Focus On....Chris Welch of Musicians Only commented on Random hold late in 1979, saying " It never ceases to amaze me how by a subtle blend of herbs, spices, talent and influences, musicians can keep coming up with new directions within the format of modern rock. Random Hold are succeeding in creating a new sound and approach by melding together various factors that affected their individual pasts.
For example, their drummer Peter Phipps, with pop star looks was once
a driving force in the G Band which backed Gary Glitter. Hardly
promising material for a band which consists of mainly ex-Dulwich
college chaps? Not at all.
His muscular drive and metronomic beat
is the perfect foil for the more cerebral approach adopted by
synthesiser operative and founder member David Ferguson. The
unswerving drum-machine beat produces a maniacal, almost Teutonic
thunder, and indeed one of their themes is set to a spirited march
tempo. 
Occasionally they use a Roland rhythm box, but most of the
solid slog comes from the flesh and blood machine."
Paul Souter from Sounds began by explaining that he’d missed the start of their show, due to watching TV and not expecting The Marquee to put headlines Random Hold on at 8.45pm "…so yours truly’s decision to watch assorted cinematographic faux pas on the TV before shifting his butt resulted in a mere 50 per cent dose of Random Hold and a firm resolve to see the whole set next time; coz they were magnificent.
Any band containing a drummer from the Glitter Band ( Peter Phipps), a bassist from Matching Mole ( Bill MacCormick) and a guitarist ( David Rhodes) who’s been working on a Peter Gabriel album is likely to have an interesting approach, and Random Hold don’t disappoint on that score….
….If parallels have to be drawn, Japan are probably the closest comparison. Both bands rely on creating a surreal atmosphere with their keyboards and then playing briskly but mysteriously on a percussive base, raising the tension".
Random Hold Supported XTC on a 12 date UK tour in November and December 1979 including the addition of a few dates where they headlined such as at Camden Palace, then it was off to the United States for an extensive tour as support to Peter Gabriel, who was full in his praise, usually coming on to introduce them before they performed each night as "one of the most exciting young bands I've heard". They play at prestigious venues all over the US including The Greek theatre Los Angles, Uptown Theatre in Chicago, the Music Hall in Cleveland the concert bowl in Toronto, as well as the east coast, Boston Orpheum, New York Central Park and the Tower Theatre Philadelphia.
After returning from the US musical differences in the band saw firstly Bill MacCormick and then David Rhodes leave. In a recent interview David Ferguson, who has gone on to write TV theme music - most notably the theme for Cracker, talked about Random Hold II, "Random Hold Mk II was put together by Pete Phipps and myself and between us we wrote most of the material. The line-up was Pete on drums, Steve Wilkin on guitar, Martyn Swain on bass, Sue Raven on vocals and myself on keyboards. Martyn went on to be a Waterboy and was also in World Party. The music did change and slightly to my sorrow became more rock and roll and less to do with ideas. Pete and I were under a great deal of pressure from the management/publishing company and we probably didn't wait long enough to find the perfect personnel. Then we had a producer foisted on us by RCA and the final result was once again not quite what it could have been. There are, however, one or two interesting songs on the album and it was fun writing dark lyrics for a female singer."
Random Hold releases included The View From Here (1980) Burn the
Buildings (1981), compilations of tracks from these Albums and
additional material are now available through the Random Hold Website
(see Links Page)
Pete joined XTC in 1983 when they’d made the decision to become a
‘Studio’ band as Andy Partridge no longer wanted to tour. Terry
Chambers the outgoing drummer certainly had a distinctive style and
the band were very worried about his departure
However as the following comments made by band members in a variety
of interview show, they were very happy with the replacement.
As Chris Twomey explains in his book XTC, Chalkhills and Children -
The Definitive Biography "One name immediately suggested by Dave
(Gregory) was Pete Phipps, a session drummer of some note. He’d been
in a band called Random Hold who supported XTC on their Drums and Wires
Tour in 1979…they thought Phipps was a good drummer and had got on
well with him. Besides he was a former member of The Glitter Band so
he had to be alright."
Happy with their new choice of drummer Andy Partridge explained "Pete
Phipps was a very different sort of drummer, although he’d been in the
Glitter Band and you’d think he would have had Terry’s heavy style of
drumming he was much lighter and deft of touch. He brought a jazzy
edge to the music immediately, which was very exciting and suited a
lot of the material"
Comparing Pete’s style to that of the departed Chambers, Dave Gregory
commented to Limelight in 1984 "All of the songs (for the album Mummer
) were written before Terry left, so it was a case of bringing someone
in who could play the drum parts we wanted for the songs. Pete took to
them like a duck to water… We deliberately steered away from the heavy
ambient sound in favour of small more precise "pin pricks" of drums
and it was great when Pete came up with the jazzy 12/8 feel with the
brushes on "Ladybird" something that just wouldn’t have occurred to
Terry to try".
