REVIEWS (Selected and edited)

“I listened to it end to end standing up in our living room, spellbound. These are good songs by any measure.”

“It's Great!! Love the Songs.”   "It's simply brilliant!"   “It’s a cracking album. Full of verve.”   “It’s a great album. You should be very proud!”  


"Peter, congratulations. That’s a really fine album you’ve made. Thank you so much for sending it to me, I’ve been taking a great deal of pleasure in it. I can hear the beneficent influence of Chris Difford’s songwriting camp in “Holiday” and also admire the various different tones and moods that you bring to the other tracks. I can’t imagine there are many, or any, compositions inspired by an FT editorial task to rival “Wall St” for vibrancy and urgency. I note the internal near-rhyme between “Ely” and “nearly” in the song named after the former with a 👏. And I like the resonant finale provided by the last song, an apt placement for the title track.

Bravo. All the best, Ludo (Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times Arts Writer and Pop Critic)

"I’ve been sitting with my feet up listening to Pete’s wonderful album. What lovely songs and unusual subjects...I think it’s a triumph and - though I know nothing about the world of pop music - I would have thought the album would do very well. Huge congrats, Pete! xx" — Angela Devlin

"Between the cheeky first track and poignant last track are a collection of original and insightful songs built on cracking melodies and harmonies played by talented musicians and sung with genuine feeling and conviction. The songs’ stories and messages are told through clear, meaningful lyrics combined with clever word-play and a clarity which, on a couple of the tracks, also serve as a little nudge towards self-reflection. Made me smile, made me cry, made me think. Well done! Great work! Love it!" - Lesley Bacon

This is an edited video of the first half of the launch concert on June 16, 2023. https://youtu.be/XKl5cEOxOlQ

Part two - the album, to follow shortly...

LYRICS

1 • HOLIDAY (3.55)

(Brian Johnson, Derek Chamberlain, Peter Whitehead)

I never had a holiday. Never went away

Sitting in my little room counting down the days

Nose pressed to a cloudy pane. Looking for a patch of blue

Sun's out quick, machine gun sticks, running with the Bachoen Droog

Kissing me quick, wish you were here

Same old postcard, every year

I invented staycation, I never went away

Coz every day's a holiday

Church or chapel, Band of Hope. It was all the same to us

A year of fire and brimstone for a day trip on the bus

Rolling down the mountainside, flattening the ferns

Psycho flicks a cigarette, we watch the banking burn

Kissing me quick, wish you were here

Same old postcard, every year

I invented staycation, I never went away. No, I never went away

Because every day's a holiday

Aberavon 'alf an hour, he's pointing up at the light

“Boys, you see that sixpence way up there. It'll buy my pint tonight”

A shower in the pithead baths, was our paddling in the sea

Coal dust faces, old blue eyes, sung in a miner's key

Kissing me quick, wish you were here

Same old postcards, every year

It's a staycation, I never went away

Coz every day's a holiday

2 • LAKE TAHOE WEDDING (4.16)

(Rob Bryant, Peter Whitehead)

We never took the glasses back

We were floating in the dark

Outfits we didn't pack

We made the moment last

   

It was minimal, almost clinical, but without the knives

It was minimal, unpredictable, And we didn't try

Coz I never wanted to see you walking down the aisle

I only wanted to see you with me now

We've gone to higher ground

We're the only ones who know

Cruising 7.10        

Married by 15

Or we can both pretend

It was minimal, almost clinical, but without the knives

It was minimal, unpredictable, And we didn't try

Coz I never wanted to see you walking down the aisle

I only wanted to see you with me now.   We've gone to higher ground

Coz I never wanted to see you walking down the aisle

I only wanted to see you with me now.  We've gone to higher ground

3 • A WONDERFUL LIFE (6.36)

(Josh Difford, Rory Wells, Peter Whitehead)

It's A Wonderful Life on the TV again

Projecting on you in that same old chair

Flickering light paints a scene on your skin

And the pictures of you looking proud.

Same time, same place

Same lines, your face

Same roof, same walls, same suit.

