New Seekers: Peter Doyle

These pages are presented as a tribute to the late, great Peter Doyle, a member of the New Seekers from 1970-73 and once described by Lyn Paul as: "the best musician in the group and probably the most creative."

Biography
Discography
Fans' Favourites
In Memoriam
Photo Album
Further Reading
Heroes and Hand-me-downs
This and That
YouTube

Although he would later record much of his own material, Peter Doyle began his career by covering the songs of other artists. His début LP, Peter's 1st Album, included versions of songs that had been previously recorded by R&B artists such as Solomon Burke, Doris Troy, The Coasters, the Four Tops and the Platters, as well as songs by The Spencer Davis Group and The Zombies, Doris Day and Conway Twitty. The CD Rarities, released after Peter's death, featured songs that had originally been hits for country singers Dave Dudley and Slim Whitman and for the Australian band Mondo Rock.

The following is a list of recording artists who had an influence on Peter Doyle's career, providing him with either a song or a style to make his own. With some of his contemporaries, The Animals and the Small Faces for example, it was perhaps more a case of a '60s sound being born of the same R&B influences.

The Animals Hank Ballard The Beatles Solomon Burke The Coasters Eddie Cochran Dave Dudley The Easybeats Four Tops

Peter McCann Mondo Rock Neil Sedaka Small Faces The Spencer Davis Group The Troggs Conway Twitty Slim Whitman The Zombies

The Animals

The Animals started out in 1958 as the Alan Price Combo. The group hit the number 1 spot on both sides of the Atlantic in 1964 with the single House Of The Rising Sun. Subsequent hits included Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place (both of which were hits in 1965) and Don't Bring Me Down (1966).

The Animals had their roots in R&B, taking their musical cues from the likes of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Nina Simone. Their albums included energetic covers of songs from the '50s soul era, among them Dimples by John Lee Hooker

The Animals' Official Homepage

Like this? Peter Doyle, Do It Zula Style (B-side of the single Watcha Gonna Do About It, featured on the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Animals, Dimples (from the album The Animals)

Hank Ballard

Towards the end of 1953 Henry "Hank" Ballard replaced Lawson Smith as lead singer with the R&B vocal group the Royals. Ballard wrote the group's first R&B chart-topper, Work With Me, Annie, a sexually explicit song (for the time) that spawned a whole series of songs about "Annie": Annie Had A Baby and Annie's Aunt Fanny to name but two.

After the first of their "Annie" hits the Royals became the Midnighters to avoid confusion with another R&B group, the Five Royales. In 1959 the group made it's first appearance in the US pop charts, reaching number 87 with the single Teardrops On Your Letter. The B-side of the single was The Twist, a Hank Ballard song that became a huge hit for Chubby Checker. On the strength of his success, the Midnighters' original version made it to number 28 in the USA. They also had Top 10 hits with two of Hank Ballard's other songs, Finger Poppin' Time (US number 7) and Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go (US number 6).

By the time of his 1962 hit Do You Know How To Twist, Ballard was being billed as a solo artist, though he retained the rights to use the Midnighters' name. Subsequent releases such as Poppin' The Whip and Do It Zulu Style failed to chart, though the latter proved an inspiration to Peter Doyle, who included it on his début LP.

Hank Ballard died from throat cancer, aged 66, on 2nd March 2003.

History Of Rock: Hank Ballard and the Midnighters

Like this? Peter Doyle, Do It Zula Style (B-side of the single Watcha Gonna Do About It, featured on the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Hank Ballard, Do It Zulu Style (B-side of the single I'm Just A Fool And Everybody Knows)

The Beatles

The Beatles burst onto the music scene in 1963. Their phenomenal success meant that they were soon being copied by other acts. Some, such as David and Jonathan, even borrowed Beatles' album tracks to have hit singles of their own. Although Peter Doyle did not record any Beatles' songs until he joined the New Seekers (Here, There And Everywhere and Ticket To Ride), the influence of the early Beatles' sound is evident on his first solo album.

