Peter Gammond facts for kids
Peter Gammond (born September 30, 1925 – died May 6, 2019) was a talented British person who did many things! He was a music critic, a writer, a journalist, a musician, a poet, and even an artist.
Peter Gammond was born in Winnington, a town in Northwich, Cheshire. His father, John Thomas Gammond, was a clerk and a very skilled amateur cellist. He also repaired musical instruments. Peter got his love for music from his dad.
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Early Life and Education
Peter went to a preparatory school in Weaverham. He lived there from 1930 to 1950. Later, he studied at Sir John Deane's Grammar School. He did very well in English and Art in his exams.
He even won a scholarship to Manchester College of Art. At that time, he really wanted to become a cartoonist.
Military Service
When Peter was 18, in 1943, he joined the army. He served in the Royal Armoured Corps as a tank driver. He spent most of his time in the Far East and India. He was with the 25th Dragoons during a conflict before India became independent in 1947.
University Life
After leaving the army in 1947, Peter continued his studies. He went to Wadham College, Oxford, until 1950. There, he studied English.
While at Oxford, he became well known for his poetry. His poems appeared in three different editions of Oxford Poetry. He was also a cartoonist and writer for the university newspaper, Cherwell. Peter was the poetry editor for the university magazine, The ISIS. He worked with famous editors like Alan Brien and Robert Robinson.
Peter also wrote and produced a small opera called Love and Learning. He played the trombone in a university jazz band too.
Career in Music and Writing
After Oxford, Peter worked for a short time in a pub and as a tax assessor. In 1952, he joined the Decca Record Company. He worked in their publicity department as an editor. He also wrote "sleeve notes" for records. These notes are the information written on the covers of vinyl records. This job allowed him to work closely with many top classical and opera singers and musicians.
In 1960, he left Decca to become a freelance writer, critic, and author. This meant he worked for himself. From 1964, Peter edited Gramophone Record Review, which later became Audio Record Review. He stayed as the Music Editor when it joined Hi-Fi News, until 1980. He passed away in May 2019, at 93 years old.
Writing, Publications, and Broadcasting
Peter Gammond wrote over forty books! These included studies of famous composers like Schubert, Mozart, and Offenbach. He also wrote about collecting records.
His books also covered topics like jazz, ragtime, and music hall. He wrote biographies of musicians like Duke Ellington and Scott Joplin. He also contributed to the Oxford Companion to Popular Music.
Peter wrote over three hundred record sleeve notes for almost every record company. He was especially famous for his six contributions to the Bluffer’s Guides. His book, Bluff Your Way in Music, was the first in this popular series in 1966. The Times newspaper even wrote an article about him when he died. They said he was a "pioneer of talking off the top of your head" and "enriched the national conversation."
As editor of Audio Record Review, Peter started the yearly 'Audio Awards'. These awards honored people for their "services to the gramophone." Famous winners included Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Peter Pears, Dame Joan Sutherland, and Dame Janet Baker.
Peter was also a regular voice on BBC Radio. He shared his opinions on jazz music. He gave talks during breaks in classical music programs, for example, about Gilbert and Sullivan. He was also part of the 'Building a Library' section on BBC Radio 3. There, he would recommend recordings of operetta and Johann Strauss. He also had a longer segment on the BBC Radio 2 arts program, Round Midnight.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Peter was the British judge for the annual Grand Prix du Disque in Montreux. This was a big award for records.
Peter was a very active poet. He admired the poet John Betjeman greatly. He was the Chairman (1997-2002) and a Vice-President (2010-2019) of The Betjeman Society. He also edited their journal, The Betjemanian, from 1996 to 2006. Peter wrote several books about Betjeman. He also wrote scripts for and appeared in two award-winning videos: Betjeman's Britain and Betjeman's London.
Musical Contacts
Throughout his life, especially during his time at Decca and editing music magazines, Peter met many important musicians. As a boy, he met Elgar. At Oxford, he played billiards with Finzi. He even had lunch with Sir Thomas Beecham on the same day he hosted the poet Dylan Thomas. Years later, he dined with Stravinsky at the Savoy.
While writing articles and publicity, he met composers like Sir Malcolm Arnold, Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, and Sir William Walton. He interviewed singers such as Kirsten Flagstad, Renata Tebaldi, Dame Joan Sutherland, Birgit Nilsson, Victoria de los Ángeles, Régine Crespin, Frederica von Stade, Sir Peter Pears, Carlo Bergonzi, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti.
Peter also interviewed and wrote about famous conductors. These included Sir Malcolm Sargent, Leonard Bernstein, Antal Doráti, Josef Krips, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, Richard Bonynge, and Sir Neville Marriner. Sir Yehudi Menuhin wrote the introduction for Peter's book, The Meaning and Magic of Music. Peter was also friends with Daniel Barenboim and Jacqueline du Pré. Through his jazz writing, Peter met Duke Ellington and worked a lot with André Previn.
Other Activities
Peter Gammond gave talks for many recorded music societies. He was even president of several of them, including the Sunbury Music Club. He was a long-time contributor to The Friends of Torbay's 'Torbay Musical Weekend' from 1970 to 2007. He became its vice-president in 2009 and president in 2014. It was Peter who invited famous conductors like Georg Solti to speak at these gatherings.
In 1964, Peter started an informal music group. This group still meets once a month at members' homes. The meetings take place in areas like Shepperton, Sunbury-on-Thames, Walton-on-Thames, Chertsey, Weybridge, and Woking. They explore different types of music through recordings and live performances.
Peter was a member of Rotary International since 1962. He was President of the Shepperton Rotary Club from 1969 to 1970. He was very involved in local charity work. In 1990, he helped start 'Care in Shepperton'. This group of volunteers offers help and support to elderly, housebound, or unwell neighbors. He was its chairman from 1991 to 1996.
Films and Scripts
- Betjeman's Britain. Green Umbrella (Studio). Video, 1994. DVD, 2004.
- Betjeman's London. Green Umbrella (Studio). Video, 2000. DVD, 2004.
- With Lionel Blair. Introduction and script for Music Hall Days. Go Entertain (Studio). DVD, 2002.
Select Broadcasts
- The Jazz Scene: New Releases. BBC Light Programme. Monday 19 April 1963, 10.31 pm.
- The Jazz Scene: New Releases. BBC Light Programme. Sunday 5 January 1964, 10.31 pm.
- The Jazz Scene: New Releases. BBC Light Programme. Sunday 19 April 1964, 10.31 pm.
- Record Review: Building a Library: Operetta. BBC Radio 3. Saturday 27 June 1970, 11.30 am.
- Record Review: Building a Library: The Best of Johann Strauss. Saturday 22 February 1975, 9.5 am.
- Scott Joplin: A Genius Rediscovered. Peter Gammond in conversation with Peter Clayton. BBC Radio 4. 14 October 1977, 4.5 pm; re-broadcast Tuesday 15 July 1980, 4.10 pm.
- The Record Industry Blues: A Diagnosis. BBC Radio 3. Saturday 19 July 1980, 12.2 pm.
- Moments Musical. 8 programmes on musical theatre from ballad opera to Broadway and beyond. BBC Radio 2. Tuesday 8 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 15 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 22 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 29 September 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 6 October 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 13 October 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 20 October 1981, 8.0 pm; Tuesday 27 October 1981, 8.0 pm.
- The Magic of D'Oyly Carte. Interval feature on the separate careers and talents of William Schwenck Gilbert and Arthur Seymour Sullivan. BBC Radio 2, Saturday 16 March 1985, 8.20 pm.
