Peter Cunnah | |
---|---|
Birth name | Peter Cunnah |
Born | Derry, Northern Ireland, UK | 30 August 1966
Genres | Pop, synthpop, dance |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboards, guitar |
Years active | 1990–present |
Labels | Magnet Records |
Peter Cunnah (born 30 August 1966 in Derry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish singer and lead singer and songwriter of 1990s dance-pop duo D:Ream. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Prior to forming D:Ream, he was lead guitarist with Belfast-based band Tie the Boy, who were briefly signed to the Mother Records label, owned by U2. When that deal foundered soon after the band's move from Belfast to London, in-fighting amongst the members led rapidly to its split.
Finding himself in the heart of London's clubland, Cunnah, already a producer, originally conceived D:Ream as a way of re-using songs from his previous band. With little by way of support in London, he teamed up with DJ Al Mackenzie on a series of dance records by a 'faceless' dance act which would be fronted live and on-record by a diva, leaving Cunnah free to concentrate on songwriting and production and Mackenzie on building a DJ reputation.
However, after a live date when Cunnah stepped up to sing, he found himself enjoying the experience and rapidly remodelled the D:Ream concept around his own vocals. Initially performing as a duo, they received acclaim in clubs and found management and record and publishing deals.
Cunnah subsequently developed solo and collaborative material while working as a writer and producer behind the scenes, including singles and album tracks for the pop groups Steps and A1. He sang lead vocals on Chicane's 2003 single "Love on the Run", which reached No.33 in the United Kingdom and No.43 in Ireland. Cunnah also helped compose music for the anime InuYasha .
Cunnah returned to live performances with guitar-based band Shane, whose debut single "The Weight of This" was released in May 2006. Shane sees Cunnah going back to his roots. He has two old friends in the band – Paul Greendale on guitar and Mark Roberts on drums. Cunnah knew Roberts from their time in the rock band Tie The Boy. Cunnah has also produced the YouTube star Ben Kelly, a contestant on The Voice UK .
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World is the second studio album by Northern Irish synthpop / dance band D:Ream, released in 1995. It was to be the band's final studio release before their disbanding in 1997, and their re-forming in the late 2000s.
The Best of D:Ream was the first official compilation album from Northern Irish pop/dance band D:Ream, issued by Magnet Records label, and distributed by major Warner Bros. Records, with the management of FXU. It was released in May 1997, just after their UK and U.S. Dance Number 1 hit, Things Can Only Get Better, was re-released for the second time, re-entering the UK Top 20 Singles Chart at Number 19. The song received much publicity from the fact that it was later adopted by the UK Labour Party as their theme for the 1997 UK General Election. The group's record company, in agreement with leader Peter Cunnah, who decided to call it quits with D:Ream, chose to issue this greatest hits collection, instead of their third studio album, which was to be called Heap of Faith, and has since never been released.
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