Photography by Noel Coates at clearinnervision photography

Music and Merriment Festival
A Charity Event for the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust
Spetisbury Rings, Spetisbury, Dorset, UK
Music and Merriment

Pete Christie

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Pete Christie Profile on FreeIndex

Matt Andersen

Canadian blues roots guitar

“Matt is the most outstanding live blues/Americana performer you will ever see”

Pete Christie

Acoustic Folk Rock

The way he explores rhythm and the dynamics of the instrument is a real education. His use of the loop station, and a few subtle dabs on his effects pedals, layering rhythms and sounds, is mesmerising.
Ian Peterson, LiveWire

The Greys Pub Brighton

Live Music Venue Brighton

The Greys is a remarkable pub situated at the heart of the quirky Hanover area of Brighton. It serves exceptional food, brilliantly kept wines and real ales and most Mondays there are gigs by national and internationally known artistes.

Maverick Magazine
The voice of country, folk, bluegrass and roots music
Issue 97 August 2010

Based in Bournemouth and recently released his latest album FRANK, solo artist Pete Christie is one of the finest pickers of an acoustic guitar around. His first band was with The Skavengers in 1979, and it was during that time that they went into the BBC where they managed to blag their way into meeting Mike Reid and John Peel separately and got them to play their music on their shows separately over the course of the next week.

Now performing solo in several gigs a month, I asked him first how did he get into playing the guitar?

“Before my grandmother came back from her holiday when I was about thirteen or fourteen she asked if she could bring something back for me. I said ‘Could you pick me up a guitar?’ We went to get her from the station and she got off the train carrying a bright blue guitar that looked hideous. It was almost unplayable but I found by jamming a piece of Lego under the neck I could play it.”

I wondered why Pete performs solo? “When [The Skavengers] broke up, as all good bands invariably do, I went back to the acoustic guitar and found that I’d grown” Pete told me. “I reckoned I could play better and I thought ‘I just spent ten or so years paying out for vans, for big PA’s, lighting rigs, roadies and all this nonsense’. I thought it was great to strip it down and minimalise everything with just me, a small PA and a very unplugged sound. And then from that was where I got to today.”

Of his last two albums FRANK and LIVE AT MR KYPS, all but three songs have been written by Pete and I queried him about his writing style. “You sit down with a guitar and you noodle about. Just fiddle about with a few ideas in your head and words in your mind or some lyrics you might have jotted down whilst driving in the middle of the night” Pete replied. “You might even have a line in your head and it sticks. When you pick the guitar up, you might take that line and it grows.”

Back in the 1980’s Pete had a songwriting contract and I wondered how that went.

“It was a good deal but unfortunately they wanted me to write songs that they wanted me to write songs about. I kept saying ‘I can’t really do that’. I can’t write a song that says John Loves Mary. I’m not that sort of a songwriter” Pete says enthusiastically.

“Sometimes a song will take years to finish. If I’m not happy I can’t let it go. If I’ve got an ugly rhyme or something that makes me cringe I won’t take the song out [on the road] until it’s finished. Sometimes they take years.”

I wondered why Pete chooses to self release his albums? “I had a bit of a falling out with someone who was producing a song of mine and I said ‘Well, you’re just taking all the feel out of the song’. This is where it suddenly occurred to me that the only person who I wanted to produce my music was me” said Pete in a serious but jovial tone. “I’m not that technically minded but I know what I want to end up with. And if I’ve got a guy in the studio who I can talk to and get on with between us we can find what I’m trying to get. It’s not a commercial thing.”

And his intended reaction from the general public? “I don’t want people to go ‘That’s nice’. I want people to say ‘I hate that’ or ‘that’s the worst song I’ve ever heard. I didn’t like that at all mate’. That to me is what it’s about” Pete told me. “You’ve got to provoke a reaction, not just have the bland, Radio 2 middle of the road opinion. I’m really annoyed about mid stream. If you’re in the middle of a stream, you’re bobbing along with all this other stuff. I want to
be along the edges bumping along the bank. If you’re in the middle of a stream, you’re going along with flow. I want to get on in the edges. Stay out of the middle.”