A story that no one will tell

A story that no one will tell

Every time I walk in your street

I glance at your window and know what I'll see

An author, without a pen

I'd offer, but I'm scared to know your name

Same time, same place

Same lines, your face

Same roof, same walls, same suit.

A story that no one will tell

A story that no one will tell

Never have I considered that you

Ever might have wanted me to

Ask about you

Keep on walking

I never ask about you

I just keep on walking

4 • WALL STREET (3.04)

(Peter Whitehead)

Show me how to make a buck

Let us share your golden touch with my beginner's luck

Show me how to make a yen

I just need some good advice, won't bother you again

Don't mind if it takes insider dealing

A little corruption, even stealing

Can't stand all this worry making ends meet

I'll never get rich by doing Wall Street 

Ain't got time for old Dow Jones

I'm sick of taking mortgages and unsecured loans

I read in the Financial Times

How you've been making fortunes out of your financial crimes

Don't mind if it takes insider dealing

A little corruption, even stealing

Can't stand all this worry making ends meet

We'll never get rich by doing Wall Street    

Don't mind if it takes insider dealing

A little corruption, even stealing

Can't stand all this worry making ends meet

We'll only get rich by screwing Wall Street 

5 • ELY (3.52)

(Allison Pearson, Peter Whitehead)

Arriving in Ely, she knew she should really

Resist the temptations of a man twice her age

But passion is greater than time's calculator

Da Da De Dum Dum Dum, Da-de-da, Da-de-da      

And so she adoring, From King's Lynn to Great Snoring

Fed him berries and kisses, And forgot all about Mrs      

It was new autumn then as they drove through the Fens

The sky shrouded pewter with rain

And at night they explored another terrain

At night, another terrain

Returning to Ely, she knew she had nearly

Surrendered her freedom to a man twice her age

But passion grows colder, her inner voice told her

Da Da De Dum Dum Dum, Da-de-da, Da-de-da    

It was springtime again and she fled from the Fens

Rear vision, horizons of pain

And at night she dreamt of another terrain

At night, another terrain

6 • PRETTY WHITE WAR (5.08)

(Peter Whitehead)

The captain falls, the whistle blows, the referee stops play

Walter's face down in the mud. Another Saturday.

But from Northampton Town to Glasgow, was there no lesson learned

Messages of peace go unreturned

Before the pretty white war. Before the pretty white war

And so it happened as it's happened times before

And the army soon came marching to his door

Will you lead us into battle, will you keep us in your sight

Will you be there when the general sends us off to start a fight

Though the rules of play state clearly, men of colour cannot lead

Stay rank and file. But still they bleed.

In this pretty white war. In this pretty white war

Till a good man stands to rise above the law

And the generals can't deny him any more

A whistle blows, Lieutenant Tull in no man's land does lie

Walter's face down in the mud. A bullet's been let fly

Was there a shot worth taking, for his team in armbands black

At 29, his last attack

In this pretty white war. In this pretty white war

Now his allies in the stands can all applaud

Because no one can deny the point he scored

7 • THE GIRL ON HORSEFAIR GREEN (6.27)

(Ant King, Peter Whitehead)

Long dark hair and those flowers you wear

Only you in the crowd gathered there

Flying near above. Just out of reach

It's all your picture, so complete

Intoxicated by the sight, I was blind

And now I know, I can't un-drink this wine

But oh those eyes could hide so many lies  

And every time another sweet flower cries

Just thinking of you.  Not having you

But keeping you in my mind

And wondering too. What I can do

When you come back next time

I'm alive.  I'm alive.  As those flowers in your hair

I'm alive.  I'm alive.  In this game of solitaire

White flower days.  White flower days. I've learned my lesson now

Wild flower days. Wild flower days. Out of my depth again

I won't mind – if you don't understand

I won't mind – just lend me your hand

I won't mind – if I fall on my face

I won't mind – when I look out of place

And when a memory is all that I have got

I'll remember that I've got a lot

I'm a prisoner of worship, yes I am

A victim of desire, sweet Diane

    

Just thinking of you.  Not having you

But keeping you in my mind

And wondering too. What I can do

When you come back next time

I'm alive.  I'm alive.  As those flowers in your hair

I'm alive.  I'm alive.  In this game of solitaire

White flower days.  White flower days. I've learned my lesson now

Wild flower days. Wild flower days. Out of my depth again.

