Peter Combe
Biography
Peter Combe is the original "King of the Kids" in Australian Children’s Music. His timeless songs have been entertaining children for over 20 years. Much loved classics such as Spaghetti Bolognaise, Newspaper Mama, Wash Your Face in Orange Juice and Juicy Juicy Green Grass have earned him 3 ARIAS, 7 Gold and 2 Platinum Albums. With his recent successes performing sell out shows to 20-something year olds who still love the songs they grew up with, Peter's music is living on and being passed to the next generation.
Peter is still still writing, recording and performing new songs for children. It's a labour of love.
Facts and figures:
Peter has released 12 albums of childrens songs and 6 DVDs. His albums received 7 Gold and 3 Platnum awards while with ABC Music. He has won 3 ARIA awards. His radio show "Ticklepot" won an award for “Best Childrens Radio Program in the World” (New York).
Albums
Music Time (1979) [BBC London]
Vagabond (1981)
Songs for Little Kids (1982)
Spaghetti Bolognaise (1984) [Original Title: More Song for Little Kids]
Toffee Apple (1987)
Newspaper Mama (1988)
Chopsticks (1989)
Peter Combe's Christmas Album (1990)
Live & Rocking (1991) [Originally called The Absolutely Very Best of Peter Combe (So Far)]
Spook (1993)
Snugglepot & Cuddlepie - The Musical (1993)
Little Groover (1996)
Best Friends (1999)
Song from a Telephone Box (2001)
Classic Fairy Tales (2003)
Wash Your Face in Orange Juice (2003)
Peter Combe Reinvented (2003)
Classic Fairy Tales 2 (2004)
Wake Up It's Christmas (2005)
Classic Fairy Tales 3 (2006)
Ticklepot Episodes 1-5 (2006)
Ticklepot Episodes 6-10 (2006)
Ticklepot Episodes 11-15 (2006)
Thelma Brown Lived in a Zoo (2006)
Songs for Friends and Family (2006)
Moovy Groovy Songs (2006)
Kiddywinks (2009)
Reviews
Peter’s favorite child’s quote after a concert: “You’re very good for 70 cents.”
WAKE UP IT’S CHRISTMAS
Well-known children entertainer Peter Combe has a new Christmas CD out. It's full of the usual Peter Combe mixture of the seriously lyrical to the downright absurd, and my prediction is kids will love it.
Wake Up it's Christmas offers a great mix of styles, moods and experiences of Christmas, mostly from an essentially Australian (or southern hemisphere) viewpoint including watermelon, swimming pools and cricket on the telly.
Songs that connect with the traditional story include the reflective No Room, which is one of my favourites (quite different from the song of similar name on his original Christmas album -also one of my favourites) Miracle (in a style I call Christmas Rock) and It's Christmas Again.
Many of the songs conjure up images of our hot, dry Australian summer Christmases. Especially so are Down in the South Lullaby and Wake Up Sleepyhead, along with the frenetic Kangaroo Hop, a typical Peter Combe romp that kids will love. I love the fact that so many of the songs reflect children's experience of Christmas including Christmas Day Has Come Again.
There's the expected silly songs that young children will giggle at, including Ticketty Boo, A Very Silly Christmas Song (what else?) and Father Christmas and Dave, which are nicely balanced by songs that ask some harder social questions: So Far Away and No Room.
Also included is the traditional English Wassail, and an up-beat version of Good King Wenceslas, which seem a little out of place in an album so unapologetically Australian.
What I like about Peter's music is the variation of style and content, the essentially Australian flavour, and the musical sophistication with which he writes. Peter recognises in children the capacity for musical intelligence. There is a range and sophistication in his music which respects his audience and doesn't patronise them. At the same time he's not afraid to acknowledge that kids want to have fun and have a great sense of the absurd.
All of which means that the adults can enjoy listening to their kid's music as well!
— Marnie Agnew. The KUCA News
Links
Peter Combe on AirPlay Direct (Children's music)
Peter Combe on AirPlay Direct (Christmas music)
