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{{short description|Australian singer and songwriter (1944–1992)}}{{Other people|Peter Allen|Peter Allen (disambiguation){{!}}Peter Allen}}{{Use Australian English|date=January 2017}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}

factoids

| birth_place = Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia| origin =df=yes6194410}}| death_place = San Diego, California, U.S.| genre = PopSinger-songwriterentertainer}}Vocals|piano}}| years_active = 1959–1992MetromediaA&M Records>Arista Records>RCA Victor}}The Allen Brothers (Australia)>The Allen Brothers| website = Liza Minnelli1974|reason=div}}}}Peter Allen (born Peter Richard Woolnough; 10 February 1944 – 18 June 1992) was an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer, known for his flamboyant stage persona, energetic performances, and lavish costumes. Allen’s songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, including Newton-John’s first chart-topping hit “I Honestly Love You”, and the chart-topping and Academy Award-winning “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” by Christopher Cross. In addition to recording many albums, Allen enjoyed a cabaret and concert career, including appearances at the Radio City Music Hall riding a camel. His patriotic song “I Still Call Australia Home”, has been used extensively in advertising campaigns, and was added to the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia registry in 2013.Allen was the first husband of Liza Minnelli. They met in October 1964, were engaged on 26 November 1964, married on 3 March 1967, formally separated on 8 April 1970, and divorced on 24 July 1974.WEB,www.nytimes.com/1964/11/27/archives/liza-minelli-engaged.html, Liza Minelli Engaged, The New York Times, 27 November 1964, 26 December 2022, “Liza Minnelli, Husband Separate”. The Toronto Daily Star, 9 April 1970, p. 27. Allen had a long-term partner, model Gregory Connell. They met in 1973 and were together until Connell’s death in 1984.NEWS, Angly, Patricia, People,nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1593359049, The Bulletin, 26 February 1980, Sydney, N.S.W., 44, WEB,australia-explained.com.au/music/peter-allen-the-boy-from-oz, Peter Allen: The Boy from Oz, 21 August 2019, australia-explained.com.au, Barnard, Loretta, 8 March 2021, Allen and Connell died from AIDS-related cancer eight years apart, with Allen becoming one of the first well-known Australians to die from AIDS. Allen remained ambiguous about his sexuality in that he did not pretend to be straight after divorcing Minnelli, but never publicly came out as gay either.WEB,www.today.com/popculture/boy-oz-celebrates-allen-wbna3226673,  ’The Boy from Oz’ Celebrates Allen, Today (American TV program), Today, 17 October 2003, 11 October 2020, Associated Press, In a 1991 interview with the gay newspaper New York Native, he explained, “I was ‘out’ on stage years before anyone else. But I think outing is limiting. I don’t feel like I should be labeled.“Alexander, Yale. “Peter Allen on Judy, Liza, Legs, and the Queen.” New York Native, 16 September 1991, p. 26. Despite Allen’s outgoing persona, he was an intensely private man who shared little about his personal life even with those close to him. Few people knew Allen had HIV/AIDS, partly in fear of alienating his conservative, heterosexual fans and thinking audiences would not want to see a performer they knew was sick. In 1998, a musical about his life, The Boy from Oz, debuted in Australia. It ran on Broadway and earned Hugh Jackman a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Early life

Allen was born Peter Richard Woolnough on 10 February 1944, to Richard John Woolnough, soldier and grocer, and his wife, Marion Bryden (née Davidson) at Prince Albert Memorial Hospital in Tenterfield, New South Wales, a small Australian country town where his grandfather, George Woolnough, worked as a saddler. He had one sibling, a younger sister named Lynne. Allen grew up in nearby Armidale and lived there from about six weeks of age until the age of 14. This is also where he first learned piano and dance. Allen’s performing career began when he was 11, playing the piano in the ladies’ lounge of the New England Hotel in Armidale.AUSTRALIAN DICTIONARY OF BIOGRAPHY, allen-peter-17370, Allen, Peter (1944–1992), Arrow, Michelle, His father became a violent alcoholic after returning from World War II.WEB,soda.naa.gov.au/record/5638046/1, Service Record, Soda.naa.gov.au, 9 April 2020, 18 October 2018,soda.naa.gov.au/record/5638046/1," title="web.archive.org/web/20181018072920soda.naa.gov.au/record/5638046/1,">web.archive.org/web/20181018072920soda.naa.gov.au/record/5638046/1, dead, In November 1958, he committed suicide by gunshot when Allen was 14. Soon after his father’s suicide, Allen left school with an Intermediate Certificate and moved to Lismore with his mother and sister to live with relatives.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 4, pars. 23, 29}} His grandfather, George Woolnough, never understood or got over this devastating event. This tale is told in Allen’s 1972 song, “Tenterfield Saddler”.In 1959, Allen went to Surfers Paradise to look for work and met Chris Bell, an English-born singer-guitarist. