1969 | Joined Black Velvet,
a Soul/Funk band – tours, recording and radio shows. |
1970 | Toured with the Elgins
– Tamla Motown band – UK tour. |
1971 | Joined Heaven and
supported Jeff Beck on tour, UK and Germany. -Recording. |
1972 | Began working for Gary
Glitter’s backing band "The Glittermen". First appearance on Top
of the Pops with Rock and Roll part 2 in June 1971. |
1973 | The Glittermen are
renamed "The Glitter Band" and establish a separate identity comprisinmng of a
six member line up Gerry Shephard (lead guitar/lead vocals), John
Springate (bass/lead vocals ), Pete Phipps (drums and keyboards), Tony
Leonard (drums), John Rossall (saxophone and trombone) Harvey Ellison
(saxophone). Tours with Gary Glitter continue. |
1974 | The Glitter Band
release three singles in March and July and October, Angel Face/
You Wouldn’t Leave Me Would You, Just For You/I’m Celebrating
(the latter written by Pete) and Let’s Get Together Again/Jukebox
Queen, all making the top 10, and each spending at least two months
in the charts. Their debut album Hey is also released in July. All are produced
by Mike Leander and recorded at the Mayfair studios London. The
Glitter Band Tour in Australia and the UK. They also join Mud,
the Rubettes and Peter Denyer making a Movie, a musical comedy entitled
"Never Too Young to Rock" |
1975 | Sees the release of four
more singles, The Tears I Cried and Goodbye My Love
again getting in the top 10. In April the release of the second album
Rock and Roll Dudes and in December the third album Listen to
the Band, on this album we hear Pete for the first time on lead
vocals on the self penned My First Mistake, a simple but
haunting love song. The Glitter Band music moving away from a
purely Rock and Roll sound to include ballads with strong melodies and
powerful lyrics. Again there are extensive tours in Australia and in
the UK a tour of Universities. |
1976 | Has three more singles being
released with People Like You and People Like Me hitting the
number 5 spot. There is also a release of a Greatest Hits
album and continued song writing by all members of the band. Almost all
Glitter Band recorded material being written by individual or
combinations of the band’s members. The band tour extensively - a
farewell tour with Gary Glitter in March, a UK tour early summer and a
tour of Germany and Scandinavia in the Autumn. The band change record
label to CBS and change their name to the G-Band - to reflect
the continued development of their music away from the purely
Glam/Glitter identity. |
1977 | The release of Paris Match
- their fourth album, recorded in France during the summer heatwave
contained some superb tracks and three singles, one an EP featuring
She was Alright (written by Pete) as the A side. The bands three main
song writers Gerry , John and Pete continued to write further material
for a fifth album which had the working title of "Star Chaser" sadly
never released commercially at the time due to changes in record
company and the music scene, with the advent of Punk Rock. |
1978-81 | Changing direction and
showing the versatility of his drumming Pete first joined Ex-Directory,
this was then followed by a short period with a band called The Secret
. Pete then joined Random Hold, a band he’d already worked with a year
or two before. Random Hold comprising of David Rhodes, Bill
MacCormick & David Ferguson and Pete Phipps, were described by a Music
Journalist as a "Disco Orientated Rock", and by Nina Myskow in the Sun
as a band to watch for as "Their music shows talent, menace,
originality and brains. A dynamic combination.". The band produce
several singles in this period including Montgomery Clift and albums
The View From Here (1980) and Burn the Buildings (1981). ( David
Ferguson is now perhaps best known for his TV Theme music including
Cracker). Pete also continued to record with Glitter Band
colleagues pursuing solo identities, both with John Springate and the
album Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, by Gerry Shephard/Pete
Oxendale. |
1982 | Joined Mike Rutherford of
Genesis fame to record the album Acting Very Strange ( also featuring
Stewert Copeland (Police)) and in Winter 1982 joined XTC in recording
the Mummer album. |
1983-84 | Became a member of The
Eurythmics, recorded Who’s That Girl and the album
Touch which was
released in November, reached #1 in the UK and spent 48 weeks in the
top 100. 1st gig with the Eurythmics was recorded at Heaven for MTV and
later released as the Video Sweet Dreams Video Album (in 1985) Toured
in the US and in the UK. Also in 1984 returned to work with XTC in
the studio to record the album Big Express |
1985 | Recorded and toured with
Hugh Cornwall of the Stranglers playing on the single One in
a Million.
Rejoined Gary Glitter – UK, Middle East and US tours. Also restarted
Glitter Band gigs, joining with some of the other original members.
Remained part of the Glitter Band with a number of different line-ups
to present day. Glitter Band - recorded Live at the Marquee
, released as an album. |
1986 | Recorded Zipper an album
with Roger Chapman, previously the front man for Family and
Streetwalkers, a prolific song writer and recording artist -
particularly respected in Germany and voted singer of the year in 1981.
|
1987 | Boy George tour, France and
Iceland. Boy George’s much publicised differences with his regular
Culture Club drummer left him needing a replacement and who better to
step in to cover for this tour than Pete, playing at that time a great
sounding black Sonor drum kit. |
1988 | Played with the "Legendary
Purple Helmets" a Stranglers off shoot and became more involved in the
management aspects of the Glitter Band as well as playing the drums
at all Glitter Band gigs |
1989-91 | Continued with Glitter
Band, playing a variety of venues up and down the country and on the
Continent. In Germany particularly, the band has always attracted huge
audiences. |
1992-96 | Whilst remaining in the
Glitter Band, Pete also took the opportunity to again diversify and
joined Denim, - a band formed by Lawrence Heywood formerly of Felt.
The band have been described as 70’s revivalists, though the songs were
often critical of that decade, but by blending humour, irony and a
70’s sound the era was well characterised. Recorded Back in Denim
released Nov 92 and later Denim on Ice released 1996 |
1997 | A busy year for the Glitter
Band culminating in Xmas Glam Rock tour, with other artists such as
Showaddywaddy, Mud etc. |
1998 | More Glitter Band gigs at
such places as the Roadhouse Covent Garden. An appearance as special
guest with Andy Scott’s Sweet at The Brian Connolly Memorial gig at
Camden Palace in November |
1999 | Glitter Band and
appearances with King Penguin, a band that bore a striking physical
resemblance to the Glitter Band - comprising as it did of the same
membership - but a broad variation in both sound and style, R&B, Rock
and even some Country |
2000 | Glitter Band and the
founding of Santanarama, a six piece Tribute to Carlos Santana,
featuring Lead and Bass Guitars, Key boards, Congas, Timbales and of
course Drums ( see Current bands section) and Glitz Blitz, a three
piece tribute to the 70’s featuring Syd Twynham and John Berry - both
of whom have worked in a range of bands including; Les Gray’s Mud, The
Tremeloes and Liquid Gold. |
2001 | Continued Gigs, with the
Glitter Band, Santanarama and Glitz Blitz, at a range of venues
nation-wide. Also a return to playing some R&B with a South East based
band Desperate Measures, whose set list includes the music of Hendrix,
Clapton, Free & JJCale, etc. Studio work - recorded an album of material
with Alan Merrill of the Arrows - for release in the New Year. |