Peter Alan Waterman (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, and television personality. As a member of the
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as the Hit Factory) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s throug ...
production and songwriting team, he co-wrote and co-produced many UK
hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...
s. An avid railway enthusiast, Waterman is the owner of significant collections of both historic and commercial railway
locomotive
A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
s and rolling stock.
Early life
Peter Alan Waterman was born in
Stoke Heath,
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
on Wednesday, 15 January 1947.
He was educated at
Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School until he left in 1962 to work for
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
ways. He became a
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
fireman based at
Wolverhampton (Stafford Road) depot. In 2002 he said of his time working for British Railways, "I loved every minute of it. The squalor was unreal, but the camaraderie was phenomenal." After closure of the depot in 1963, Waterman chose to follow a career in music, being inspired by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. To supplement his income as a DJ, he became a gravedigger and then an apprentice at
General Electric Company
The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering.
It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...
, becoming a
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
official. He also worked as a coal miner.
Musical career
Building a record collection through rare
US imports,
[The Coventry kid who made good](_blank)
BBC C&W – 31 March 2006 his DJ work began to take him across the UK, entertaining bigger crowds with a blend of
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
and
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
tunes he had sourced. Given a residency with the
Mecca Leisure Group, he developed new initiatives including
matinée disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
s for under 18s at Coventry's Locarno club, which gave him a valuable insight into what music interested a younger audience.
Waterman noticed that the younger dancers preferred records with high
beats per minute
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
and this influenced his later work. It was at the Locarno that Waterman first met
Neville Staple, later to be a vocalist for
The Specials
The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...
– a band that Waterman would manage for a brief period. In early 2009, Waterman wrote the foreword to Staple's biography, ''Original Rude Boy'', which was published by
Aurum Press
The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...
in May 2009.
Waterman took up a job as an
A&R man, and worked in the
Philadelphia scene, which included introducing
the Three Degrees
The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group formed circa 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although 12 women have been members over the years, the group has always been a trio. The current line-up consists of Helen Scott, Valerie Ho ...
to the UK. He then moved to
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
working with
Peter Tosh
Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...
and
Lee Perry, and producing
Susan Cadogan’s
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
-crossover hit "
Hurt So Good".
In 1979, Waterman set up ''Loose Ends'' with
Peter Collins, the first coming under the name 14–18 with a single inspired by
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, "
Good-Bye-Ee," and hits with artists like
Musical Youth and
Nik Kershaw
Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the decade, i ...
. He then set up his own company
PWL (Pete Waterman Limited) in 1984, quickly signing producers
Matt Aitken
Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as part of the 1980s/early-1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman.
Biography
He beg ...
and
Mike Stock, who produced the song "Whatever I Do" for
Hazell Dean.
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as the Hit Factory) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s throug ...
became one of the most successful musical production teams of the 1980s.
Waterman has been involved in at least twenty-two UK number one singles with his acts (including
Dead or Alive
A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...
,
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
,
Rick Astley
Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, radio DJ and podcaster. He gained fame through his association with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, releasing the 1987 album ''Whenever You Need Somebody'', which sol ...
,
Bananarama
Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...
,
Steps,
Mel and Kim
Mel and Kim (stylized as MӗL & KIM) were an English pop duo, consisting of sisters Melanie Appleby, Melanie and Kim Appleby. Originally managed by Alan Whitehead (drummer), Alan Whitehead, they achieved success between 1986 and 1988, before Me ...
,
Donna Summer
Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...
,
Sinitta,
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 ...
and
Jason Donovan
Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...
)
and he claims upwards of 500 million sales worldwide (inclusive of singles, albums, compilation inclusions, downloads, etc.). Waterman also appeared in the
Steps video "
Tragedy
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
".
In the late-1990s, production company
Celador
CPL Productions (formerly Celador) is an independent television and radio production company run by Danielle Lux, Murray Boland and Janet Oakes. It was formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as an independent television production company. It cr ...
hired Waterman to compose a song for their new quiz show, ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Televis ...
''.
The company felt the song unsuitable, and instead approached
Keith Strachan
Keith Strachan (born 21 January 1944) is an English composer and theatre director. He co-wrote the song " Mistletoe and Wine", which got Cliff Richard the 1988 UK Christmas number one. His TV work includes the theme music for the worldwide franc ...
.
Waterman co-wrote and produced with
Mike Stock "
That Sounds Good to Me" by
Josh Dubovie, the
2010 Eurovision Song Contest entry for the United Kingdom,
[Waterman to pen UK Eurovision song](_blank)
The Press Association – 29 January 2010 which finished in last place with 10 points.
Waterman was worth £30 million in 2006/07, according to
''The Sunday Times'' Rich List.
Television
Waterman co-presented ''
The Hit Man and Her'' (1988–1992) with
Michaela Strachan. He also presented a show on
Radio City.