8 • THE DAMAGE (5.44)

(Peter Whitehead)

Oh the man with the charts must have lied

We sail in the dark at low tide

The ship is washed by the waves from both sides

It’s a wonder that no one has died

Sail away where the rocks are diamonds, And the isles all dance with gold

Take what you want, never mind the rest, Fill your boots and fill the hold

It’s all for you, the man with the charts says,  That’s the story that we’re told

Now we survey the damage, Now we survey the damage

we survey the damage, That’s been done to you.

No compassion, no faith and no law

Not even memory this far from the shore

Our ship is sinking, can carry no more

And we wonder what we’re sailing for

No alarm, the captain’s feasting, His claret nicely warm

The crew is silent, holding on, Under orders to conform

There’s no time left to correct the course, And steer this ship around the storm

So we inspect the damage, So we inspect the damage,

So we inspect the damage,  That’s been done to you.      

Black water rises where once the sun kissed

So many leaks now we can’t help but list

All the things that we could not resist

All those things we would barely have missed

The creaking stops and our ship is resting, Deep among the wrecks

The captains flee and the man with the charts, Says it is time to clear the decks

The crew complain that an albatross, Has been chained around their necks

And we can see the damage, we can see the damage,

Yes we can see the damage,  That’s been done to all of us... 

9 • JUST WHO I AM (3.08)

(Brian Johnson, Peter Whitehead)

Why do I keep it all? What do I need?

If I get rid of everything, would I cease to be?

Coz all the stuff that I've found

Is just all that I've lost

Coz I'm only who I am. I'm not what I was

School books and sailing ships, a horse in a frame

A doll in a borrowed dress. I've forgotten her name

Coz all these things that I've found

Are just all that I've lost

Coz I'm only who I am. I'm not what I was

Why does it matter so? Why such a wrench?

The fabric of history is its own evidence

Coz all the things that I've found

Are just all that I've lost

Coz I'm only who I am. I'm not what I was

Look at it like shedding skin. Not wheat from the chaff

It gets easier letting go. I won't cling to the past

Coz all the stuff that I've found

Is just all that I've lost

Coz I'm only who I am. I'm not what I was

Abandoning souvenirs is creating a space

For the past of tomorrow that is taking its place

Coz all the things that I'll find

Will replace what I've lost

Coz I'll be just who I am. And not who I was 

10 • ALL THE NOTES THERE IS (7.21)

(Peter Whitehead)

Still the voices fill this room that’s falling silent

Only echoes. Hold the laughter from the floor

Stop the music. Goodbye Cara, Farewell Martin

For a ramblin’,  we shall go no more

Just another Daisy Gold or something stronger

Calling time and all the people asking why

With their misty-eyed distress and recollection

Swaying somewhere ‘tween a holler and a sigh

But when those spotlights shone, they took us many places

To the forest, and the sea, and back in time

But now the darkness falls to leave only the traces

Of the journeys we made thanks to tune and rhyme

For that’s all the notes there is. That’s all the notes there is.

We went from A to C, then from D to G.  And that’s all the notes there is.

That’s all the notes there is. Yes it's all the notes there is.

There was warm applause, and then we closed the doors.

For that’s all the notes there is.

Ghostly whispers and the stories unforgotten

So many diamonds on that funny little stage

Will it see again the beauty of Ruth Moody?

And hear the treble, all the middle, all the bass

But when those spotlights shone, they took us many places

To the forest, and the sea, and back in time

But now the darkness falls to leave only the traces

Of the journeys we made thanks to tune and rhyme

For that’s all the notes there is. That’s all the notes there is.

We went from A to C, then from D to G.  And that’s all the notes there is.

That’s all the notes there is. Yes it's all the notes there is.

There was warm applause, and then we closed the doors.

For that’s all the notes there is.