Kevin Peek (21 December 1946 – 11 February 2013) was an Australian

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

, playing both

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, best known for his work with the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

Biography

Peek was born in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, and initially played

classical percussion Orchestral percussion refers to the various percussion instruments used in an orchestral setting. It may also refer to the act of playing such instruments in an orchestral style. Many music schools and conservatories offer training for musicians ...

in the Adelaide Conservatorium of Music, before teaching himself the guitar. In 1967 Peek formed a

Psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...

/ progressive rock group, James Taylor Move, but left by May 1968, moving to London. He returned to Adelaide, Australia, to join a newly formed rock band

Quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

which, despite a contract from England's

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, proved unsuccessful. An Australian single, "Now"/"Will My Lady Come"

ecca Y-8977 Ecca may refer to: * Ecca Group, a group of sedimentary geological formations in southern Africa * Ecca Pass, Eastern Cape province, South Africa * Edmonton City Centre Airport, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada * Ecca Vandal, South African-born Austra ...

was released in 1969. The A-side is credited to

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born 17 July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo (band), Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many ot ...

; the B-side to

Trevor Spencer Trevor Spencer (born 21 May 1947 in Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian songwriter, record producer and drummer. He studied drums and percussion from the age of 10. By the age of 14, he was playing professionally in bands in Adelaide and Melbo ...

Alan Tarney Alan Tarney (born 19 November 1945) is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spenc ...

and Peek. For a time, following their move to London, he and his fellow Adelaide bandmates—guitarist Terry Britten, bassist Alan Tarney, and drummer Trevor Spencer—made their livings as session musicians together, playing with everyone from the

New Seekers The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music woul ...

and

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single " Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be sign ...

(''

Earth Song/Ocean Song ''Earth Song/Ocean Song'' is the second album by Mary Hopkin, released in October 1971 by Apple Records. It was released over two years after her first album, ''Post Card'', and would be her last for eighteen years. Background and recording Aft ...

'') to

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

, whose regular backing band they became on stage and on record during the 1970s. Peek also worked with

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

Jeff Wayne Jeffry Wayne (born July 1, 1943) is an American composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel ''The War of the Wo ...

(

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and '' Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel wa ...

) which he contributed to as part of the orchestra, and

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

, among others. He wrote the music for the internationally broadcast "

Singapore Girl Singapore Girl is a consistent visual advertising slogan applied to depictions of flight attendants of Singapore Airlines (SIA) dressed in the distinctive ''sarong kebaya'' SIA uniform, in use since 1972, and remains a prominent element of SIA's ...

" television advertisements for

Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...

. In 1979, he joined the classical/progressive rock quintet

. In association with classical guitarist

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

, keyboardist

Francis Monkman Anthony Francis Keigwin Monkman (9 June 1949 – 12 May 2023) was an English rock, classical and film score composer, and a founding member of both the progressive rock band Curved Air and the classical/rock fusion band Sky. Life and career ...

, bassist

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. ...

, and drummer

Tristan Fry Tristan Frederick Allan Fry (born 25 October 1946, London) is a British drummer and percussionist. Career Fry began his career by joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra as a timpanist at the age of 17. He was a founding member of a number of e ...

, Peek played on seven studio albums with the band, before departing in 1991. Peek recorded three albums – ''Guitar Junction'', ''Awakening'', and ''Life & Other Games'' – but achieved greater prominence through his work with Sky and his session work with

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English pop singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known f ...

Sally Oldfield Sally Patricia Oldfield (born 3 August 1947) is an English singer-songwriter. She is the sister of composers Mike and Terry Oldfield. Early life Born in Dublin, Ireland, Oldfield was raised in the Roman Catholic faith of her mother, Maureen ...

, the

Alan Parsons Project Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

, and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

(in association with Francis Monkman on their ''Symphonic Rock: British Invasion'' releases). He also played on various soundtracks, including Monkman's music for ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe. Starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, the film, set in London, weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, inc ...

''. Peek was jailed for three years in 1994 for 28 counts of fraud over a scheme in which he admitted faking information provided to factoring financier Scottish Pacific. Following a failed business venture and bankruptcy, in 2010 he was again prosecuted in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, on two counts of making a false statement to deceive or defraud. A full trial was originally scheduled for 2011, later adjourned until 2012 and ultimately never took place. Peek died of

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

in a Perth hospice on 11 February 2013, aged 66 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peek, Kevin Australian rock guitarists Australian classical guitarists Australian male guitarists Musicians from Adelaide Musicians from Perth, Western Australia 2013 deaths 1946 births 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century Australian guitarists Sky (English/Australian band) members 20th-century Australian male musicians Deaths from melanoma in Australia 20th-century classical musicians