Beatles.com

Like this? Peter Doyle, Like I Love You (B-side of the single Speechless, featured on the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Beatles, I Need You (from the album Help!)

Solomon Burke

Just as The Animals borrowed songs from the likes of Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker, so Peter Doyle borrowed from Doris Troy and Solomon Burke.

Dubbed the 'King of Soul', Burke first recorded for the Apollo label in 1954. He had his first US hit (recording for Atlantic) in 1961 with Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms). Burke never made it into the UK charts but subsequent US hits included: Cry To Me (which reached number 44 in 1962), Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) (number 33 in 1964), Got To Get You Off My Mind and Tonight's The Night (both Top 30 hits in 1965).

One of Burke's best known songs, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, was originally a US number 58 for Burke in 1964. It became a UK hit in 1990 for the Blues Brothers (aka John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd), after it was featured on the soundtrack of The Blues Brothers movie. The song Stupidity, which Peter Doyle covered as his début single, was the B-side of Burke's 1963 single Can't Nobody Love You (Atlantic 2196). It has also been recorded by the Undertakers and Dr. Feelgood.

The King Of Rock 'n' Soul: Solomon Burke

Like this? Peter Doyle, Stupidity (Australian single featured on the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Solomon Burke, Stupidity (B-side of the single Can't Nobody Love You, featured on the album If You Need Me and on the CD Home In Your Heart: The Best Of Solomon Burke)

The Coasters

Best known for their hits Yakety Yak, Charlie Brown and Poison Ivy, The Coasters were a R&B vocal group from Los Angeles. The group formed in 1955 and had its first R&B hit in 1956 with Down In Mexico.

Lovey Dovey, which Peter Doyle covered on his début album, was released as the B-side of The Coasters' 1964 US single Bad Detective (Atco 6300). The song was originally recorded by the Clovers (1954) and was later covered by Georgie Fame (1966), Clyde McPhatter and Otis Redding (1967).

The Coasters' Web Site: Those Hoodlum Friends

Like this? Peter Doyle, Lovey Dovey (from the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? The Coasters, Lovey Dovey (B-side of the single Bad Detective, featured on the album What Is The Secret Of Your Success? and as a bonus track on the CD The Coasters' Greatest Hits)

Eddie Cochran

Born on 3rd October 1938, legendary rock 'n roll star Eddie Cochran was killed in a car crash on 17th April 1960. He is remembered for hits such as Summertime Blues, C'mon Everybody, Somethin' Else and Three Steps To Heaven. The latter reached number 1 in the UK shortly after his death.

Although Peter Doyle didn't record any of Eddie Cochran's hits, it is not hard to imagine how, in his younger days, he could have been influenced by him. Compare the energetic delivery and the rasp in Peter's voice on early recordings such as Stupidity.

The Eddie Cochran Connection
The Eddie Cochran Shrine

Like this? Peter Doyle, Stupidity (Australian single included on the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Eddie Cochran, C'mon Everybody (UK single: London HLU 8792 / US single: Liberty 55166)

Like this? Peter Doyle, Lovey Dovey (from the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Eddie Cochran, Sweetie Pie (UK single: London HLG 9196)

Dave Dudley

Although Dave Dudley was not the originator of truck driving music, the singer and that particular type of country song will always be associated with one another. It all started in 1963 when Dudley's recording of Six Days On The Road trundled it's way up the US country chart. Written by Earl Green, the song has since become a country favourite, recorded by a long list of country artists including: Boxcar Willie, BR5-49, Johnny Cash, Jim Croce, Steve Earle, George Jones, Albert Lee, Gram Parsons, Sawyer Brown and Red Sovine. Peter Doyle's version of the song appeared on the 2004 CD Rarities.