With FRANK being played on BBC Radio Solent, such as by Sally Taylor and in front of a studio panel on Phil Jackson’s programme, I asked Pete how great this exposure has been for him?

“Absolutely marvellous. I went along to the panel and these guys come on [Phil Jackson’s show] afterwards. I thought ‘They’re going to rip me apart’. And they all, without fail, just zeroed straight in on what I’m all about. Every single one of those guys I owe them a debt of gratitude because I felt at last someone knew what I was going on about. And it made me feel more comfortable with what I’m doing. That’s always important because if everyone is criticising you every day you tend to lose your confidence a bit.”

In his last two albums, Bob Dylan’s Not Dark Yet are in the track listing. How important to Pete has he been?

“Massive. I try and keep away from covers unless they mean something to me. Then I’ll do it but do it my own way. I don’t mean that because I don’t like the original. When I start playing it I’ll begin and see how it turns out. He [Dylan] has that ability to make something so ordinary sound so deep. And he moves me! Some of his stuff is just visual. One of the guys said [on Phil Jackson’s programme] ‘the sign of a good song is you can see what the guy’s singing about. It takes you there’. And that’s what I strive for. Most people say to me ‘I know exactly what you mean. I’ve done that. I’ve been there’. Result.”

And what does the future hold for Pete? “For the next twelve to eighteen months I want to do another album and getting further afield. I’m trying to do South by South West just for the hell of doing it. That’s why I do things. I do it for the hell of it. I’m not looking to be a pop star” mentions Pete passionately. “To get paid to stand up in front of people and make contact with them in a place you’ve never been to in your life and by the end of the night you’ve got a room full of friends can’t get much better than that.”

With regular gigs happening across Southern UK over the next few months, to see Pete in action is a gig to savour and remember. Be sure to check out his websites http://www.petechristie.co.uk and http://www.myspace.com/petechristie where you can see and hear for yourself what a talented guy he is and how lucky we are for having him.

Russell Hill

russelledwardhill@hotmail.co.uk

The Halfmoon Putney

Alex Roberts playing on Pete Christie’s Waiting in the Wings

Alex Roberts

Pete Christie

Acoustic Magazine – Retune Your Ears

by Joel McIver

The acoustic guitar is king for Pete

ACOUSTIC Magazine

The UK’s only dedicated acoustic guitar magazine

Issue 44

August 2010

RETUNE YOUR EARS

Presenting new, interesting or alternative musicians from the acoustic world.

With Joel McIver.

PETE CHRISTIE

The acoustic guitar is king for Pete

“I’ve been involved in music in lots of ways, including developing hi-fi equipment, so I’m coming at it from lots of different angles.

I’ve been playing as long as I can remember – and performing since I was 17. I seem to be getting better: every time I pick up the guitar it seems like a new experience.

When it comes to songwriting, I try to write important stuff: I try not to write just anything. I used to do that: I always remember Elvis Costello used to write five songs a day or something, and I thought ‘I wish I could do that!’ but when I did do that, the output wasn’t what I considered to be high quality, which is the important thing. As you get older, you notice the songs that the audience latch on to. I’m always playing the guitar, it’s always on my lap.

I used to work with (legendary manager/producer) Chas Chandler, who told me once that Jimi Hendrix always had a guitar with him, even in the loo. I don’t take it to that extreme, but I will play as much as I can.

I started off as a strummer – don’t we all? – and playing power chords, but over time I found I don’t strum as much, I play fingerstyle more, because of the subtlety of picking the sounds off the neck rather than thrashing them out with a pick.

I experiment with tunings, too: a friend of mine introduced me to open C and after that, I was away. Sometimes I’ll drop a string and see what happens, because the guitar then takes over and you have to follow it.

