Artiste:  Pete Arnold with Lucy Collinge-Hill

Pete Arnold was born in Liverpool, England, UK, in 1949.  A guitar and banjo playing folk singer-songwriter from a Dublin-Irish family background, and founder member of folk groups Salty Dog, Johnny Was, The Travelling Folk, Peaky Blinders and Almost Blues. His history in the folk scene spans some forty years learning his trade in clubs such as the “Old Washhouse” folk club in Lord Street, Liverpool, “Gregsons Wall” the home club of “The Spinners” and other folk clubs on the Wirral and Merseyside area, before moving on to appearances, initially with the Creek Jug Band touring the UK and Ireland, whilst at the same time songwriting and winning three Welsh Eistedfodd song writing prizes.

Pete Arnold’s songs have also been acclaimed by many other folk artistes such as the Fureys recording Pete’s song “I Remember Mary” for EMI Records on their “Claddagh Road” album release, to Ireland’s Brendan Shine recording Pete’s song the “Robinsons Ball” for Play Records released on CD, cassette, video, DVD and film, to various other international folk artistes performing and recording Pete’s songs, to congratulatory correspondence and interest on Pete’s songwriting and performing from that legend of folk, Christy Moore etc.

Pete Arnold’s notable appearances over the years with his various groups in England, UK, have been not only at eminent folk clubs but also at folk festivals to include the Bromyard Folk Festival, Kendal Folk Festival, The Sidmouth Folk Festival, The Edinburgh Folk Festival, The Cambridge Folk Festival, The Cheltenham Folk Festival, to name but a few.

As a songwriter Pete Arnold’s achievements are numerous to include being the winner of the 21st Anniversary competition for Birmingham Bull Ring where the song was commercially released,  Winner of the Edinburgh Folk Festival “Songsearch” competition with the song “Echoing Still”,Birmingham Buskers competition winners 1985/86 and 1986/87, songwriter and performer of the song “Olympic City 1992” the song chosen by the Birmingham Olympic Committee as their official anthem to host the 1992 Olympic games (commercially released on record), the song “The Fitzroy Girl” placed fourth out of 3,600 songs at the Kendal Folk Festival (released commercially on record and which has become a classic folk song being recorded by many folk artistes, voted top act at the Droitwitch SPA Busking Festival. The song “Ghost Trains” being placed out of 4,000 songs entered for the 1987 Legal and General “Songsearch” competition, songwriting contributor with songs “Summer Lane” and “Tall Ships”featuring on the British Rail Commemorative album celebrating twenty-one years of inner city travel, songwriter, performer and producer of BBC West Midlands television’s song “Children In Need”, contributor to Radio West Midlands for many years to the stations weekly spot “It’s a Dogs Life” and to broadcasts and performances on BBC Pebble Mill and “Central Live Weekend” television and much, much more. Peter Arnold’s folk release “Children of the Dust” is digitally re-mastered from mainly unreleased archive recordings which are part of English and Irish folk history.