Peter Cox

Peter Cox
Peter Cox (right) and Richard Drummie in San Francisco, 1985
Background information
Born	17 November 1955 (1955-11-17) (age 53)
Origin	Surrey, England
Genres	Pop, blue-eyed soul
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, drummer
Years active	1973 - present
Associated acts	Go West, Tony Hadley, Bernie Nolan, Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Website	http://www.peter-cox.org

Peter Cox (born 17 November 1955, Surrey, England) is an English singer-songwriter and occasional drummer, best known for being one half of the 1980s blue-eyed soul duo Go West. He is currently the lead singer with Manfred Mann's Earth Band following the departure of Noel McCalla.

Early Career/Go West

As a child, Cox was a member of his school choir,^[1] and at eighteen, he joined a soul band. It was whilst playing in clubs that he met Richard Drummie, with whom he signed a publishing deal. For the next few years, Cox and Drummie tried to land a recording contract, but failed. It was when their manager, John Glover, suggested they recorded a few tracks with the help of a new record producer that Go West began to succeed.

After signing a deal with Chrysalis Records, their first single, "We Close Our Eyes", was a Top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart. Other singles included "Call Me" and "Don't Look Down". The following year, Go West were named 'Best Newcomers' at the 1986 Brit Awards.

In 1990 the group successfully cracked the other side of the Atlantic when they released the single, "The King of Wishful Thinking", a song which featured on the soundtrack of the film Pretty Woman. Subsequent releases from the band received sereval awards based on airplay in America.

Solo career

Cox moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue a solo career.^[1] His self-titled album Peter Cox was released in 1997 to critical acclaim. Songs on the album included "Ain't Gonna Cry Again", "What a Fool Believes" and "If You Walk Away". Other solo albums were Flame Still Burns (2001), Nine Miles High (2002), Desert Blooms (2002), Game For Fools (2005) and Motor City Music (2006). Cox also teamed up with Tony Hadley on the album Tony Hadley vs Peter Cox & Go West, released in 2004. Another artist he collaborated with was Bernie Nolan.

In 2003, Cox replaced Then Jerico's Mark Shaw on the UK TV reality show Reborn in the USA after Shaw stormed off the series in the show's first few days. (Even though Cox had achieved previous success across the Atlantic as part of Go West, he was able to go on the show as none of his solo singles had found success in the United States.) Cox was a favourite to win, but was voted off in New York after he forgot the lyrics to the Norah Jones hit he was performing. Following his departure from the show, Cox reunited with old bandmate Drummie, and the eventual winner Tony Hadley, for a three month UK tour.

Cox is still active in the music industry. In 2007 Cox, Drummie, and a new line-up of their band, appeared on Jim'll Fix It:Strikes again to recreate a famous 'fix it' from 1986.^[2] A year later, they released the album, Futurenow, and toured the UK.

On 16th October 2009 he was announced as the new lead singer with Manfred Mann's Earth Band following the departure of Noel McCalla. His first public appearance with them was on 19 October, 2009 at The Brook in Southampton, UK

Discography

Solo albums

• 1997 Peter Cox - Chrysalis Records UK #64
• 2001 Flame Still Burns (EP) - Blueprint Records
• 2002 Nine Miles High (EP) - Blueprint Records
• 2004 Desert Blooms - Blueprint Records
• 2004 Tony Hadley vs Peter Cox & Go West - Blueprint Records
• 2005 Game For Fools (EP) - Blueprint Recording Corporation Ltd
• 2006 Motor City Music - Curb Records

Solo singles

• "Ain't Gonna Cry Again" (1997) - UK #37
• "If You Walk Away" (1997) - UK #24
• "What a Fool Believes" (1998) - UK #39^[3]

References and notes

• Official Peter Cox website
• Official Go West website and forum
• Unofficial Go West fan forum
• Go West at Allmusic
• Unofficial Go West fansite 'Go West Arena'
• Hadley vs Cox 21 Jan 2004
• BBC Berkshire Music - Tony Hadley and Peter Cox