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Who Is Pete Brown? Pete Brown has been involved with music for a long time. As part of a songwriting team with Jack Bruce, as a performer, and latterly, as a producer. Although absent from the mainstream of British music as an artist since his last major label records in 1970, Pete Brown hasa never really gone away! From the 1990s, for example, his production work has brought him considerable recognition worldwide, notably with anthologies such as Rattlesnake Guitar, (the songs of Peter Green,) Kights Of The Blues Table, (featuring UK blues stalwarts such as Mick Jagger, Georgie Fame and Jack Bruce) and From Clarksdale To Heaven, (a John Lee Hooker tribute, mostly produced byPete and featuring artists such as Jeff Beck and Gary Brooker )
In the 90's, Pete released two CDs with his longtime partner, ex Man Baand member Phil Ryan, the well recieved Ardours Of The Lost Rake, and  Coals To Jeruslem. From 1`971 to 1983 Pete released no new product, although he did continue on the road with his last fulltime band, Back To Front untill 1977. 1983's Party In The Rain, now re-released by Mystic UK was mastered from demo recordings, and now includes unissued material. The record had previously only had limited distribution! Concurrent with his rise as a producer Pete worked as a sideman on vocals and percussion with leaders as diverse as B.B.King musical director Calvin Owens and South African jazz pianist Mervyn Afrika. In 1998, he worked with U.S soul/funk man David Hadley, who is a current member of Pete's band, The Interoceters.	Mervyn Afrika.
On this site, you will find some details of  Pete's past career, but we will also feature the present as well as what is still to come. In recent times, Pete has produced records for and toured with Saichi Sugiyama, including two stints in Japan. He has also played percussion and sung with the Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra. Some dates with the BBO are likely in 2006. He has guested with The Hamburg Blues Band, and on the live page, we have details of upcoming dates with HBB in Germany  Pete continues to work with his band, The Interoceters. Again, details of new shows for the band can be found on the live page. They perform a live set that is drawn from all parts of his career and which reflects his move towards his first loves of soul and R&B. There are also some crowd pleasers from his long running partnership with Jack Bruce. The Pete Brown & The Interoceters Live Album is currently available from Mystic UK, as is Living Life Backwards, a compliation of Pete's work for EMI's Harvest label.
SONGWRITING - Jack Bruce and the Cream legacy. Pete Brown wrote the lyrics for many of Cream's major hits, including Sunshine Of Your Love, White Room, I Feel Free and Politician.  Many of these songs are now standards, and have become hits in recent years for artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Belinda Carlisle and David Bowie. Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce continue to feature the songs live and on record.  They have been used considerably in commercials and films, including True Lies and Goodfellas. Interest in the songs has been generated by the much lauded reunion concerts by Cream  in 2005. As well as a CD and DVD of the Albert Hall shows, there is a new Cream box set. Cream At The BBC has been available for a few years. Pete appears in the forthcoming John Brewer documentary about the band, and he also appeared in the Disraeli Gears Class Albums documentary which featured on TV and is available as a DVD. Last year, the BMI presented Pete and Jack Bruce with "Million-Airs" awards for two million plays of White Room In the USA. Pete has written many lyrics for Jack Bruce solo albums through the years, from Songs For A Tailor, Harmony Row, Out Of The Storm, How's Tricks?, I've Always Wanted To Do This, Automatic, Willpower, A Question Of Time, Something Els and Monkjack, as well as more recent releases such as More Jack Than God, and Jet Set Jewel, a previously unreleased Jack Bruce album from 1980.
Pete has worked with Texan blues/rock band Sunset Heights on their debut record Texas Tea. He contributed to a solo album by their singer/guitarist Vince Converse. He co-wrote the songs for Felix The Movie and has worked with B.B.King M.D Calvin Owens. He has also written for Robert Plant sideman Innes Sideburn. There has been much work since the Millenium, including songs for the Saichi Sugiyama album So Am I. he has also written with Neal Schon, of Journey and Santana fame, and has co-written songs for British band Decco, two of which are to be featured in the new Terry Gilliam movie, "Tidelands." Pete and Phil Ryan are writing together for their next record together, later in 2006. Pete has written for Colosseum over the years, including for Tomorrow's Blues, the last studio album to feature long time friend and collaborator Dick Heckstall-Smith. Pete wrote for Dick's first solo album, A Story Ended, as  well as his last, Blues and Beyond, which he co-produced with Dave "Munch" Moore.	Dick Heckstall-Smith
FILMS & TV Encouraged to write screenplays by Martin Scorcese, who has often used Cream songs in his films. Pete's first script was commisioned by the BBC's Kenneth Trodd in 1978. First feature was the animated Felix The Movie for U.S independent Don Oriolo, released theatrically in 1990 and subsequently sold to the Disney Channel. In 1984, Pete co-wrote the dramatic links for the Rolling Stones video album Rewind with director Julien Temple. It remains one of the best selling videos ever. In 21989 Pete was commisoned by Yorkshire TV's Keith Richardson to write Framed, the dramatized biography of Scottish rock legend Alex Harvey. This remains an ongoing project. Pete is now in partnership with young director Mark Walters and Miran Hawke. Their recent short, Really, has been doing well on the international festival circuit. They have two low budget feature films in development at present. As mentioned above,  Pete appears in the forthcoming John Brewer documentary about the band, and he also appeared in the Disraeli Gears Class Albums documentary which featured on TV and is available as a DVD.	Martin Scorcese
POETRY Pete became one of Britain's only professional poets in 1960, living from performances of his own work until taking up songwriting in 1966. He worked with Mike Horovitz in the New Departures touring poetry and jazz group till forming his own breakaway group, The First Real Poetry Band, including guitarist John McLaughlin in 1967. In 1961 Pete and Horovitz represented Britain at the Paris Bienalle. Pete and Mike took part in the famed Albert Hall poetry readings of 1965 and 1966 alongside William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Robert Graves etc. Pete toured Britain with Ginsberg and Robert Creely. Keyboard player and composer Timothy Roberts has set some old Pete Brown poems to classical music on the CD "The Door In My Face." It is available from Roberts web site. Tramu.com A serries of new poems, "The Cats Of War" is currently being given the same treatment.	Timothy Roberts
In an interview  in 1996, Pete had this to say when asked how he first came to write poetry. Hearing a recording by Kenneth Patchen, one of the first Jazz and Poetry  records, was a seminal experience for me as it opened un-thought of avenues for poetry and music. Other early influences were Dylan Thomas and Lorca. I started writing when I was 14 and, in 1960, when I was just 19, I turned professional. In other words, I stopped having day jobs. After that, I just wrote and performed. My first major collaboration was with Mike Horovitz's New Departures Group (1960 - 65), which included performances with musicians such as Dick Heckstall-Smith. Danah Zohar writing about New Departures Live, said "It's like dropping in on a first-rate party at an old friend's and finding yourself entertained by a warm, wonderful bunch of incredibly talented troubadours."	Pete Brown, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Spike Milligan