IT’S hard to take Peter Andre seriously.
From his cheesy 90s collabo with Bubbler Ranx to his docu-soap of a marriage to the fame-hungry Katie Price, the perfumes, book deals, TV reality shows, Gala bingo adverts and now coffee shops – he opened two New York Coffee Club shops this year with his brothers.
The concept of Peter Andre the musician would surely be enough to make even Peter Andre choke on his own flat white. But if there’s one person who believes in his own abilities, it’s Peter.
Robbie Williams’ classic is ‘Angels’ and that is all about vocals and lyrics. Sure, I would have loved to have a song like that, but when we were writing ‘Mysterious Girl’ I knew it was going to be my biggest hit.
Appearing at this year’s Girls Day Out Show at Manchester Central - an apt setting for a man who is known for his legions of female fans - he talks music with a straight face, positive outlook and a coffee in hand. The fact it’s Costa coffee doesn’t bother him either.
“I know” he laughs, “because we haven’t opened a New York Coffee Club in Manchester yet but that’s definitely coming. Next will be London and then I want to move up the country. I would challenge any coffee shop in England to make better coffee than us. Our flat whites are the best. Everywhere else in this country they taste like shit. They’re burnt and bitter. Ours are like the Aussie and New Zealand ones. We take pride in it.”
But why coffee? Why now? Why ever?
“It is random, I know. Well, I was talking to Gino D'Acampo, a dear friend of mine. That wasn’t a name drop by the way, he is a friend. He has the second largest import/export of Italian food in England and I said to him ‘this is amazing brother, why didn’t I know about this’ and he said ‘well, I’m doing TV and all that but how long is that going to last?’
“I feel the same. How long is what I’m doing going to last for? I’ve got to do stuff outside of the music industry and that’s why things like this are so important.”
It’s refreshing to see Peter isn’t completely lost in his own hype and there is a glimmer of reality among the cult of celebrity haze that surrounds him. But with his own documentary cameras rolling throughout our interview, cutting the strings of Peter the media puppet proved increasingly difficult, as his train of thought turned back to the industry he’d, just moments ago, given a definite shelf life.
“Music is definitely still the priority for me. I’ve just about finished this album and there are two major features. Massive. The late Robin Gibb has also written a track.”
Of course, Peter Andre and Robin Gibb do share a few similarities.
Both grew up in Australia after some time in the UK and both cite soul music as their favourite genre. And that’s where the similarities end I'm afraid.
Unsurprisingly, Robin took some convincing as to the plausibility of Peter as a real artist.
“I’ll never forget when he came to my house with a group of producers and he turned to them and said ‘Can he really sing?’ People haven’t really seen what I can do live unless they’ve been to one of my shows. When I started singing for him, I really belted it. He turned around and said ‘Wow. Now that I didn’t expect’.”
When Lynda met Peter...And so begs the question, why has the public never been treated to the real singing talent? Surely there should be more to Peter Andre’s legacy than just ‘Mysterious Girl’?
“What I listen to is very different to what I release. I am still happy to have been part of a song that is a classic though. Robbie Williams’ classic is ‘Angels’ and that is all about vocals and lyrics. Sure, I would have loved to have a song like that, but when we were writing ‘Mysterious Girl’ I knew it was going to be my biggest hit. It was easy. All the songs at that time were the same four chords, Ace of Base ‘I Saw The Sign’, Inner Circle ‘ Baby I Love Your Way’.”
Now about to release his ninth album, Angels and Demons, it’s a wonder whether Peter will ever have a song that will be enough to make us see him in a different light. Musical credibility is even harder to come by when you appear to be milking your star power at every available opportunity for five more minutes of fame. There’s no doubt that Peter can hold a note, but his affiliations with the Kerry Katonas of this world aren’t going to get him any closer to the credibility of the Adeles. Still, try telling Peter that.
“It might not be the first or second I release but I know I will have a big hit again. I just know. I’ve always had visions as to where I’m going to be in my professional life. I knew I was going to sell out the O2 arena three years before we even put it on sale. I didn’t even have a hit then but I just knew we’d sell out and now my vision is Wembley stadium. My biggest hit is coming. I hope it’s on this album. But either way, I know it’s coming. This is the first album in fifteen years I believe could go international too.”
Peter Andre oozes so much P.M.A, it’s nearly his own initials. His self assurance is unsettling, delusional even, when it comes to the music, but like the 50 Shades Of Grey novel, he continues to have a mind boggling mass appeal, including over two million followers on Twitter.
Funnily enough he even said he’s considering writing a male version of the popular erotic fiction, detracting further away from the musical success of the ‘greats’ he loves to cite as his true inspiration (“Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, Elvis, Lionel Richie”).
If ‘Mysterious Girl’ and Jordan didn’t completely abolish any possibility of musical credibility, erotic fiction certainly will. But if one thing’s for sure, underneath all the PR fluff, Peter is normal guy, pleasant and polite, who has somehow created a level of success for himself well away from the music, the six pack and even the glamour girl.
It really is as ‘Insania’ as his song of the same ridiculous title. But, it certainly could be worse. He could be Bubbler Ranx.
Follow Lynda on Twitter @lyndamoyo
