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Renowned producer Peter Solley returned to Melbourne to produce the latest Black Sorrows album. Peter Solley is a renowned producer, one time member of Procol Harum, TV jingle writer and hugely successful gelato maker! He also played with Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds, Los Bravos, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Terry Reid. Then he went on to produce and his international production credits include Motorhead, Ted Nugent and Peter Frampton while his Australian credits include Don’t Throw Stones for The Sports and Screaming Targets, Hats Off Step Lively and Cha for Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons. Solley returned to Australia to produce the new Black Sorrows album St Georges Road and Brian Wise caught up with him while he was here. What brings you back to Melbourne? It must be Joe Camilleri. Well, I first worked with him in about 1980, I think was probably the first and the last was probably ‘84, something like that. Then in 2019 I did myself a little trip, kind of round the world trip, just for fun. I went to Europe and then I went to Vietnam, did some teaching in Vietnam at a music school. Then I came to Australia, hooked up with Joe, and he was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you do my next record?’ It’s going to be his 50th record, and it’s like full circle. The original producer that made him famous, so to speak, and then his 50th record. We’re both getting up there. I thought it’d be nice. Solley’s first notable production was Mickey Jupp because Procol Harum’s manager was working with Jupp and asked Solley to help produce a couple of tracks. “That was probably my first serious production, trying to make a record. And that did quite well. It wasn’t a smash, but it did quite well. We went into the Pink Floyd studio. We did it in about three weeks, a month, mixed and everything and it came out pretty good. It was all right. It did well, out of all the Stiff records at that time. After I’d finished it, Dave asked me to remix, or redo a few of the records that other people were doing for him at that time. So, I worked with Rachel Sweet, redid her record. And from that Michael Gudinski from Australia was in England looking for a distributor for his Mushroom label, talking to Dave Robinson. Michael said, ‘I’d love to get an English producer come out and work with some of my bands.’ Dave called me up. To cut a long story short, I said, ‘Sure, I’ll come over.’ “So, I came over, did The Sports. I recorded it here, at Armstrong’s, which is no longer here, I understand. Took it back, mixed it in England, and it was a smash. While I was here, [Michael Gudinski] took me to see Joe. Would you like to work with him? I said, ‘Yeah, that’ll be good.’ So, I think after The Sports, chronologically, I think what happened was I did The Romantics. Huge hit. [‘What I Like About You’]. That was kind of by chance. Then after that I think I came back and did Joe, the first Joe album.
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You did three albums with him, back in those days too, starting with Screaming Targets. With Joe, I hit it off on a personal level straight away. He’s just a lovely man, he’s just outgoing, he’s flippant. One-on-one we just... we were like brothers from another mother from the word go. So, that was different in that sense. We had a great relationship, we hung out together. I understood what he was doing from the beginning. I totally got it, and I took what he was doing, and I just took it to a place where it was more accessible for the world. And it was monster hit, their first one, ‘Hit and Run’. That was just me really pulling it from R&B, good R&B, into a more cohesive pop thing. But it was not difficult, it was fun, it seemed very natural. All the stuff I did with Joe, and even this thing here, it’s just it seems very natural. So, it’s over 30 years since the Cha album came out and now, you’re back working with him again. It’s weird, but it doesn’t seem like a year has passed. Honestly, it’s just like just picking it up. It feels exactly the same as it did then. It’s extraordinary. I can’t explain it. We have a personal chemistry. It’s the best chemistry. Honestly, after 30 years, or whatever, it just feels the same as it did then. It’s easy. I can tell him what I think. I don’t have to worry about hurting his feelings, vice versa. It’s a grown-up relationship, but it always was. It’s the same as it was back then. It’s amazing. It might seem unusual that someone like Joe, with his wealth of experience, might call you back to do it. He obviously values your opinion and your input very highly to do that. He says I’m the only person who’s ever made him better than he is, or better than what he can do. That’s what he says, and it’s probably true. I make him better than he is. How do I do it? I’m not quite sure, but the way I work, I bring out the best in him, and I elevate him, and I elevate the other people around. I think as a producer that’s my best quality. I can elevate the level of the drama to the writer, to the singer, whatever it might be. I think that’s what I do, and he sees that.
