Peter Callander

Peter Callander (10 October 1939 – 25 February 2014) was an English songwriter and record producer.[1] Active from the 1960s onwards, Callander wrote or co-wrote songs that have been performed by recording artists such as Cilla Black, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Shirley Bassey, and The Tremeloes, amongst many others.[2] On some songs he was credited as Robin Conrad.[3] Callander was also a founder member of the Society of Distinguished Songwriters (SODS), a director of PRS for Music, and formed a publishing company, Callander Family Music Ltd.

Peter Callander
Birth namePeter Robin Callander
Also known asRobin Conrad
Born(1939-10-10)10 October 1939
Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Died25 February 2014(2014-02-25) (aged 74)
GenresPop music
Occupation(s)Songwriter, record producer
Years active1960s–2014
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Born Peter Robin Callander, in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, he was educated at the City of London School on a scholarship, before following in his father's footsteps and training as a chef. He then moved into music publishing as a song plugger for Bron Music and he became a manager at Shapiro Bernstein Music.[4]

Career

He often worked in conjunction with Mitch Murray who he met in 1966, with Murray writing the music and Callander the lyrics. The two also teamed together to produce recording artists such as Paper Lace, Tony Christie, and The Brothers.

Their joint compositions included "Even the Bad Times are Good" (The Tremeloes),[5] "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" (Georgie Fame),[6] "Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha" (Cliff Richard),[7] "Ragamuffin Man" (Manfred Mann),[8] "Hitchin' a Ride" (Vanity Fare),[9] "Turn on the Sun" (Nana Mouskouri)[10] plus "Avenues and Alleyways", "Las Vegas", and "I Did What I Did for Maria" for Tony Christie.[11]

In 1972, his joint composition with Geoff Stephens of "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", was recorded by Wayne Newton.[12] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in July 1972.[13]

Whilst Callander was especially prolific during the 1960s and 1970s, his influence continued throughout his life. In 2005, Tony Christie spent seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart with the Murray and Callander produced tune, "Is This the Way to Amarillo".[14] In an interview in The Times in which he described another Murray-Callander penned tune, "Las Vegas", Christie noted that the two "were the star songwriters of the day".[15]

Also in 2005, Swedish pop singer Agnetha Fältskog recorded the tune, "A Fool Am I", which had been a hit in the UK for Cilla Black in 1966,[16] for Fältskog's successful comeback album, My Colouring Book, a collection of covers of classic 1960s pop tunes.[14] Callendar provided the English language lyrics to what had originally been an Italian language song.[17]

He died at the age of 74 on 25 February 2014.[18]

Discography (selected)

As songwriter

As producer
  • "Sing Me" – The Brothers (1977) (with Mitch Murray) – UK No. 8[27]
  • "Beautiful" – The Brothers (1977) (with Mitch Murray)
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gollark: Fun fact: Mercury has fire dragons.
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gollark: GTech™ GOlogists™ will check.
gollark: 25 kilobuckets of what? Ominous.

References
  1. "Peter Robin Callander", ICC Directors (database), ICC Information Group/LexisNexis Academic, 24 July 2007
  2. ""Songs"". Peter Callander: Multi Award Winning Songwriter Producer. 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  3. Dave Laing, "Peter Callander obituary", The Guardian, 10 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2019
  4. Obituary in The Times p56. 7 March 2014
  5. "Even the Bad Times Are Good – Mitch Murray, Peter Callander". Second Hand Songs. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  6. "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde – Georgie Fame : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. "Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha – Cliff Richard : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  8. "Ragamuffin Man / Words and music by Mitch Murray & Peter Callander | National Library of Australia". Catalogue.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  9. "Hitchin' a Ride / Words by Peter Callander ; music by Mitch Murray | National Library of Australia". Catalogue.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  10. "20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Nana Mouskouri – Nana Mouskouri : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 21 March 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  11. Ankeny, Jason (25 April 1943). "Tony Christie – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  12. "Wayne Newton : Greatest Hits". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  13. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 317. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  14. ""News"". Peter Callander: Multi Award Winning Songwriter Producer. 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  15. Greenwood, Phoebe (30 July 2005). ""The Story behind the Song"". The Times. p. 34. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  16. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 451. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  17. "A Fool Am I [Dimmelo Parlami] – Cilla Black : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  18. "Peter Callander | M Magazine : PRS for Music Online Magazine". M-magazine.co.uk. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  19. "A Fool Am I – Agnetha Fältskog : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. 4 May 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  20. Ruhlmann, William (21 April 1998). "The Very Best of Dusty Springfield [Mercury] – Dusty Springfield : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  21. Leggett, Steve (16 June 2008). "The Best of P.J. Proby: The EMI Years (1961–1972) – P.J. Proby : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  22. "Details for Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde – featuring Georgie Fame". The Sheetmusic Warehouse. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  23. Mason, Stewart. "The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  24. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 416. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  25. "Monsieur Dupont – Sandie Shaw : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  26. "Noddy In Toyland: Johnny Crawfish 'Special'". Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  27. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 80. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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