Peter Allen Woolnough was born on 10th February 1944 in Tenterfield, New South Wales. His alcoholic father killed himself when Peter was thirteen and he was raised by his devoted mother and aunts.
As a child, Peter sang in a local pub but his professional career took off in the early 1960s as part of the Allen Brothers, teaming up with Chris Bell. They became very popular in cabaret and on Australian TV, notably on Bandstand where Peter met lifelong friends and colleagues, amongst them Olivia Newton-John. The Allen Brothers embarked on what was supposed to be a short engagement in Tokyo with a new Vegas-style act. The act was so popular that it lead to two years of touring in Asia. They were playing in Hong Kong when Mark Herron, Judy Garland's fourth husband, discovered them (though Garland herself is usually credited). The Allen Brothers opened for Garland in London and then moved to the US, making their debut at the Diplomatic Hotel, Miami in December 1964. They spent the rest of the 60s playing across America.
Garland introduced Peter to her daughter, Liza Minelli, and the pair married in 1967. Though not publically out, Peter's bisexuality was no secret and there were rumours of a long-time affair with Chris Bell. Whether it was a marriage of convenience (Peter took US citizenship when they wed) or not is open to debate. The pair divorced in 1974, around the time that Peter ended his professional partnership with Bell.
Peter's flamboyant stage act had developed throughout the 60s while playing smaller Greenwich Village venues, including the Bitter End nightclub where he made his solo debut in 1970. His solo recording career began with his self-titled album of 1971 but he had greater success as a songwriter. Peter had been encouraged to write by Minelli and became a very successful writer, both on his own and in partnership with Carol Bayer-Sager. They wrote Melissa Manchester's 1978 hit Don't Cry Out Loud (originally from his first album) and Peter wrote the 1974 Grammy winning no.1 hit I Honestly Love You for his old friend Olivia Newton-John.
PETER ALLEN BIOGRAPHY
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