Adelaide's Peter Combe becomes king of kids' music with his songs and TV/radio programs in UK and Australia
Peter Combe was crowned king of the kids after the success of his 1987 children's music album Toffee Apple.
Adelaide’s Peter Combe became the “loony tunes” pied piper of revitalised children’s music through his recordings and television shows in Britain and Australia. As a music teacher at Prince Alfred College junior school in the 1970s, he started writing songs and his first operettas – Bows Against the Barons (based on Robin Hood) – for his students.
In 1975, he moved and appeared in Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club rock musical. In between teaching and performing in pubs and clubs, he wrote a children's musical Frederick WhatsHisName & his TwoLegged Six String Guitar, including, "Spangle Road". Another musical was based on Norman Lindsay's The magic pudding.
In 1977, Combe went to England where he became a presenter on Music Times, a BBC TV educational program: "Someone in Adelaide had given me the name of a BBC producer. I rang and said I had just arrived [in England] and do you have any shows I can audition for. They wanted someone for Music Time, I auditioned, made the short list, and got the job."
Combe and co-presenter, Kathryn Harries introduced entertaining musical concepts. The show was used by music teachers and a resource for other music educators. It played in Britain for six years and on ABC television in Australia.
In 1979. the Combe family moved back to Australia, where he presented, Let's Have Music, an ABC radio program used for primary school music education. Combe recorded his first adult album,Vagabond, in 1980 with the title track recorded by the Seekers in 1977.
After two more years teaching, Combe issued his second album, Songs for Little Kids, (later retitled Happy Singing and then Wash Your Face in Orange Juice) in 1982. In 1986, he returned briefly to England and wrote his Toffee Apple album. Back in Australia, he worked with Diana Manson, head of ABC Music, on the first Australian-made children's music video: “Toffee Apple”. Played during children's programming on ABC TV, it turned Combe into Australia's first kids' pop star.
Toffee Apple won the 1988 ARIA inaugural award for best children’s album, equalled by Newspaper Mama (1989), The Absolutely Very Best of Peter Combe (So Far) Recorded in Concert (1992) plus nominations for Chopsticks (1990), Little Groover (1996) and Live It Up (2017).
From 1989-91, Combe presented Ticklepot on ABC Radio National. With Henry Salter as Monkey, the 10-minute program followed the adventures of Peter and Monkey through songs and stories, in 420 programs over three years. Ticklepot was voted best children's radio program in the world in New York in 1991.
In 1993, Peter's musical version of May Gibbs' classic book Snugglepot & Cuddlepie was performed in the Adelaide Festival of Arts. Originally a cantata with orchestra, choirs and soloists, it was reproduced the next year in the Adelaide Festival Theatre with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Combe has sold seven gold albums and two platinum. His best-known tracks are "Wash you face in organge juice", "Toffee Apple", "Spaghetti Bolognaise", "Mr Clicketty Cane", "Juicy Juicy Green Grass" and "Newspaper Mama". His Christmas Album (1990) of all-original songs reached the ARIA Top 50 albums.
In 2006, Combe crossed into political commentary with his song Free David Hicks.