Waterman has appeared as a judge on both series of ''
Pop Idol
''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...
'' in the UK (2001–03), and also ''
Popstars: The Rivals'' (2002). The latter saw him become manager of the winning
boy band
A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...
One True Voice, who then lost the race to
Christmas number 1 to the same show's winning
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
,
Louis Walsh
Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...
's
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...
.
Waterman returned as judge for the second series of ''
Pop Idol
''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...
'', but was constantly critical of the eventual winner,
Michelle McManus, and was openly disappointed when she won. Waterman has since said he will not appear on any similar programmes in future, and has on several occasions attacked more recent talent shows (specifically those devised by his former ''Pop Idol'' colleague,
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
).
Waterman has stated that he turned down offers to participate in ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'', ''
Britain's Got Talent'' and ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'', citing fix allegations and being put off by unprofessional behaviour including that of ''
Popstars: The Rivals'' co-judge
Geri Halliwell during the show.
Whilst he has kept his promise not to appear as a talent show judge, on 12 October 2008, Waterman joined his fellow ex-''
Pop Idol
''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...
'' judges
Neil Fox and
Nicki Chapman on
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...
's spoof talent show ''
Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice'', a fully scripted fictional spoof on the talent show genre. The show parodied the
emotional manipulation
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is no scientific consensus o ...
behind Cowell's shows, with Waterman memorably interrupting a funeral to tell an ousted contestant that the loss of his gran (who had died of shock when learning her grandson had been dropped from the show) would provide the sob story he needed to get him on to the show.
In factual television, Waterman's interest in trains saw him present a historic self-retrospective view in ''Waterman on Railways'' for Channel Four/the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
. Waterman also appeared in an advert by the
National Blood Service in the UK, their sixth TV advert which also features
Carol Smillie
Carol Patricia Smillie (born 23 December 1961) is a Scottish former television presenter, actress and model. Smillie became famous as a presenter on British TV during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was best known for assisting Nicky Campbell on ...
and
Will Carling
William David Charles Carling (born 12 December 1965) is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five N ...
.
Waterman was one of the contestants in the 2009 series of the BBC programme ''
Celebrity MasterChef'', but was knocked out in the first round.
In October 2019, Waterman appeared on ''
The X Factor: Celebrity''. Waterman was part of an all star audience during the auditions stage in
Malibu at
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
’s house, providing commentary critique behind the main judges, alongside
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive, television presenter and musician, best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013.
Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing b ...
,
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', playing rowd ...
and songwriter
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has won an Academy Honorary Award, Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and three consecutive ''Billboard'' Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year from 19 ...
.
Eurovision
Waterman wrote and produced the UK entry for the
2010 Eurovision Song Contest. This song was performed by the final three acts on ''
Eurovision, Your Country Needs You!'' on 12 March 2010,
Josh Dubovie was chosen to represent the UK. The song came under much criticism and
William Hill's betting odds gave the song 125-1 chance that the song would win, the longest odds for a UK entry ever. In the end the song, "
That Sounds Good to Me", came last at the
2010 Eurovision Song Contest receiving only 10 points in total.
Other commercial interests
Railways
Waterman's main interest outside music is in railways, and he has been involved in several railway ventures. In 1988 he revived the name of the
London & North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.
Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
, which as a group encompassed various ventures:
*
LNWR
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.
Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
: a rail vehicle maintenance business, based at
Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...
it had depots across the country, and was by the time of its sale the largest privately owned rail maintenance business in the country. Having accrued debts of £2 million in building the business in November 2008, Waterman sold it to
Arriva UK Trains
Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's Train operating company, train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first Rail franchising in Great Britain, franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, ...
.
*Waterman Railways: In 1994 during the opening stages of the
privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely compl ...
, Waterman bought the Special Trains Unit effective from April 1995, which ran tourist charters and special trains with six
Class 47 locomotives and 200
Mark 1,
Mark 2 and
Mark 3 carriages. This was the first unit sold from the LNWR Group.
*LNWR Heritage: was the steam locomotive and carriage restoration arm, based at
Crewe Heritage Centre. The company undertook the restoration of Waterman's own locomotives, as well as various complete contract locomotive renovation and boiler overhaul work. Waterman became involved from 2012 in an industry bid to create a national railway apprenticeship scheme, but the bid was rejected in autumn 2013. In March 2014, Waterman sold the business to the
Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust.
To hold his own collection of locomotives, he founded the Waterman Railway Heritage Trust, which currently owns several steam and diesel locomotives including:
*
GWR 4575 class number 5553
*
GWR 5205 class number 5224
*
GWR 5600 class
The Great Western Railway, GWR 5600 Class is a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotive built between 1924 and 1928. They were designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway (GWR), and were introduced into traffic in 1924. After the 1923 grou ...
number 6634
*
British Rail Class 08
The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel–electric shunting locomotives built by British Railways (BR). As the standard BR general-purpose diesel shunter, the class became a familiar sight at major stations and freight yards. Since the ...
number 08830 (D3998)
*
British Rail Class 25 number 25309 (D7659)
*
46035 ''Ixion''
*
47402 ''Gateshead''
*
SAR NGG 16 Class number 109
Waterman also has a keen interest in
model railways
Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are Model building, modelled at a reduced Scale (ratio), scale.