I keep saying to people, the acoustic guitar is the most powerful instrument in the arsenal. Electric guitars can be loud, but the acoustic has the power”.

www.petechristie.co.uk

Tinderbox and Pete Christie share each other’s sets at The Christchurch Festival 2010.

Monique Houraghan, of Tinderbox, sang ‘Waiting In The Wings’ on Pete’s set.

Monique was a guest singer on Pete Christie’s latest album ‘ Frank’ and they often perform this song as a duo.
There is some YouTube footage from 2008, of them at Centre Stage.

Dan Tucker, of Tinderbox, invited Pete Christie to perform ‘The Journey’, an instrumental from Tinderbox’s latest album ‘The State Of Play’
Acoustic Magazine called their album “Lovely…Hooky…Mellow”

Alex Roberts and Pete Christie together at Halfmoon in Putney, in August.

TARINGA! spreading the word in spanish


Pete Christie es una fuerza melódica e inteligente, lírica variada y sugestivo cantante y compositor. Desde su primer grupo profesional, la Skavengers, que nació en 1979, a través de su sorprendente y aclamado nuevo álbum Frank – probablemente el epítome de su actual trabajo como solista acústico, Pete ha demostrado ser un compositor consumado, cantante, actor y animador.

Pete Christie profile page on NRGFEST ‘Help for Heroes’ website.

The festival, which is being called, the ‘Biggest little Charity Festival in the UK’
… is being held Llanwrtyd Wells
… the ’smallest town in Great Britain’
… in the heart of Wales
… on the border of the Brecon Beacons

*** on Saturday 14th – Sunday 15th August 2010 ***

*** A weekend ticket is amazingly only £45! ***

NRGFEST will feature 36 hours of new music from some of
the freshest artists in the UK : Rock, Acoustic, Folk, Punk etc.
and provides a platform for top unsigned musicians from Wales and across the UK

All the artists are well promoted by UKMusicreview and Unsigned Chart

UKMusicreview

of Pete Christie’s album ‘Frank’

Rating (1-10): 8.0

Pete Christie Review by Elliot Ramsey

Defined by The Troubadour as a ‘powerfully melodic and intelligent, lyrically diverse and thought-provoking singer-songwriter’, great things were to be expected from my first listen of Pete Christie. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. Residing in the Isle of Purbeck near Bournemouth, Christie is a true ambassador of the genres of Folk and Traditional music, writing honest and sincere lyrics which are lost with many of today’s modern singer songwriters.

Ranging from the stripped back beauty of ‘Just a Song’ to the full electric sound of ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’, Christie provides his listeners with a remarkable array of talent across a spectrum of 9 well crafted compositions. Every song features Christie’s signature simplistic guitar playing which lays the foundations for his plain spoken yet powerful lyrics, accompanied by the Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch and his own backing band.

Inspired by his late mother who suffered from dementia, Christie speaks on his MySpace page of how she addressed him as ‘Frank’ which gave him the inspiration to produce the album. This is, indeed, evident throughout the entirety of the record; the emotion, integrity and sentiment found in each lyric presents his fondness and love for his mother. Certainly, his unique and mature writing style, met with lyrics which hold such depth, present a modern and somewhat ‘cool’ depiction of folk and traditional music; Christie truly is the epitome of what modern folk artists could only aspire to be.

His sincere arrangement of the Bob Dylan classic ‘Not Dark Yet’ clearly shows his sheer versatility as an artist; his individual interpretation illustrates a whole separate musical dimension to him and demonstrates his capabilities as an exceptional guitar player. Despite the open nature of ‘Frank’, the album proves slightly repetitive due to a lack of variety among songs; his pure simplicity, which often works in his favour, creates at times a rather tedious listen and each song is somewhat reminiscent of the last.

Criticisms aside, there is no doubt that Pete Christie has crafted a sheer masterpiece and his latest album proves to be a frank portrayal of an influential era in his life.

on iPlayer

Normal Shade of Blue

Lost

Shattered

Easy Come, Easy Go

Thanks to Phil Jackson: the South Coast’s answer to John Peel, Dan on sound and Tash on production, for a great show!