CMT.com: Dave Dudley

Like this? Peter Doyle, Six Days On The Road (from the CD Rarities)
Like that? Dave Dudley, Six Days On The Road (US single: Golden Wing 3020. Re-recording available on the CD The Best Of Dave Dudley)

The Easybeats

Featuring Steven Wright on lead vocals, The Easybeats were a quintet formed in Sydney, Australia in 1964. The group is best known for its 1967 hit Friday On My Mind, a song covered by Peter Doyle in 1976. Friday On My Mind had been covered before that by David Bowie on his 1973 album Pin Ups. It has since been recorded by Peter Frampton (Breaking All The Rules, 1981), the Kursaal Flyers (Five Live Kursaals, 1977) and Gary Moore (Wild Frontier, 1987).

Milesago: The Easybeats

Like this? Peter Doyle, Friday On My Mind (UK single: RCA 2730)
Like that? The Easybeats, Friday On My Mind (UK single: United Artists UP 1157 / US single: United Artists 50106)

Four Tops

The Four Tops had their début hit in the USA in 1964 with Baby, I Need Your Loving. Peter Doyle would later perform the song as a member of the Virgil Brothers.

The Four Tops broke through in the UK in 1965 with I Can't Help Myself. Their subsequent hits included: Reach Out I'll Be There (a number 1 on both sides of the Atlantic in 1966), Standing In The Shadows Of Love, Bernadette and Walk Away Renee (all Top 10 hits in the UK in 1967) and If I Were A Carpenter (1968).

In 1966 Peter Doyle recorded a solo version of the Four Tops' 1965 hit Something About You. The song, like many of their other hits, was written by the Motown label's premier songwriting team: Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland and his younger brother Brian Holland. It took the Four Tops to number 19 in the USA and spent seven weeks in the Hot 100. The song has since been covered by Dave Edmunds and Frankie Miller.

In 1973 Peter Doyle recorded a version of Reach Out I'll Be There with the New Seekers. The track, which features Marty Kristian on lead vocal, was released after Peter had left the group: it appeared first on the album Peter, Paul & Marty, which featured Peter Oliver in place of Peter Doyle, and then on the flip side of the US single You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me.

Collins' Oldies Website: The Four Tops
fourtops.net: the fourtops fan site
History Of Rock: The Four Tops

Like this? Peter Doyle, Something About You (from the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Four Tops, Something About You (US single: Motown 1084, from the album Four Tops' Second Album, also featured on the CD The Ultimate Collection)

Peter McCann

Songwriter Peter McCann had his only solo hit in 1977 when Do You Wanna Make Love made it to number 5 in the USA. The B-side, The Right Time Of The Night, which was also written by McCann, had made it to number 6 in the USA earlier the same year as the début hit for singer Jennifer Warnes. Both songs were included on Peter McCann's 1977 album Peter McCann (20th Century 544), which was rush-released to cash in on the success of the single.

In the UK Do You Wanna Make Love was covered first by the New Seekers (1978) and then by Peter Doyle (1980). It was also recorded in 1979 by American soul singer Millie Jackson, whose version was issued as the B-side of her single I Changed My Mind (Spring SPR 2036) and was also featured on an album she recorded with Isaac Hayes, Royal Rappin's (Polydor 6229).

Love Lyrics.com: Peter McCann, Do You Wanna Make Love Lyrics

Like this? Peter Doyle, Do You Wanna Make Love (UK single: Limelight BULB 1)
Like that? Peter McCann, Do You Wanna Make Love (US single: 20th Century 2335, featured on the album Peter McCann and on several compilation CDs, including: Singer-Songwriters of the '70s and Super Hits of the '70s: Have A Nice Day, Vol. 20)

Mondo Rock

The Australian rock band Mondo Rock was formed in 1976 by Ross Wilson, former vocalist with the '60s R&B band The Pink Finks. Having been through a variety of line-ups, Mondo Rock was joined in 1980 by Eric McCusker, who wrote the first of the band's big hits, State Of The Heart. Released in October 1980, the single reached number 6 in Australia. An edited version of the song was released as a single in the USA in 1982, along with the band's album Chemistry. Although the single failed to chart, the song became a US hit three years later for Aussie expat Rick Springfield. Peter Doyle recorded his version of State Of The Heart in 1990.

