Pete Waterman


Peter Alan Waterman, OBE is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team, he wrote and produced many hit singles. He is the owner of significant collections of both historic and commercial railway locomotives and rolling stock.

Early life

Peter Alan Waterman was born in Stoke Heath, Coventry, Warwickshire. He was educated at Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School until he left in 1962 to work for British Railways. He became a steam locomotive fireman based at Wolverhampton depot. In 2002 he said of his time working for British Railways, "I loved every minute of it. The squalor was unreal, but the camaraderie was phenomenal." After closure of the depot in 1963, Waterman chose to follow a career in music, being inspired by The Beatles. To supplement his income as a DJ, he became a gravedigger and then an apprentice at General Electric Company, becoming a trade union official.

Musical career

Building a record collection through rare US imports, his DJ work began to take him across the UK, entertaining bigger crowds with a blend of rhythm and blues and soul music tunes he had sourced. Given a residency with the Mecca Leisure Group, he developed new initiatives including discos for under 18s at Coventry’s Locarno club, which gave him a valuable insight into what music interested a younger audience. Waterman noticed that the younger dancers preferred records with high beats per minute and this influenced his later work. It was at the Locarno that Waterman first met Neville Staple, later to be a vocalist for The Specials – a band that Waterman would manage for a brief period. In early 2009, Waterman wrote the foreword to Staple's biography, Original Rude Boy, which was published by Aurum Press in May 2009.
Waterman took up a job as an A&R man, and worked in the Philadelphia scene, which included introducing the Three Degrees to the UK. He then moved to Jamaica working with Peter Tosh and Lee Perry, and producing Susan Cadogan’s reggae-crossover hit "Hurt So Good".
In 1979, Waterman set up Loose Ends with Peter Collins, the first coming under the name 14–18 with a single inspired by World War I, "Good-Bye-Ee," and hits with artists like Musical Youth and Nik Kershaw. He then set up his own company PWL in 1984, quickly signing producers Matt Aitken and Mike Stock, who produced the song "Whatever I Do" for Hazell Dean. Stock Aitken Waterman became one of the most successful musical production teams of the 1980s.
To date, Waterman has scored a total of twenty-two UK number one singles with his various acts and he claims upwards of 500 million sales worldwide. Waterman has also appeared in the Steps video "Tragedy".
In the late-1990s, production company Celador hired Waterman to compose a song for their new quiz show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The company felt the song unsuitable, and instead approached Keith Strachan.
Waterman co-wrote and produced with Mike Stock "That Sounds Good to Me" by Josh Dubovie, the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest entry for the United Kingdom, which finished in last place with 10 points.
Waterman was worth £30 million in 2006/07, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Television

Waterman co-presented The Hit Man and Her with Michaela Strachan. He also presented a show on Radio City.
Waterman has appeared as a judge on both series of Pop Idol in the UK, and also . The latter saw him become manager of the winning boy band One True Voice, who then lost the race to Christmas number 1 to the same show's winning girl group, Louis Walsh's Girls Aloud.
Waterman returned as judge for the second series of Pop Idol, but was constantly critical of the eventual winner, Michelle McManus, and was openly disappointed when she won. Waterman has since said he will not appear on any similar programmes in future, and has on several occasions attacked more recent talent shows. Waterman has stated that he turned down offers to participate in The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol, citing fix allegations and being put off by unprofessional behaviour including that of co-judge Geri Halliwell during the show.
Whilst he has kept his promise not to appear as a talent show judge, on 12 October 2008, Waterman joined his fellow ex-Pop Idol judges Neil Fox and Nicki Chapman on Peter Kay's spoof talent show Britain's Got The Pop Factor... And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice, a fully scripted fictional spoof on the talent show genre. The show parodied the emotional manipulation behind Cowell's shows, with Waterman memorably interrupting a funeral to tell an ousted contestant that the loss of his gran would provide the sob story he needed to get him on to the show.
In factual television, Waterman's interest in trains saw him present a historic self-retrospective view in Waterman on Railways for Channel Four/the Discovery Channel. Waterman also appeared in an advert by the National Blood Service in the UK, their sixth TV advert which also features Carol Smillie and Will Carling.
Waterman was one of the contestants in the 2009 series of the BBC programme Celebrity MasterChef, but was knocked out in the first round.
In October 2019, Waterman appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity. Waterman was part of an all star audience during the auditions stage in Malibu at Simon Cowell’s house, providing commentary critique behind the main judges, alongside Randy Jackson, Howie Mandel and songwriter Diane Warren.

Eurovision

Waterman wrote and produced the UK entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. This song was performed by the final three acts on Eurovision, Your Country Needs You! on 12 March 2010, Josh Dubovie was chosen to represent the UK. The song came under much criticism and William Hill's betting odds gave the song 125-1 chance that the song would win, the longest odds for a UK entry ever. In the end the song, "That's Sounds Good To Me", came last at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest receiving only 10 points in total.

Other commercial interests

Railways

Waterman's main interest outside music is in railways, and he has been involved in several railway ventures. In 1988 he revived the name of the London and North Western Railway, which as a group encompassed various ventures:
To hold his own collection of locomotives, he founded the Waterman Railway Heritage Trust, which currently owns several steam and diesel locomotives including -:
In October 2018, Waterman unveiled The Will Hay Appreciation Society's memorial bench to Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt in Cliddesden, Hampshire the filming location for Buggleskelly in the railway comedy film Oh, Mr Porter!.

Sport

In addition to his passion for music and railways, Waterman is also a supporter of Walsall F.C.. He is also a rugby league fan and is president of League 1 side Coventry Bears.

Honours

In 2001, Pete was made an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration by Coventry University for his services to the pop industry.
In 2004 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by University College Chester.
In the New Year Honours List published 31 December 2004 he was given an OBE for his services to music. In December 2006, he became a patron of the newly formed charity, the City, Lambeth and Southwark Music Education Trust.
In 2016, Waterman was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Northern College of Music, making him the first pop musician to be given the award.

Personal life

Waterman has been married three times:
  • Elizabeth Reynolds : one son Paul
  • Julie Reeves : one son Peter
  • Denise Gyngell ; two children Toni Tuesday and Charlie Ella