Peter Andrew discusses music, his love of entertaining and his line in fragrance (women only, he’s sad to say) with CHARLES HUTCHINSON.

PETER Andre has a surprising confession to make.

The English-Australian pop singer, reality television regular, charity fundraiser and fragrance designer may have had a long association with Britain, but a staple northern dish has escaped him.

“One of my great disappointments is I’ve never had Yorkshire pudding,” says the ever-trim calendar pin-up. “I could get it in London but it’s not the same. That’s like ordering a Greek kebab in India.”

Maybe, just maybe, Peter could break his Yorkshire pudding duck at the age of 41 when he performs at York Barbican on Tuesday night. Batter late than never. York’s cooks should be at the ready. “I’m waiting for someone to invite me into their house and make some proper Yorkshire puds for me,” says Peter, sort of issuing a challenge.

He will be in York as part of a 24-date tour, his first in the UK travels since 2012, when he released his ninth album, the Top 20 success Angels And Demons. This year, he has already performed at summer events, filmed two series of his reality show Peter Andre: My Life and fronted Peter Andre’s 60 Minute Makeover for ITV1.

Then add in his two new fragrances for women, Forever and Forever Young, his Iceland store adverts and the launch of Pete’s Champions, an initiative that asks his fan base to join him in raising money for the Peter Andre Foundation’s support of Cancer Research UK, and his diary is crammed to the gills.

The tour focuses his attention once more on the original source of his fame: his pop hits, such as Mysterious Girl and Behind Closed Doors, and albums such as Revelation, Accelerate and Angels And Demons.

“I’m so grateful to have sustained my musical career; I’m so grateful for that as there are singers out there who are so talented, keep trying but never get anywhere. But the great British public have been so supportive of me,” says Peter.

“I could do an album and it might not sell hugely, but I do a tour and it will sell out. I like to think that’s because the show is brilliant.”

What is Peter’s recipe for a “brilliant show”?

“First of all you’ve got to realise that your audience are there to be entertained. They don’t want to hear songs they don’t know, or just song, stop, song, stop,” he says. “I genuinely love people and when I’m on stage it’s our evening together; we’re enjoying it together, and I like to pick out people through eye contact. For me, the ultimate thing is to play a great show.”

Peter will be singing with a 10-piece band, whose line-up includes his older brother, Chris, on guitar, Greek bouzouki and violin.

“People want a good live sound, horns, guitars, whereas the sound on the radio is compressed,” he says. “We’ve got a three-piece horn section and one of the classics we do is Sir Duke; doing that Stevie Wonder song live is something else. What we like to do is throw in a Stevie Wonder classic and then something original inspired by it.”

The allotted 10 minutes with Peter Andre were almost over, leaving just enough time for one non-musical question. On strict instructions from his publicists, this could not stray into his personal life – something of a challenge given the profusion of Peter’s reality shows.

Anyway, here goes. Why is there no Peter Andre line of aftershaves for men to go with the fragrances for women?

“Here’s the reason why we haven’t done that,” he says. “We were approached by a company about doing a fragrance and, of course, we wanted to do a fragrance for men too. But they did their research, which said that women are the ones who buy fragrances for their men too, and they would rather buy a fragrance by Peter Andre for themselves,” he says.

“So I can’t even wear my own fragrance!”

• Peter Andre, with special guests The Rise and Larissa, York Barbican, Tuesday, 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 854 2757, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or on the day from 5pm; doors open at 6pm.

 

You did know, didn’t you?

Peter Andre was born in Harrow, London, to Greek-Cypriot parents. He moved to Australia when he was ten.

Did you know too?

Peter Andre launched the Peter Andre Foundation to support Cancer Research UK after the Andre family lost his brother Andrew to kidney cancer.