PETER OAKMAN

We are very sorry to inform our loyal followers that Pete Oakman sadly passed way in Greece on Friday, September 29th, 2023, following a short illness. Our thoughts go out to his wife, Ann and his sons Steve and Matt. Peter Oakman: December 12th 1943 - September 29th, 2023. RIP dear friend!

Peter Oakman was born on December 12th, 1943 in Cuffley, Hertfordshire, England to parents Albert and Francesca, the middle child of three sons. Tony (now deceased) had been born in 1939 and Michael in 1950. Peter's first public performance was in 1953 at a local talent competition, with Tony, in celebration of the ascension to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II. Peter played guitar and Tony played banjo.

On our Music page we have a selection of MP3 tracks which, we hope, will suit all tastes. There's "At The Hop”, "It's Late", "Sea Cruise", "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", "The Wanderer", "It’s Only Make Believe", "A Picture Of You", (well, we had to feature that one, didn't we? He co-wrote it, of course!) "Whole Lotta Woman", "Boney Maroney" and a very rare track featuring The Spacemen skiffle group with Peter at the tender age of 13, in 1957, playing bass guitar. There are no prizes for guessing who did the original songs featured but I'm sure you will do a search on internet and have the knowledge on hand for the next time you do a quiz night!

Career highlights outside of music

During the seventies Peter set up a PR company. One of his clients was the actor Peter Ustinov who had been asked by Prince Charles to narrate his story "The Old Man Of Lochnagar". Peter recalls: "I had a meeting in London with Peter about 18 months before the release of the product to organise three days of his time so that I could arrange press, radio and TV interviews. "He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humour and he made my job so easy". This came about through Peter's good friend Anna McCorquodale who, at the time, was married to Ian McCorquodale who is the son of the novelist Barbara Cartland. Anna was also Princess Diana's stepsister-in-law. In 1976 Peter was also asked to promote the American bi-centenary, setting up interviews with visiting American artistes to Great Britain from all aspects of the arts. Outside of music Peter has worked for two Archbishops of Canterbury, but that's another story!

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