BBC Introducing: The South with Phil Jackson.
The best in unsigned music with live lounge gigs

BBC Radio South Live's Phil Jackson

Specialist music show, BBC Introducing: The South, is broadcast across the south and online via BBC iPlayer.

***

Date: Sunday, 20 June 2010
***

Time: 19:00 – 21:00
***

Location: BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey & BBC Radio Solent

Listen in Brighton on 95.3 FM
Listen in Sussex & Surrey 104-104.8 FM
Listen in Solent & Hampshire on 96.1 FM
Listen in Dorset on 103.8 FM

Listen on-line http://www.bbc.co.uk/sussex
Listen on-line http://www.bbc.co.uk/surrey
Listen on-line http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire
Listen on-line http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset

you can text the show on 07786 20 70 70
or you can e-mail unsigned@bbc.co.uk

Album ‘Frank’ 2009

***

Track List

1)   Open Your Heart

2)   Normal Shade Of Blue

3)   Not Dark Yet*

4)   Shattered

5)   Waiting in the Wings

6)   Easy Come, Easy Go

7)   Monday Morning

8)   Making Waves

9)   Just A Song

***

All songs by Pete Christie except *Not Dark Yet – Bob Dylan

***

Recorded at Active Music Studios, Poole 2009

***

Pete Christie                              Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards on “Monday Morning”

Pete Wallbridge                        Bass Guitar, Drums on “Monday Morning”

Ted Wallbridge                         Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals

***

Frankie Milner Keyboards, Backing Vocals

Aimee Newsome-Stone Backing Vocals

Monique Houraghan Backing Vocals

The Band of the Royal British Legion, Christchurch on Waiting in the Wings

***

Produced by               Pete Christie and Martin Condon

Engineered by            Martin Condon

Photography               Bob Whetton Photographer

Design                            Bob Hall Graphic Artist

Robert Whetton Photographer image of Pete Christie album 'Frank'

from the Robert Whetton Photographer blog

***

Pete Christie’s guitars:

Gurian C Series

Lowden O10

David Oddy

Avalon A100

Yamaha SG1000

Yamaha APX10 Classical

***

All cables used by Pete Christie, from guitar to pedal board, between the pedals, from the pedal board to the d/i box, and from the d/i box to the mixing desk are made using Atlas Quadstar, an Atlas Cables product.

Maverick Magazine
The voice of country, folk, bluegrass and roots music
Issue 95 June 2010

Pete Christie
‘LIVE AT MR KYPS’

Self Released
****

Solo and outrageously done, this live album demonstrates what an unsung talent Pete Christie is.
Bournemouth based singer-songwriter Pete Christie first started performing in 1979 with his 3-piece ska-rock band the Skavengers.
This nine track album which rightly shows his ability to pick an awesome tune is delightful from start to finish.

Performed with just an acoustic guitar at the Poole venue, he gives a master class into how to use his chosen instrument stupendously, as all but two of these tracks are written by Pete himself.
‘Not Enough’ is one of Pete’s own compositions, and has a sparse sound that features some excellent picking throughout. With some hypnotic singing and frenetic strumming at the end, this song is simply astonishing.

One of the tracks which isn’t written by Pete is Bob Dylan’s ‘Not Dark Yet’. It takes a daring soul to try and upstage any version which Dylan releases, and here Pete gives it his all in a song which by no means harms Pete’s credentials as one of the UK’s finest acts, but strengthens his cause to be regarded as an awesome artist in his own right.

If you haven’t seen Pete live, please rectify this by going to one of his upcoming performances. His music is good for the soul, and when you see him perform live you’ll leave his gig with a wide smile on your face for days due to the superb musical quality you have just witnessed.

