Peter Howarth of The Hollies: From Legendary Stages to a Lifetime of Music
Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville
Peter Howarth, lead singer of The Hollies, shares his journey from a childhood moment with a record player to becoming one of Britain's most
Key takeaways
- A single childhood moment with a record player sparked Peter Howarth's lifelong love for music.
- The emotional reward of performing—earned applause from fans—is irreplaceable and drives his continued career.
Main topics
- Early inspiration and childhood memories
- Legacy and transition into The Hollies
Notable quotes
This is what we do it for, this is our reward. You cannot buy this.
Conclusion
Peter Howarth continues to carry on his musical journey with passion and authenticity,
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:00) Hi, I'm Tony Mantour. Thanks for joining us today. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville, where music, entertainment, and great conversations come together. If you haven't already, tap follow. This way you stay up to date, never missing the great conversation and guests coming your way. Speaker 1 (0:18) Today we're honored to welcome a man whose voice has been heard by millions around the world. Peter Haworth has been the lead singer of the legendary British band The Hollies for over two decades, carrying on the legacy of one of rock's most iconic groups while making the role uniquely his own. His story goes far beyond The Hollies. He has shared the stage with Cliff Richard, performed at legendary venues like Madison Square Garden and London's Royal Albert Hall. collaborated with acclaimed musicians including Rick Fenn of 10cc, written hit musicals, and built a career defined by passion, resilience, and an unwavering love of music. In this conversation, Peter shares the childhood moment that sparked his lifelong love of music, the pressure of stepping into the shoes of a legendary frontman, unforgettable moments performing before thousands of fans, and the lessons he's learned from a lifetime on stage. Whether you're a longtime fan of the Harleys or simply love hearing the stories behind extraordinary careers, you're in for a memorable conversation. So settle in as we welcome singer, songwriter, performer, and one of the most respected voices in British music. Thanks for joining us today. Speaker 2 (1:30) Yeah, nice to speak to you, Tony. Speaker 1 (1:31) Yes, same here. When you look back at everything that you've done, what inspired you to pursue music professionally? Speaker 2 (1:40) uh the love of music was the first inspiration i think i've got very vivid memories of my my childhood because the very early part wasn't great and i remember because of where we were in the house where which house i was in at the time under three years old i was about two and i remember being next door at my next door neighbor's house and she let me it was lady called june and she let me play with the record player and i remember putting the the arm onto the record and going What is that? What is that sound? And that is it. And from then, music's always been a really big part of my life. I think that's it. It's the love of music. It's the instant communication of emotion through sound. And also, couple that with when you get a bit older, when you just start to play. And when you play an instrument, apart from having the love of it, when somebody goes, oh, wow, that was great. Oh, well done. You can't buy that reaction. Speaker 1 (2:27) I love that story. Isn't it funny how one little moment like that... the reactions can change the way that you look at things. Speaker 2 (2:35) That transmits to when we do gigs and that's what old Bobby Elliot, Bobby Elliot when I first joined the Holly's, the one thing that he said to me always sticks in my mind. When we did our first gig, that was in 2004 when I joined, 2004, and I was quite nervous. We went on, it was like Birmingham Symphony Hall, there's like 1,300 people. At the end of the gig, it went well and everybody's standing up and applauding and there's a lot of happiness in the room. Bobby, who's now 84, you know, Bob came down and he put his arm around me and said, look at this people, look at all these people out here, look at those happy people, look at the people in the balconies applauding us, look at that. He said, this is what we do it for, this is our reward. He says, you cannot buy this. And he's absolutely right. You could get 1,000 people, 1,300 people in a room, pay them all £1,000 each to applaud you after you've just sung your song, but it's not going to be the same, is it? You have to earn it. And that, for me, is another part. So those two things, having... whatever it is that's lacking in my personality. I need somebody to go, oh, well done, Pete. Well done, you know. But that is a big part of doing something, communicating. You move somebody, even if you move somebody to leave the room, they slam off. Or they go, wow, that was great. Or, yeah, it's okay. The point is you're doing your best. You always do your best. If somebody really enjoys it. And you've had that moment. I know it's transient. It comes, it goes. But that's why I'm really still here doing it because two reasons I can't do anything else. And the other thing is I really enjoy it. You know, I really do enjoy performing and singing and playing. Speaker 1 (3:55) Yeah, that's awesome. Now, you mentioned the audience. The audience, when they're into what you're doing, can give you the energy where you just never want to stop. Do you have a memory of an audience that just gave you everything that you was hoping for and created that memory that you just will never forget? Yeah, I've Speaker 2 (4:15) been fortunate. There's a few things that stick out in my mind. One instance which was incredibly moving for me, it was when I wrote a musical with a guy called Rick Friend from 10CC. We wrote a musical that we were fortunate. We were commissioned to write it. It went on around the country. It was in the West End of London for a Speaker 1 (4:35) short period of time. It got slagged off in the West End, but it did fantastic Speaker 2 (4:37) everywhere else. Everywhere else, it was going great. Everybody loved it. Birmingham, Manchester, we thought we were going to be multimillionaires. And it was doing really great guns. And unfortunately, it was took into the West End, which was kind of against my wishes, because it wasn't that kind of show. But anyway, point being, after the West End, it went on another tour. It Speaker 1 (4:52) was going to be really its kind of final tour. And all the people that loved that musical... Speaker 2 (4:57) It was the last night was in York about 1992. I was on stage playing, that's another long story, while I got involved in doing it, but I was actually on stage that night playing the part, parts of the musical. And my whole family was there, my mum, my dad, my brother, my sister, everybody I knew, plus everybody over a period of a year and a half, two years that loved that musical all descended. So the last night of that musical, when you went on stage, everybody was cheering, everybody knew every lyric to every song. And it was an emotional night. And I'll never forget that for a multitude of reasons. But I think that for me, out of all the things, and I've had some wonderful nights, but that for me was one of the most poignant. Speaker 1 (5:34) Now, if I remember correctly, you did something with Cliff Richard as well. When I went with Cliff Richard, we did Speaker 2 (5:40) what they called The Event, which was a special event for him at that time. He was about as big as he was ever. at that time. And we did, I think, an event at the old Wembley Stadium. There's like 60, 50, 60,000 people there. And it wasn't for me. I was just stood on stage doing my backing vocals and playing the guitar. But I remember looking out at all those people going, oh, my God, wow, that's Speaker 1 (5:57) amazing. I Speaker 2 (5:58) remember that. And also the other one that I do remember only for the reason that I didn't ever think I'd actually get to work with these guys or be a part of briefly or what they were doing was at Madison Square Gardens with The Who. And I was just, again, a backing working musician, but stood behind Pete Townsend, right behind him, watching. him play, I can't remember what the song was now, but just looking out, I remember that as well. I think those three things were different reasons. But I've been fortunate, you know, that I've had a lot of good nights, you know. And nowadays, what's happened, I think, since the last Speaker 1 (6:29) 10, Speaker 2 (6:30) 20 years now, maybe the last 15 to 20 years, I used to do a lot of sessions, a lot of writing. But now I seem to be back to going out singing for my supper, you know, the lucrative businesses of either jingles or... doing sessions in studios that used to use 28, 48 tracks. And they needed people to sing in tune, but now they don't because they've got auto-tune and everybody's recording in the bedrooms. The business has changed for good or bad, whatever you like to look at it. That's another whole area we can go into. But for me, it's back to singing for my supper, doing live, which again, I'm away from home a lot. Again, the benefits are that I really do love it. Simple as really. Speaker 1 (7:05) Now you've worked with Cliff Richard, plus all these other great musicians. Yeah. What were some of the things that you learned by