The Artist
Peter Vale is an English musician who has provided songs for many UK and international artists, including recordings on albums by the Eagles and Ray Charles. For over twenty years, Vale was one half of a writing partnership with Mick Leeson, one of the most successful teams of pop/soul writers in the UK at that time. They wrote ´I’ll Be There` which Ray Charles recorded on his ´My World` album in 1993. In the same year, Vale wrote the Eagles track ´Love Will Keep Us Alive`, with Jim Capaldi and Paul Carrack, and it appeared on the multi-platinum reunion album ´Hell Freezes Over` in 1994.
It was rare for a song, written outside the group, to be recorded by the Eagles, and it was nominated in the ´Best Vocal Performance by a Band` category at the Grammy Awards in 1996. Other notable hit songs and productions which Vale was involved with include releases by Paul Young, The Commodores, Al Jarreau, Sheena Easton and Mica Paris. However, Peter and Mick are probably best known for writing breakthrough songs for several artists, including the world-wide number one hit, ´Would I Lie To You`, recorded originally by Charles and Eddie. The song received three Ivor Novello Awards in 1993. ´Would I Lie To You` has more recently also been given a new lease of life by the big success of David Guetta’s excellent dance version. They also provided UK soul artist Lemar with his biggest hit, ´If There’s Any Justice`, which topped the charts in 2004.
Peter Vale’s American smash ´Take Me Home Tonight`, has recently received a ´High Achievement Award` in 2020 from Broadcast Music Incorporated, for exceptional US airplay. The song was originally recorded by Eddie Money in the 80’s and the number of performances on the song to date is eight million. Also, and often forgotten, is the fact that in the year of its release, ´Take Me Home Tonight` was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Male Vocal category.
Originally signed by John Deacon of Queen, Vale developed his writing and arrangement skills, under the guidance of top producer, Christopher Neil. This combination provided a series of songs for one of his proteges, Sheena Easton, who shot to the top of the US charts.
The knock-on effect of this success was that Vale’s productions and arrangements became footprints for A&R men, producers and artists; acts such as The Commodores, Al Jarreau, Jermaine Jackson and Paul Young. He then wrote and produced the break-through album, ´So Good`, for soul artist Mica Paris in the UK, which went on to achieve platinum status. The resultant success allowed him to design his own studio, where many of the tracks released on his upcoming album ´Deep River` were laid down during the period from 1990 until the present day.
Apart from his writing ability, Vale’s 007 secret weapon….. is his voice! He is an excellent ´soulful` singer, and a top arranger/producer as well. This is illustrated on his original re-mastered recordings, the 2021-album ´Deep River`, which also includes four brand new productions.