RH

Russell Hill        russelledwardhill@hotmail.co.uk

Live at Mr Kyps - CD

Review by Tony Foster

Honest, down to earth, no airs, no graces. Frank. From my limited knowledge of the man himself, Pete Christie’s music is a true reflection of his personality, which should be said of any artist who’s worth their salt. This seems particularly relevant to Pete and Frank though, as we quite simply have a man and his thoughts, a man who has clearly lived, loved and lost. Pete Christie is a storyteller, his songs aren’t coded or muddied with riddles, it’s honest, down to earth. Frank. That said, whilst there’s no denying the candour, I’ve seen real angst pouring from rain-soaked stages which isn’t to be found here – from man who tells it how it is, even if it’s crap.

Having watched Pete Christie live on a number of occasions the man clearly has more to his musical bow that is apparent on this wonderful album. I’ve seen him work his instrument far more than the perfectly played, yet relatively confined way evident here, showing a fantastic ability to build up songs through a succession of guitar loops. This may suggest Pete has left something in his locker, but then again I’ve never seen Pete play with a band before (he’s just showing off by bringing in the Band of the Royal British Legion from Christchurch) and there’s far more than just a man and his perfectly-picked guitar here. So if he has left something behind he’s also brought in something new… to me, anyway.

One of the most enjoyable features of Frank is indeed the musical and vocal accompaniment which adds depth and warmth, whilst never competing with the lyrics. ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ particularly stands out as something previously unheard. An up-tempo pop song with a groovy bass line that reminds me of a 1970s children’s TV programme, the name of which has been escaping me for the last month. ‘Normal Shade Of Blue’ and ‘Waiting In The Wings’ have been staples of Pete’s live set over the year’s I’ve been watching him, the latter of which hugely benefiting from the brass arrangement and angelic harmonies which add to the song’s earnest appeal.

There is nothing here which hints at mediocrity. Perhaps lyrically some songs dig deeper into the human psyche than others, and no doubt there’s some hard bastards out there who would call some of this “slushy”. Well, if music that affects the emotions, tugs at the heart and dives into the soul is slushy, then I’ll happily be called a softy. Frank is not background music. It’s a wonderfully written book brought to life by sounds.

…and audience comments

Charity Festivals

Festival Season is back!!
Pete Christie @ :

*****
Hampshire Green Fair Music Festival
The Sustainability Centre
East Meon, Petersfield, Hampshire, UK

Hampshire Green Fair

*****

Christchurch Festival, Dorset

Festival Proceeds are donated to the Christchurch Mayor’s Charities

*****

NRG Fest
Help for Heroes
Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Wales, UK

NRG Fest in Wales

*****

Music and Merriment Festival
A Charity Event for the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust
Spetisbury Rings, Spetisbury, Dorset, UK
Music and Merriment

*****

Richard Leo of Bemis and Pete Christie

Bemis album launch at the Wedgewood Rooms

Great shot by David Coombs

Pete Christie’s ‘Top Music’  Japanese online music profile

Pete Christie

professional musicians that play Avalon guitars

A100 Mahogany / Spruce

Pete Christie profile on Linkedin

Pete Christie profile on Twitter

Pete Christie Music

Relevant Album Discography: in ascending order

*

01: Pete Christie’s Greatest Hits (Vol 5)

*

02: The Curse of Optimism

*

03: Acoustic

*

04: Miles Away

*

05: Live at Mr Kyps (4 star review in Maverick Magazine June 2010)

*

06: Short Stories – Live at Mr Kyps DVD

Filmed by Mike Last uploaded to YouTube and the welcome page on this website.

*

07: Frank (2009) (4 star review in Maverick Magazine May 2010)

Maverick Magazine
The voice of country, folk, bluegrass and roots music
Issue 94 May 2010

Pete Christie
Frank
Self Released
* * * *

There is so much to enjoy about this album that it would take an age to
list them all.

Based in Bournemouth and one of the best guitar pickers I have heard
for some time, this second solo album from the former member of the
Skavengers is delightful to say the least.

The only track not written by Pete is ‘Not Dark Yet’. Originally written
by Bob Dylan, it is sparse in its sound but as mighty a song if ever
I’ve heard one. The electric guitar makes this track a sleeping giant,
and I’m sure Dylan would not object to this version, as Pete performs it
so damn well.

