PETER ARNESEN info

Peter Arnesen (keyboards)

Austrian keyboardist, he was born on August 25th, 1947.

First thing I've found about him is when he was a member of the band Daddy Long Legs in 1970:

Steve Hayton (vocals, guitar)
Kurt Palomaki (bass, vocals)
Peter Arnesen (keyboards)
Cliff Carrison (drums)

They released one album, Oakdown farm, in 1971. After some personnel changes, they released a 2nd album, Three musicians, with new guitarist Gary 'Norton' Holderman. They parted ways in 1972.

In 1973, he was in a mega band called Kala:

Carol Grimes (vocals)
Paul Bennett (vocals)
Dave Codling (guitar, vocals)
Les Nicol (guitar, vocals)
Perry Sinclair (guitar, vocals)
Sid Gardner (bass, vocals)
Peter Arnesen (keyboards)
Shiva Shankar Jones (keyboards, vocals)
Dave Skinner (keyboards)
John Barham (cello)
Jack Stevenson (percussion)
Johnnie Miles (drums)

They released a self-titled album that same year.

He was a founding member of The Rubettes:

Alan Williams (guitar)
Tony Thorpe (guitar)
Mick Clark (bass)
Peter Arnesen (keyboards)
Bill Hurd (keyboards)
John Richardson (drums)

They scored a #1 hit with their first single, 'Sugar baby love'. After their first album, Where it's at, Peter leaves the band in 1974.

Next project was a band called Taggett:

Colin Horton-Jennings (guitar, vocals)
Tim Wheatley (bass, vocals)
Peter Arnesen (keyboards)
Terry Fogg (drums)

They released a self-titled album with help from Pete Wingfield (keyboards), Alan Holmes (sax), Richard Hanson (trumpet), Anne Peacock (backing vocals), Lavinia Rodgers (vocals). The album was produced by Tony Hicks (from The Hollies). The connection is because Peter also was a member of the live backing band for The Hollies (along with Pete Wingfield). But I don't know the period he spent with them. Help, please!!

In January 1975, he joins the Hunter-Ronson band:

Ian Hunter (vocals, guitar)
Mick Ronson (guitar, vocals)
Jeff Appleby (bass)
Peter Arnesen (keyboards)
Dennis Elliott (drums)

They recorded the album Ian Hunter from January to March (also including a guest appearance by John Gustafson in one track), but he was in a hospital when Hunter-Ronson band did a UK tour on April-May 1975 (he was replaced on the tour by Blue Weaver). In July, Peter was back in the band for the US leg of the tour.

When the Hunter-Ronson band broke up, Peter signed a solo deal with Hunter's record company, CBS. He released at least two singles during 1976, one was an instrumental version of 'Somewhere over the rainbow'. They flopped, so he reverted back to sessions.

Once, I read about a band project called Cheap Flights, supposedly featuring Pete. This was the projected lineup, led by the great, late John Grimaldi:

John Grimaldi (guitar)
Pete Ernest (guitar)
Dan Brown (bass)
Peter Arnesen (keyboards)
Cliff Venner (percussion)

Don't know how much they stayed together.

After that, he started playing with The Hollies in the studio (recording several albums with them), and probably also as a member of the live band. But I haven't been able to confirm that point. Does anybody know, please?

Albums with Daddy Long Legs:

Oakdown farm (1971)
Three musicians (1972)

Albums with Kala:

Kala (1973, with Carol Grimes, Les Nicol, Dave Skinner)

Albums with Rubettes:

Where it's at (1974)

Albums with Taggett:

Taggett (1974, with Pete Wingfield)

Albums with The Hollies:

Crazy steal (1978, with Pete Wingfield, Jimmy Jewell)
Hollies sing Holly (1980, with Pete Wingfield, Ron Aspery, Dave Caswell, Howie Casey, Reg Brooks)

Sessions:

Keith Cross (Bored civilians, 1972, with B.J. Cole, Dee Murray, Chrissie Stewart, Nick Lowe, Jimmy Hastings, Steve Chapman, Tony Carr)
Mick Cox (Mick Cox Band, 1973, with Mick Cox, Chrissie Stewart, Tony O'Malley, Mick Weaver, Alan Skidmore, Andrew Steele)
If (Double diamond, 1973, with Dick Morrisey, Cliff Davies, Kurt Palomaki)
Geoff Whitehorn (Whitehorn, 1974, with Geoff Whitehorn, Albert Lee, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Morris, Dick Morrissey, Lindsay Cooper, Cliff Davies, Gerry Conway, John Richardson, Tony Atkins)
Ian Hunter (Ian Hunter, 1975, with Mick Ronson, Dennis Elliott, John Gustafson, Geoff Appleby)
Wounded John Scott Cree (Wivabandon / Oneezone, 1979, with Geoff Whitehorn, Ricky Hitchcock, Frank McDonald, Alan Jones, Ron Aspery, Jeff Daly, Martin Drover, Simon Phillips, Pete Kircher, Tony Carr, Linda Taylor, Sharon Campbell) (Pete plays in one song, 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer', recorded in September 1975)
Terry & Gay Woods (Backwoods, 1975, with Geoff Whitehorn, Ed Deane, Dave Wintour, Mike Giles, Tony Carr)
John Glover (Midnight over England, 1978, with B.J. Cole, Roger Saunders, Tony Hicks, Paul Westwood, John Earle, Steve Gregory, Dick Hanson, John Mealing, Geoff Richardson, Peter Van Hooke, Colin Horton Jennings, Jacquie Sullivan, Joy Yates)
Dana Gillespie (Solid romance, 1984, with Tim Renwick, Tim Cross)
Ronnie Kubera (Just some words for you, 1985)
Tabu (Superdemos, 1986)
Expose Ton (Zagagoing, 1987)

Related links:

From the always interesting Alex's Picks (by Alex Gitlin), we have:

Thanks section

Special thanks to: John Scott Cree, for info on Pete playing in his recordings; Tim Sharman, for info about Pete when playing in Daddy Longlegs.

Thanks to: Sven Gusevik, for providing me lots of info about Peter Arnesen, especially his time with Ian Hunter; Alex Gitlin, for giving me info about Rubettes, Gracious and Taggett.

If you can contribute (with additions, corrections, opinions, etc.), please, send me an e-mail message at mterol@myrealbox.com

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Page created by Miguel Terol on: 08/November/1999. Last modified on: 10/April/2000.
(This page is part of The Musicians' Olympus)