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Peter Cunnah | |
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| Birth name | Peter Cunnah |
| Born | 30 August 1966 Derry, Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Pop, synthpop, dance |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1993–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 .
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill, Damian O'Neill, Michael Bradley and Billy Doherty (drums). Much of the earlier Undertones material drew influence from punk rock and new wave; the Undertones also incorporated elements of rock, glam rock and post-punk into material released after 1979, before citing soul and Motown as the influence for the material released upon their final album. The Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums between 1978 and 1983 before Sharkey announced his intention to leave the band in May 1983, citing musical differences as the reason for the break up.
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Three, also known as U2 3, is the debut release by Irish rock band U2. It was released in Ireland on 26 September 1979 through the CBS Ireland record label.
D:Ream is a Northern Irish/English pop & dance group. They had a UK No. 1 hit with "Things Can Only Get Better" in 1994. Eight more top 40 hits followed, including "U R the Best Thing" and "Shoot Me with Your Love". Their two 90s studio albums reached the UK top five.
"I Will Follow" is a song by rock band U2. It is the opening track from their debut album, Boy, and it was released as the album's second single in October 1980. Lead singer Bono wrote the lyrics to "I Will Follow" in tribute to his mother, who died when he was 14 years old.
"Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date.
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That Petrol Emotion were a London-based Northern Ireland-originating band with an American vocalist, Steve Mack. It featured the O'Neill brothers from celebrated Derry pop-punk band The Undertones plus ex-members of fellow Derry bands Bam Bam and The Calling and The Corner Boys. They recorded five albums between 1986 and 1994, exploring an eclectic fusion of alternative rock, post-punk, garage rock and dance music which in part anticipated and overlapped with the dance-pop era of the 1990s.
"Things Can Only Get Better" is a song by Northern Irish musical group D:Ream, released in 1993 by Magnet Records and FXU as the second single from the group's debut album, D:Ream On Volume 1 (1993). It was written by Peter Cunnah and Jamie Petrie, and took several months to reach the top of the UK Singles Chart. Originally a club hit, pop success took much longer for the song—initially, it reached only number 24 on the chart in January 1993. Band member Al Mackenzie left later that year, and remaining member Cunnah took the band in a more pop-friendly direction.
"Shoot Me with Your Love" is a song by Northern Irish music group D:Ream, released in June 1995 by Magnet and FXU as the first single from their second album, World (1995). Co-written by frontman Peter Cunnah with Tim Hegarty, the song was the first of a three-single UK Top 40 run in 1995 for the band and also the highest peaking, reaching number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the UK Dance Singles Chart. The follow-ups, "Party Up the World" and "The Power ", reached number 20 and 40, respectively. A music video was also produced to promote the single.
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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.
Gregory Gray, born Paul Lerwill, was a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He began his career as a member of Rosetta Stone, a 1970s boy band, and became an influential cult musician who made indie music and videos under the pseudonym Mary Cigarettes. He published his work on online platforms such as YouTube and SoundCloud. During the course of his career his musical style ranged over an eclectic spectrum of pop, post-punk, indie rock, electronic dance music, jazz and folk.
Timothy John Hegarty, better known as Tim Hegarty is a Northern Irish musician and songwriter.
"U R the Best Thing" is the debut single of Northern Irish musical group D:Ream, included on their first album, D:Ream On Volume 1 (1993). Originally a club hit released in 1992, the song has been remixed and re-released twice: in 1993 and in 1994. The 1994 version, also known as the Perfecto mix, was most successful peaking at number three in Scotland, number four on the UK Singles Chart and number six in Ireland. It also peaked at number 13 on the Eurochart Hot 100. The 1993 version reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. There were made three different music videos to promote the single.
"Blame It on Me" is a song by Northern Irish musical group D:Ream, released in August 1994 by Magnet, FXU and Warner Music UK as the sixth and last single from the group's debut album, D-Ream On Volume 1 (1993). The song is written by frontman Peter Cunnah and features backing vocals by Jamie Petrie and Linda Duggan. Produced by Tom Frederikse, "Blame It on Me" received favorable reviews from music critics, peaking at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart and number 15 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
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