After These Tender Virtues split in the mid-90s, the name chosen by former Dexys bass player Pete Williams for his next musical project
was 'Basehart'. The band took its name from actor Richard Basehart who starred in Sixties TV
series, "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea." Long-term musical side-kick, keyboard player Fred Skidmore (who was with
Williams throughout the life span of 'The Virtues') was a co-founder of Basehart which also occasionally featured
ex-Bureau trombone man Paul Taylor. The line-up was completed by drummer Dean Beresford and bass player Al
Gare, with additional piano-playing from Danny McCormack. Some songs were distributed in demo form and made their way into
the hands of fans:
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Trust Me The Bottle Heart Beats People Said
I'd Be The One Nothing's Going To Stand In Our Way Black
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"The Bottle" dates from These
Tender Virtues days but also has it's roots even further back in an old Bureau
song which had the working title, " Gdansk Bop". "Nothing's Going To Stand In Our Way"
and "Black" are songs that Paul Taylor played on. This band do not sound like The Bureau or Dexys.
Anyone familiar with These Tender Virtues could use that as a starting point for reference but this band
took that sound and style much, much further. There's pop and jazz in the mix but such descriptions are inadequate.
Pete Williams' singing is astonishingly good. A soulful, expressive delivery that is also highly original. Pete
Williams makes beautiful, melodic, funny music. Music that will make you laugh out loud and your heart soar.
Music that will bring a bitter-sweet tear of melancholic regret to your eye. The sound is very original
with a piano, bass and acoustic band. There are no lead guitar breaks in this band. Lyrically the songs
are very diverse and original. Witty even.
It seemed for years as though
Pete Williams' talents as a singer and song-writer would remain largely unrecognised but that
all changed following his participation in the return of Dexys Midnight Runners during 2003.
Featuring as joint front-man on Dexys' acclaimed "To Stop The Burning" tour,
Pete took centre stage alongside Kevin Rowland, bringing his own vocal talents to a much
wider audience and gaining plaudits from fans and critics along the way. On the
back of the increased public awareness of Pete's talents, three of his songs were
released as an E.P on the Basehart Recordings label. The lead track, "Black"
- which had been championed by Mark Lamarr on his radio show - was accompanied by "Trust
Me" and "Said I'd Be The One" as 'B-sides'. Years passed
by and, while Dexys disappeared from view once again, Pete Williams continued
to perform his own songs live on a regular basis - in between lecturing on music and song-writing. Deciding
to drop the "Basehart" name in favour of plain old "Pete Williams" the same
nucleus of musicians - aided and abetted by Richard Hawley - eventually set
about recording their debut album, featuring many of the songs previously demoed by Basehart.
Released in 2012 under the title "See", the record was well-received by reviewers and
cemented Pete's growing reputation as a performer.
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"SEE" [Basehart
Recordings: B006W3E64A] Released 6th January 2012 Reconsider This Questions Trust Me Little One Soon I'll Be There Are You Listening Said
I'd Be The One Black Heart Beats Suddenly Shattered Until We Empty Off This Bottle
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Ironically, with the album completed and ready for release,
Pete Williams once again answered Kevin Rowland's call to return to Dexys for the recording of new album "One Day
I'm Going To Soar" and the live shows which followed. Since then Pete has continued to juggle his role in Dexys with
pursuing his solo career and is currently working on a follow-up album due for release in July 2014. See
"Dexys News" for further information regarding this release.
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