In an interview with International Musician and Recording World, Dave
Gregory perhaps sums up Pete best "Pete is a musician and as such he
approaches his drums in a musical way rather than a mechanical one"
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart are reknown for surrounding themselves
with top quality musicians. Pete joined the Eurythmics in early 1983
and toured widely in the UK, Europe and the USA. The first gig of the Tour was filmed for MTV at
London's Heaven night club and was later released as the Sweet Dreams
Video Album. In the mid summer the band took a break from touring and
recorded, within a matter of weeks, the
TOUCH
A second reviewer Christopher Connelly from Rolling Stone commented
" Touch emerges as an uncannily thoughtful album, that's direct without
being simple minded, avant garde without being inaccessible. He
concluded, " The Eurythmics are creating something unmistakably new"
and graded the Album A.
The set lists for these tours included;
For the earlier tour- This is the House, Never Gonna Cry Again,
The Walk, Take Me to Your Heart, I've Got an Angel, This City Never
Sleeps, Sweet Dreams, Satellite of Love, I Could Give You a Mirror,
Love is a Stranger, Somebody Told Me, Wrap It Up, and Jennifer. ..and the later "Touch Tour"- The First Cut, Never Gonna Cry, This
is the House, Here Comes the Rain Again, Regrets, The Walk,
This City Never Sleeps, Who's That Girl, I Could Give You a Mirror,
Take Me to Your Heart, Cool Blue, Love is a Stranger, Somebody Told Me,
Sweet Dreams, Right By Your Side, Wrap It Up, and Jennifer.
Focus On....
XTC
~
1982 -1984 with Andy Partridge, Dave Gregory, Colin Moulding
& Pete Phipps.
Andy Partridge described Pete’s input in the making of the later album
Big Express, - again in an interview with ‘Limelight’ magazine. Saying,
"He’s not adverse to trying out strange suggestions like rattling bits
of chain or playing along with a drum box", He pointed out that many
other drummers would balk at such suggestions but that Pete was happy
to try out new ideas. In a magazine called ‘One Two Testing’ in 1985
Andy revealed, that on the track Shake You Up Donkey this had involved
a variety of metal objects, including a Peek Freen biscuit tin, gaffer
taped to Pete’s drum kit to achieve that elusive sound!
Focus On....
EURYTHMICS
~ 1983/1984, Annie Lennox & Dave Stewart with Dick Cuthell/Martin
Dobson on horns & sax, Dean Garcia on bass, Vic martin on Synths and
Pete Phipps on drums. They were joined on backing vocals by "The
croquettes", Gill O'Donovan, Suzie O'List and Maggie Ryder.
album
"Touch". Touch took the UK & US by storm, quickly
reaching No1 in the UK Album Charts and remaining in the top 100
for almost a year - 48 weeks in total.
Jose F.Promis, a reviewer from the All Music Website described Touch
as " a testament to what the Eurythmics were at the height of their
techno phase, and without doubt is a milestone in 1980's pop music."
He comments specifically on the following; "The lead single Here Comes
The Rain Again is a melodramatic opus, complete with pre-techno beats,
sweeping strings and Annie Lennox' rushing cool vocals. The soulful
Who's That Girl is an icy steamy throwback to the torch songs of
yesteryear, with Lennox oozing sensuality from every syllable emitted
from her lips. Other standouts include the seven and a half minute
disco trance of Paint a Rumour the driving First Cut and the icy
spellbinding and sparse No Fear No Hate No Pain ( No Broken Hearts)"
THE TOURS
Pete was resident drummer for the extensive tours of the UK,
Europe and the US, that took place both before and after the making of
Touch. Venues such as Hammersmith Odeon, Glasgow Apollo,
Manchester Apollo 
and the Brighton Dome were treated to the unique
Eurythmics sound. In Europe large open air festivals played host to the band
and in the US, at venues including the Palace in Los Angeles and the
Kibuki Theater in San Francisco, a new audience were introduced to the
power and sophistication of the Eurythmics.
SWEET DREAMS VIDEO ALBUM
The description given by RCA of this "Video Album" begins.. "This
extraordinary
videogram features in concert performances, conceptual
video clips and animation woven together in a fabulous 'album'
highlighting Eurythmics international smash hit 'Sweet Dreams
(are made of this)', 'Love is a Stranger' and other songs from
their LP of the same name. However this tells only half the story,
the video made in May 83, contains significant footage of the concert
at the Heaven night club, illustrating the combination of sound and vision, that is the Eurythmics.
Precision, provided by each band member, in all areas of the musicianship
and an ability to capture the style and essence of each innovative piece.
Santanarama
A fantastic band whom, clearly by the name are a tribute to the music of Carlos Santana. But oh, so much more than that,- performing superb Latin Rock with a Salsa spice, cool blues and solid rock. They have taken Kent and Sussex by storm before moving further afield to share their exceptional sound more widely.
The Tar Babies
