THE BEGINNING

Peter Beckett was born on August 10, 1948 in the Aigburth section of Liverpool England. In the early sixties, he began taking an interest in music; listening to his older brother's records, and "air" guitaring with a tennis racket to the radio. He was also greatly influenced by listening to Radio London and Radio Luxemburg. Like most teens in the 60's, Peter discovered the music of the Beatles. He would frequent some of their lunch time sets at the famous Cavern Club. He was impressed with what he heard and saw, and decided that this was what he wanted to do with his life.

THE CLIMAKS-LIVERPOOL 1964

 

 

 

Stu Lynch, Ken Folksman, Peter Beckett, Eric Brown

THE THOUGHTS-LIVERPOOL 1965-1967

Phil Boardman~Alan Hornby~Peter Beckett~Dave Croft

In 1965, while working at the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, Peter met Phil Boardman who was putting together a backing band for recording artist Tiffany. Peter then became the member of his first pro band at age 17 called The Thoughts. They originally recorded as the backing vocals for Tiffany and the Thoughts songs "I Know" and "Find Out What's Happening" on Paraphone Records. They then toured around England and Scotland for awhile until Tiffany quit. In 1966, they switched to Planet Records and made their debut as The Thoughts. A comparatively risque single for the times, the A-side, "All Night Stand" was a Ray Davies composition, produced by Shel Talmy. Along with Alan Hornby on bass, Phil Boardman on lead guitar, Dave Croft on drums, and Peter himself on guitar and vocals, they released 'All Night Stand' on September 30, 1966. Two different versions were released of this single, a slower version in the UK, and a more upbeat version in the US. Requested by Shel Talmy, owner of Planet Records, Ray wrote this song for a movie based on a book by Thom Keyes, also called 'All Night Stand', for 20th Century Fox. The book concerned the trials and tribulations of a young Beat band, loosely modeled on the rise of the Beatles. However, the movie was never made.  

Although the single by The Thoughts received great reviews from the critics, it just barely made the charts. The B-Side, 'Memory Of Your Love', was equally as good and written by Peter and Phil Boardman. This single was recorded on the Planet label and distributed by Phillips Records Ltd. Innovative in being an independent record label in the 60's, Planet lasted only a year but produced 22 singles and two albums by such bands as The Kinks, The Who, The Creation, The Easy Beats, to name a few. In the later years, The Thoughts took on a lead singer named Denny Alexander, formerly of Earl Preston's Realms, and did a one month stint of the clubs in Hamburg on the Reeperbahn, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Storyville.  They made history by being the first band to perform at the newly opened now famous Saville Theatre in London, opening for The Koobas, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who. The Thoughts also appeared live on German TV show 'Beat Beat Beat'. The band also made a video short called "Girls In Short Short Dresses", which was played in movie theaters before the shows.(see info below) Two of their unrecorded songs were played during this video, called "Pretty Girl" and "Call Me Girl". When chart success eluded the band, the group broke up going their own separate ways.  
  

*ALAN HORNBY died 2013

*PHIL BOARDMAN   

1967 PLANET RECORDS

SINGLE

1. All Night Stand(Ray Davies)

2. Memory Of Your Love(Beckett, Boardman)

1967 PLANET RECORDS

LIVE RECORDING

1. Pretty Girl

2. Call Me Girl

WINSTON G/WHIP 1968

Hue Lloyd-Langton~Winston Gork~Peter Beckett~Tony MacIntyre

PALADIN-LONDON 1970-1973