VICTORIA, BC, March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Peter Shelley, singer-songwriter and music executive, has died at the age of eighty from cancer. He passed away peacefully on March 23 at his home in Victoria, surrounded by family.
Shelley was a music industry renaissance man.
He started his music career in the 1960s at EMI (working for eminent record producer Norman Newell) and later in A&R for Decca Records. It was at Decca that he discovered a host of bands, including Ten Years After and Giles, Giles and Fripp (later to form as King Crimson). A few years later, he co-founded one of the most successful independent record companies in the UK, Magnet Records. While at Magnet, he wrote and produced numerous top ten hits, including My Coo Ca Choo and Jealous Mind for Alvin Stardust (he also sang them). As a solo artist, Shelley had top five hits with Love Me Love My Dog and Gee Baby. For his success in the UK music industry, Shelley was awarded the Ivor Novello award in 1975.
At the height of his success, Shelley decided to leave the music business and moved his family from London to Canada. It was in Vancouver, later Toronto, that he developed a character named Robotman, a robot with a heart that when pressed played music. This evolved into a multi-media enterprise and later a comic strip named Monty, appearing in hundreds of newspapers.
Shelley's love of music never left, writing songs to the end. A few days before he died, he wrote "We Are the Arsenal" inspired by the football team's recent success.
Natalie Southworth, (514) 509-1458
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