Mondo Rock Official Site

Like this? Peter Doyle, State Of The Heart (from the CD Rarities)
Like that? Mondo Rock, State Of The Heart (Australian single featured on the album Chemistry, also featured on the CD The Essential Mondo Rock)

Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka first began writing songs in the early 1950s with lyricist Howard Greenfield. One of their songs, Plastic Dreams And Toy Balloons, was recorded by Peter Doyle in 1967. Sedaka's best known songs include Stupid Cupid (a hit for Connie Francis in 1958), Oh! Carol (which he wrote for his former-girlfriend and fellow singer-songwriter Carole King) and Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (a hit for Sedaka in 1962 and for the Partridge Family in 1972).

Neil Sedaka Official Website
Neil Sedaka: For Fans

Like this? Peter Doyle, Plastic Dreams And Toy Balloons (Australian single: Astor A-7082)
Like that? Neil Sedaka, Plastic Dreams And Toy Balloons (unreleased)

Small Faces

The Small Faces had their first hit in 1965 with What'cha Gonna Do About It? (not to be confused with the Doris Troy hit of the previous year, which shared the same title and which was later covered by Peter Doyle, The Hollies and Cilla Black). Subsequent singles included: Sha-La-La-La-Lee and All Or Nothing (both of which were hits in 1966); Itchycoo Park (1967); and Lazy Sunday (1968).

The Official Small Faces Website

Like this? Peter Doyle, High Time Baby (from the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Small Faces, Sha-La-La-La-Lee (UK single: Decca F 12317)

The Spencer Davis Group

Formed by Spencer Davis and featuring Steve Winwood on lead vocals, The Spencer Davis Group broke through in 1965 when the single Keep On Runnin' reached number 1 in the UK.

Many of the group's songs were collaborative efforts, written by Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood and Steve's older brother Muff Winwood, who was also a member of the group. These included the 1966 hit Gimme Some Lovin' (UK number 2 / US number 7) and High Time Baby (issued as the B-side of Keep On Runnin'). High Time Baby was covered by Peter Doyle on his 1966 LP Peter's 1st Album.

Keep On Runnin' is one of Marty Kristian's favourite songs. Interviewed in on the radio in 1974, he said: "I used to perform it as a solo singer in the old days. Great record!"

Steve Winwood left The Spencer Davis Group in 1967 to form Traffic. He later became successful as a solo artist. Muff Winwood left soon after him to work behind the scenes as an A&R man, first at Island Records, later at CBS.

The Official Steve Winwood

Like this? Peter Doyle, High Time Baby (from the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? The Spencer Davis Group, High Time Baby (B-side of the single Keep On Running, featured on the CD The Singles)

The Troggs

The Troggs stormed the UK singles chart in 1966, scoring Top 10 hits with Wild Thing (a number 2 hit in May), With A Girl Like You (number 1 in August), I Can't Control Myself (another number 2 hit in October) and Any Way That You Want Me, which entered the chart on 15th December and peaked at number 8 in January 1967.

The Troggs' début single, Lost Girl, had failed to chart but the song did not go unnoticed in Australia, where it was recorded by Grandma's Tonic, featuring Peter Doyle on lead vocal. The song was used as the B-side of the group's second single I Know.

The début single by Grandma's Tonic, Hi Hi Hazel, which was released in Australia towards the end of 1966, became a minor UK hit for The Troggs in 1967. The Troggs' version, which had first appeared on their début album From Nowhere... The Troggs, entered the UK singles chart on 26th July and peaked at number 42. It preceded the more successful Love Is All Around, which reached number 5 in November 1967. The song had a second lease on life in 1994 when a version by Wet Wet Wet, which had been featured in the film Four Weddings And A Funeral, topped the UK singles chart for 15 weeks. Love Is All Around and Lost Girl were both written by The Troggs' lead vocalist Reg Presley (real name Reginald Ball).

