PeterMarshNLFrontIntroduction

Peter Marsh (8 March 1952, sometimes also referred to as Pete Marsh) is an English singer/songwriter who started his career in the 1970s with his then brother-in-law Ken Nicol. The duo released four albums as "Nicol and Marsh" and “Easystreet”. After that Peter mainly played with short-lived bands and projects such as Twist (1979), Mannfred Mann's "Chance" (1980), Blanket Of Secrecy (1982) and Nick Lowe's "The Abominable Showman" (1983).

In 1980 Peter Marsh met Vangelis through their contact with Polydor, after which he frequently visited Vangelis studio for several months. The two worked together on several songs, two of which as a collaborative effort which were released as ‘Don’t Be Foolish’ and ‘Doesn’t Matter’ on a 7” single in July 1980.

About ‘Don’t Be Foolish’ Peter Marsh recalled: “this track was widely played on BBC Radio 1, becoming "Record of the Week" (Dave Lee Travis) when it was released. We were scheduled to appear on BBC1's Top of the Pops with a live performance of "Don't Be Foolish" in December 1980, but the programme was cancelled due to the 1980 musician's strike.”

About ‘Doesn’t Matter’ Peter Marsh revealed: “I have to admit I came up with the idea for the chorus from a black and white subtitled film which was on TV at Vangelis' Nemo Studios in London. I worked on it with Vangelis without any other words at first and then I got my mate Tony Illingworth to write some lyrics to fill in the gaps”

As Vangelis was working in the studio on songs for his next album “See You Later” (1980) at the time, Peter Marsh happily contributed vocals to several of Vangelis’ songs. Though not clearly stated on the album, Marsh confirmed it is his voice on the songs ‘My Love’, ’I Can’t Take It Anymore’ and ‘Multi-track Suggestion’. About the album See You Later Peter Marsh said: “That album is the best Vangelis album in my opinion, apart from “China” perhaps. I believe it was his most progressive album. Vangelis invited me to sing on the "See You Later" album and I willingly obliged! It was one of the most bizzare vocal performances of my life. He chose several artists to sing, including Jon Anderson, Cherry Vanilla and me. Recording the songs I worked on was a very different experience from working with him on the songs we wrote together. For “See You Later” he wrote the lyrics, which were very abstract. Vangelis recorded me singing with no backing track and mixed it all together later when I wasn't around. I remember he kept asking me to sing with "no attitude" or "no emotion", like a robot...Vangelis was a total genius! It was a great experience working with Vangelis all those years ago!”

PeterMarshWGFrontOne year after his collaboration with Vangelis, Peter Marsh worked with Godley and Creme to produce another single on the Polydor label: ‘You Say You Wanna Love Me’ b/w ‘I Won't Let You Go’ (1981), and in 1984 Marsh released yet another single on the Polydor label: ‘Harmony’ b/w ‘There’s A Time In Every Day’, arranged and produced together with Vangelis’ sound engineer Raine Shine.

In the 1990s Peter Marsh built a studio in Greenwich and produced and performed music with “The Peter Marsh Band” in London. In 2006 Marsh moved to France, where he set up a studio near Chateautoux and toured the country with his all-French band. Even today (2025) Peter Marsh is still active writing and singing songs, which can be found on his Youtube-channel.

 

Tracklist and credits

  • ‘Don’t Be Foolish’
  • ‘Doesn’t Matter’
     Lyrics by Tony Illingworth

Written by Vangelis and Peter Marsh.
Arranged and produced by Vangelis.

 

PeterMarshLabelDiscography

7” single

These songs were never issued on CD. ‘Don’t Be Foolish’ was covered by the synth-pop group “Ganymede” in 2002 on their “Falling E.P.” release.

 

Recording studio

Both songs were recorded in Nemo Studios in London.

 

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