Columbia label. All the songs, several of which were written by Silverman-Lisberg-Gouldman, bear the unmistakable stamp of the deft Country Gents arrangements and style, with Cowap¹s guitar craftsmanship as a key factor. Despite strong support from Charles Silverman and Harvey Lisberg (the management team of Herman¹s Hermits) and the songwriting & production skills of Graham Gouldman, none of Little Frankie¹s releases managed to enter the charts.

1966 saw original bassist Nick Duval leave the group. He was replaced by Rod Clare, who had previously been with Jerry Lee & The Staggerlees and also The Emperors Of Rhythm. Frank Dwyer came in on keyboards, and Geoff Foot later joined as rhythm guitarist. The group continued to work with Little Frankie until 1967. Sadly, no more Country Gents or Little Frankie records saw the light of day, but Peter Cowap had gained recognition in the business for his musicianship and songwriting skills. He wrote songs and played sessions for a number of artists during the 60s, including The Measles, The Downliners Sect, The Tony Jackson Group, The Magic Lanterns, The Pop Art and Herman¹s Hermits. For Graham Gouldman¹s group, The Mockingbirds, he originated "How To Find A Lover" in 1966. He also appeared with Gouldman in the two studio groups High Society and The Manchester Mob that same year. Cowap later became a solo artist on Pye, before joining the Hermits in 1971. The mid 70s, 80s and 90s saw him mainly doing cabaret and country & western shows as a solo act, as well as doing sessions for other artists. He died of pneumonia on July 16th. 1997.