The Troggs: rock's "wild things"
Making Time - The Troggs

Like this? Grandma's Tonic, Hi Hi Hazel (Australian single: Astor A-7072)
Like that? The Troggs, Hi Hi Hazel (UK single: Page One POF 030)

Like this? Grandma's Tonic, Lost Girl (Australian single (B-side): Astor A-7074)
Like that? The Troggs, Lost Girl (UK single)

Conway Twitty

Conway Twitty had a number 1 hit in 1958 with It's Only Make Believe (a chart-topper in both the USA and the UK). The following year he had Top 10 hits in the States with Danny Boy and Lonely Blue Boy. He also had a Top 5 hit in the UK with Mona Lisa, a rock 'n' roll version of the Nat 'King' Cole hit from 1950.

Peter Doyle recorded Mona Lisa in 1990. The track was released fourteen years later on the posthumous CD Rarities. Mona Lisa has been recorded by a long list of other recording artists, among them: James Brown (1964), Johnny Burnette (1960), Natalie Cole (1991), Bing Crosby, Marvin Gaye (1965), Engelbert Humperdinck (1969), Julio Iglesias (1990), Frankie Laine, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson (1981), Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves (1958) and Andy Williams (1964).

Twitty's recording of Mona Lisa appeared on his 1959 album Conway Twitty Sings and on his 1963 album R&B '63, which also included The Pick Up. This song was later covered in the UK by Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers and in Australia by Peter Doyle. Peter's version was released as a single in March 1965 and gave him his début hit. Cliff Bennett's version appeared on the 1966 album Drivin' You Wild.

Conway Twitty.com

Like this? Peter Doyle, Speechless (The Pick Up) (Australian single featured on the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? Conway Twitty, The Pick Up (from the album R&B '63 and featured on the 8-LP box set The Rock 'n' Roll Years)

Like this? Peter Doyle, Mona Lisa (from the CD Rarities)
Like that? Conway Twitty, Mona Lisa (US single: MGM 12804 / UK single: MGM 1029, featured on the albums Conway Twitty Sings and R&B '63. Also included on the 8-LP box set The Rock 'n' Roll Years and on the compilation CD Rockin' Conway: The MGM Years)

Slim Whitman

Slim Whitman, who claimed to be the original "Man In Black" before Johnny Cash, had his first country hit in the USA in 1952 with Love Song Of The Waterfall. His UK hits included: Rose Marie, Indian Love Call and China Doll.

Peter Doyle recorded China Doll as a demo in the 1970s. The track went unheard until 2004, when it appeared on the CD Rarities.

CMT.com: Slim Whitman

Like this? Peter Doyle, China Doll (from the CD Rarities)
Like that? Slim Whitman, China Doll (UK single: London L 1149, featured on the CD compilations Rose Marie (6-CD box set) and The Man With The Singing Guitar, Volume One)

The Zombies

Formed in 1963, The Zombies made their UK chart début in the Summer of '64 when the band's first single, She's Not There, made it to number 12. In the Autumn the record became an even bigger hit in the States, where it climbed to number 2. The follow up, Tell Her No, was a Top 10 hit in America but didn't make it past number 42 in the UK.

Although The Zombies had another two, albeit minor, US chart entries with She's Coming Home and I Want You Back Again, subsequent releases such as Whenever You're Ready and Is This The Dream did not make the chart at all. Peter Doyle covered Is This The Dream on his début album.

The Zombies disbanded in 1967. Keyboard player Rod Argent formed a new group Argent, while vocalist Colin Blunstone started a solo career, initially as Neil MacArthur. Ironically, it was while the band members were embarking on these new ventures that The Zombies had a big hit in the USA with Time Of The Season, a track taken from their last album, Odessey & Oracle.

Rod Argent.com
Colin Blunstone's website

Like this? Peter Doyle, Is This The Dream (from the album Peter's 1st Album)
Like that? The Zombies, Is This The Dream (featured on the CD The Singles A's and B's)

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