One tune which is Pete’s own is ‘Waiting in the Wings’. The guitar
picking is not run-of-the-mill at all and with the occasional minimalist
sound joined by the Band of the Royal British Legion Christchurch, this
is one song I would certainly enjoy hearing live.

Prior to hearing this record, I did not know of Pete. When
singer-songwriters as good and talented as this are gigging continuously
around the UK throughout the year, it makes you want to travel
extraordinary distances just to see what they have to say and sing
about.

RH

Russell Hill        russelledwardhill@hotmail.co.uk

BBC Introducing Pete Christie – Radio South Live – Demo Panel with Phil Jackson 11_04_2010
South: Live showcases unsigned musicians

BBC Radio South Live’s Phil Jackson

BBC Radio South Live's Phil Jackson

played Pete Christie’s song ‘Normal Shade of Blue’ from the album ‘Frank’

Quotes from the Demo panel on BBC Radio South Live about Pete Christie, his song and his approach to music :

- Chris Taylor, The Greys, Brighton

The one thing I look for in a good songwriter is where a performer paints good pictures and this man does that.
If you close your eyes when you listen to his lyrics, you can see those pictures – They’re there. They’re real and that’s the essence of good storytelling with a song.
There’s a lot more going on behind the voice than you immediately gather.
His south of the river, not Americanised, voice works very well.

- Al Scott, Metway Studio, Brighton

I thought he was extremely accomplished. The whole package just sounds like he really knows what he’s doing. It was a nice song, an interesting lyric. He plays very well.
He bought and interesting edge to it.
The band were understated but right where they wanted to be.
Very Good.

- Nick Coquet, The Brighton Source

Nice sparse arrangement, a simplicity emphasises the story-telling aspect. There’s a melancholic maturity in what he’s talking about and I think that matches the maturity of the man.
Uncluttered – Let’s the flow of his words come out.

Pete Christie on YouTube singing ‘Normal Shade of Blue’ Live at Mr Kyps

Pete Christie Logo design by Paul Daviz

Design and Illustration by Paul at Daviz Cartoons

Inspired by an image of Pete Christie at The Music & Merriment Festival 2009

Pete Christie at Music & Merriment Festival 2009 Photo by sound.z music

BBC Radio Solent Interview, with Sally Taylor, about the inspiration behind the album ‘Frank’

BBC Radio Solent's Sally Taylor

BBC Radio Solent interview

A soft launch of the album ‘Frank’ was available at the sell-out ‘part:three’ event at Mr Kyps ‘In The Round’, on 28 January 2010.

Available to purchase for £10 on Big Cartel

The design and photography for the album ‘Frank’ was by Robert Whetton Photographer

Robert Whetton Blog about the making of the album ‘Frank’
Pete Christie – Frank, Album

Album 'Frank' insert photography by Robert Whetton

Pete Christie album  ‘Frank’   2009

Pete Christie and Martin Condon recording “Frank” at Active Music Recording Studio

Recording at Active Studios. Photography by Robert Whetton

Review by Fiona Heyes

This review was originally released on the Acoustic Magazine community website in USA.

Pete Christie album cover 'Frank'. Photography by Robert Whetton

Excellent review by Tony Foster of the sell-out gig at Mr Kyps on Jan 28th 2010 at BHOne

“On paper (or the internet) part:three certainly looked like a gig worthy of attendance. Three quality artists, all of who ply their artistic trade simply (for the most part) through voice and guitar, sharing the stage, each other’s songs, and banter with an appreciative and attentive audience”.

Mr Kyps

Were you there…?

No…..??

Why not….????!!!

28 Jan 2010

part:three photo by Tony Foster

photo by Tony Foster

‘part:three’ event at Mr Kyps ‘In The Round’, on 28 January 2010, featuring Pete Christie, Alex Roberts and Lou Brown.

*

2010

Pete Christie launched this website, the album ‘Frank’ and the live music concept night ‘part:three’ in January 2010