| 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. |
