Artists - P
P.F. Sloan
Philip Gary Schlein was something of a child prodigy. Moving from New York to Hollywood in the late 50s, he signed his first recording contract at the age of 12.
After releasing a debut single in...
Paddy, Klaus and Gibson
Formed in 1965, this Liverpool 'supergroup' featured Paddy Chambers on guitar (ex-The Big Three and The Escorts), Klaus Voormann on bass, and Gibson Kemp on drums (ex-Kingsize Taylor and The Dominoes).
Their three singles included a...
Painters & Dockers
This eccentric Australian band was named after the militant Painters & Dockers Union.
One of their early gigs was in a Melbourne pub frequented by waterside workers and since the band did not yet have a...
Pale Fountains, The
Formed in Liverpool in the early 80s, these 60s-influenced melodic pop/rockers had an unusual instrumental line-up and were probably best known for wearing short baggy trousers.
Despite signing to Virgin this highly-touted group never really broke...
Paley Brothers, The
Jonathan and Andy Paley confounded fans and critics alike when they first appeared. The duo were hard to categorise us and faced a critical backlash because a lot of their press coverage was in magazines...
Panama Limited (Jug Band)
After the release of their eponymous debut LP, Panama Limited Jug Band replaced original vocalist Liz Hanns with 19-year-old Annie Matthews and dropped their traditional raggedy jug blues, ingesting a good deal of Trout Mask Replica in...
Pandoras, The
The Pandoras - an all-female rock band from Los Angeles - were associated with the Paisley Underground era in Hollywood's alternative rock scene, along with bands such as Redd Kross, The Dream Syndicate and The Rain Parade.
The Pandoras...
Pantera
One of the most influential heavy metal bands of the 90s, Texan quartet Pantera knocked out a series of albums in that decade that redefined the genre.
But in the background lies a 1980s back catalogue...
Paper Lace
Paper Lace made history in 1974 when their single The Night Chicago Died went to the very top of the American Hit Parade - and later sold over a million copies - to become one of an...
Paramounts, The
Robin Trower, Gary Brooker and Chris Copping went to school in Southend together. Adding singer Bob Scott and drummer Mick Brownlee they formed The Paramounts.
They played rock tunes in their local clubs until Gary Brooker...
Parliament/Funkadelic/P-Funk
Fifteen-year-old George Clinton was straightening hair in a local barbershop when he formed the doo-wop group The Parliaments in 1956 (The name was inspired by Parliament cigarettes).
By the early 1960s, the group had solidified into the five-man...
Partridge Family, The
The Partridge Family was put together by producer Wes Farrell who had been looking for a Monkees-style group for several years without success. Like The Monkees, the TV show was going to be the focal point -...
Party Boys, The
Ex-Mondo Rock member Paul Christie formed Australian fun-time band The Party Boys in 1982 as an occasional "supergroup" consisting of some of Australia's finest musicians. The concept was that Christie would employ players (all of whom...
Passengers, The
Fronted by Angie Pepper, Aussie band The Passengers featured The Visitor's bass player Steve Harris on keyboards and Jim Dickson, formerly of Brisbane Who/Kinks-inspired trio The Survivors, on bass.
Incorporating an early '60s Girl Group vibe into the standard...
Passions, The
The Passions formed in Shepherds Bush, west London, in 1978. Guitarist Clive Timperley was formerly with The 101ers, whilst drummer Richard Williams and singer/guitarist Barbara Louise Gogan were in punk band The Derelicts.
Their first single, Needles and...
Pastels, The
When The Pastels formed in Glasgow in the early 80s, Postcard Records boss Alan Horne assumed they had been invented by Orange Juice's Edwyn Collins "just to annoy him". A decade later, Kurt Cobain would name...
Pat Benatar
Former bank cashier Patricia Andrejewski changed her name to Benatar and began singing in the late 1970's.
She was "discovered" in the New York cabaret Catch A Star in 1979 and signed with Chrysalis Records, releasing her debut...
Pat Boone
Pat Boone was born Charles Eugene Boone - the great-great-great-great-grandson of pioneer Daniel Boone - in Jacksonville, Florida, on 1 June 1934 and started singing in High School.
One of his fellow students at North Texas State...
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson-Hensley) had her breakthrough hit in 1957 - at the age of 24 - with Walkin' After Midnight and became a mainstay at the Grand Ole Opry the following year. Further success eluded...
Patti Smith
Patti Smith, a rock critic and aspiring Bob Dylan-fixated poet from South Jersey (born in Chicago in 1946) only truly found herself when she began to sing her intense verse.
Attitude of the "don't fuck with me" variety...
