Peter Bardens (19 June 1945 – 22 January 2002) was an English keyboardist and a founding member of 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 ...

group

Camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs with Andrew Latimer. During his career, Bardens worked alongside

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

. He recorded eleven solo albums.

Career

Bardens was born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to Marie Marks and Dennis Bardens, the latter a novelist and biographer, and grew up in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

. He studied fine art at

Byam Shaw School of Art The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by Byam Shaw, John Liston Bya ...

, and learned the piano, before switching to the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

after listening to Jimmy Smith. In 1965, he spent a brief spell with Them after leaving The Cheynes. After leaving Them, he formed a band called The Peter B's, releasing a single, in 1966, called "If You Wanna Be Happy" (b/w "Jodrell Blues"), an instrumental version of the old standard. He moved on and formed Peter B's Looners which eventually morphed into Shotgun Express, a band that played

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 ...

and featured

, Peter Green, and Mick Fleetwood. Fleetwood later said Barden's recruitment into the band kick-started his musical career. From August 1968 to February 1970, he formed The Village with featured future Elvis Costello and The Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas and Bill Porter (drums). They released a single "Man in the Moon"/"Long Time Coming". In 1970, Bardens recorded ''The Answer'', an album featuring Peter Green and Andy Gee. Bardens recorded an eponymous album in 1971 which was released in the United States as ''Write My Name in the Dust'' before forming

in 1972. He left Camel in 1978 to join Them bandmate

's band. He recorded ''

Wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same ''phase (waves ...

'' with Morrison and appeared in the line up of the album's promotional tour. By the end of the 1970s, Bardens began exploring

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

and released the album ''Heart to Heart'' in 1979. Bardens co-wrote "Looking for a Good Time" with Bobby Tench, featured as the B-side of the single " Chain Gang" (1982), which Tench had recorded as a tribute to

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

. During that era, Bardens also played with

the Alan Parsons Project The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock music, rock duo formed in London in 1975. Its core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons, and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They shared w ...

. In 1984, he became a member of Keats (an Alan Parsons Project offshoot) and released an album with them. In 1985 he recorded the single "Solo" with the band Solo, and in 1986 he produced a

Leo Sayer Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer, 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1970s. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingd ...

version of the song. Bardens continued to release a number of solo electronic albums including ''Seen One Earth'' (1987), which found chart success in the United States. The first single from the album, "In Dreams", was met with commercial success as well. The song enjoyed heavy airplay on rock stations in the U.S. and Australia, where Triple M Brisbane, the most popular radio station in the country at the time, added it to their playlist. In 1988, he followed this with ''Speed of Light'' (1988) which featured Mick Fleetwood. "Gold" from this album was released in the U.S as a single and found some success on MTV. He released ''Water Colours'' in 1991, and ''Big Sky'' in 1994. Also in 1994, with his former Camel bandmate Andy Ward and former members of Caravan, he formed the band Mirage for a brief European tour. A subsequent, all-American version of the band, with only Bardens and guitarist Steve Adams from the original line-up, did more touring in 1996. His last concert, subsequent to being diagnosed with a brain tumour, was in Los Angeles in the summer of 2001. Other performers who joined him at his concert included Mick Fleetwood, John Mayall,

John McVie John Graham McVie (; born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of drummer ...

, Sheila E. and Ben Harper. Bardens died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in Malibu in January 2002, at the age of 56, and is interred in the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

. A double CD, ''Write My Name in the Dust: The Anthology 1963–2002'', was released after his death and included tracks recorded throughout his career.

Discography

Solo studio albums

*1970 – ''The Answer'' *1971 – ''Peter Bardens ('Write My Name in the Dust' in the U.S.)'' *1976 – ''Vintage 69'' *1979 – ''Heart to Heart'' *1987 – ''Seen One Earth'' *1988 – ''Speed of Light'' *1991 – ''Water Colors'' *1993 – ''Further Than You Know'' *1994 – ''Big Sky'' *2002 – ''The Art of Levitation'' *2005 – ''Write My Name In The Dust: The Anthology 1963–2002''

Solo singles

*1971 – "Homage to the God of Light" *1987 – "In Dreams" *1988 – "Gold" *1988 – "Whisper in the Wind" *1991 – "A Higher Ground"

Studio albums with Them

*'' The Angry Young Them'' (1965)

Studio albums with Van Morrison

*''

'' (1978)

Studio albums with Camel

*''

'' (1973) *'' Mirage'' (1974) *'' The Snow Goose'' (1975) *'' Moonmadness'' (1976) *'' Rain Dances'' (1977) *'' Breathless'' (1978) *'' The Single Factor'' (1982) (guest)

Live albums with Camel

*'' Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall'' (1974) (''Camel + Various Artists. Includes 19-minute version of Camel's 'God of Light Revisited) *'' A Live Record'' (1978) (''live, various venues 1974, 1975, 1977'') *'' Pressure Points: Live in Concert'' (1984) (''live, 11 May 1984, Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK'') *'' On the Road 1972'' (1992) (''live, venue unspecified'') *'' Gods of Light '73-'75'' (2000) (''live, various venues'')

Single with the band Solo

*"Solo" (1985)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardens, Pete 1945 births 2002 deaths Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Camel (band) members Canterbury scene Deaths from lung cancer in California English rock keyboardists English rock pianists English organists English male organists Musicians from the City of Westminster Them (band) members Mirage (British band) members 20th-century Irish male musicians Progressive rock keyboardists People from Westminster Shotgun Express members