The scale models include locomotives ...
, and is the founder of the model railway business Just Like the Real Thing, which specialises in
O Gauge kits. He works closely with model-maker Laurie Lynch on this project. He continues to retain an interest in the company and regularly accompanies its sales stand to model railway exhibitions. Waterman has an extensive private collection of railway models and railway layouts, in
O scale and larger gauges. He is currently building a large model of
Leamington Spa railway station, in O scale and set in the 1950s. He has written several books and many magazine articles on the subject. He has said that his ability to become absorbed in making models helped him cope with grief after the death of his son.
In 2007, Waterman became involved in a co-operative UK rail industry bid to create a national railway training scheme under the then Labour government, which after the Government seed funding was withdrawn from all such schemes, was halted in 2009. Waterman revealed in 2011 that he had since spent £900,000 of his own money on training apprentices at Crewe, and that outside
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
's own scheme, only 37 apprentices had been taken into the rail industry in 2011. In January 2015, Waterman announced the sale of the bulk of his model railway collection, to fund the training of rail apprentices in restoring his steam locomotives 5224 and 5553, which in May 2015 were moved from Crewe to
Peak Rail
Peak Rail is a heritage railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam and heritage diesel service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales.
The heritage railway line is over in length and, , operat ...
. In April 2015, the collection sold for £627,229 at the auction in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. In July 2015, in partnership with rail engineering firm OSL, Waterman launched the Railway Exchange Training Academy (RETA) at Crewe.
In June 2009, Waterman unveiled
Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink is a tram/light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has List of Manchester Metrolink tram stops, 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the Transport in the United Kingdom#Trams and light ra ...
Firema T-68 1007s new name “
East Lancashire Railway” as a tribute to the Heritage Railway at
Bury tram stop.
In October 2018, Waterman unveiled ''The Will Hay Appreciation Society''
's memorial bench to
Will Hay,
Moore Marriott
George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he ...
and
Graham Moffatt in
Cliddesden,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
the filming location for Buggleskelly in the railway comedy film ''
Oh, Mr Porter!''.
In 2018, Waterman became president of the Railway Benefit Fund, a railway benevolent charity based in Crewe.
On 20 October 2021 during a
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a Spur line, branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to ...
site visit Waterman announced the name of one of the
tunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...
s to be Dorothy.
In 2021 and 2022, Pete Waterman produced two different OO Gauge model layouts at Chester Cathedral. Both modelled different parts of the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
, with each being branded as 'Making Tracks' and in 2023, Pete, and his group of other enthusiasts nicknamed the 'Railnuts' group, produced a model railway focusing on
Milton Keynes Central railway station.
Sport
In addition to his passion for music and railways, Waterman is also a supporter of
Walsall F.C. though he supported
Coventry City for many years. He is also a
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
fan and is president of
League 1 side
Coventry Bears.
Honours
In 2001, Waterman was made an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration by Coventry University for his services to the pop industry. In 2004, he was awarded an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
in music by
University College Chester. In the
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...
List published 31 December 2004, he was made an
OBE for his services to music. In December 2006, he became a patron of the newly formed charity, the City, Lambeth and Southwark Music Education Trust. In 2016, Waterman was awarded Fellowship of the
Royal Northern College of Music (FRNCM), making him the first pop musician to be given the award.
In September 2024, a ''
Freightliner''
Class 90 ''
№90041'' was named in honour of Pete Waterman, with a
plaque placed on both sides of the
locomotive
A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
Personal life
Waterman has been married three times:
*Elizabeth Reynolds (m. 1970–74, divorced): one son Paul (1971–2005)
*Julie Reeves (m. 1980–84, divorced): one son Peter (born 1981)
*
Denise Gyngell (m. 1991–99, divorced); two children Toni Tuesday and Charlie Ella
Bibliography
*''I Wish I Was Me: The Autobiography'' (London: Virgin Books) 2000
*''A Train is for Life'' (Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing) 2008
*''Just like the Real Thing: Modelling Railways'' (Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing) 2009
*''The Fame Factor'' (Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing) 2009
References
External links
Pete Waterman Limited*
''Pete Waterman''(BBC WM 95.6)
Waterman's (now closed) model railway manufacturing company websiteat the
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterman, Pete
1947 births
Living people
People from Coventry
English DJs
English record producers
English music managers
English male songwriters
Radio City DJs
English television personalities
English businesspeople
English television presenters
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
British people associated with Heritage Railways
Rail transport modellers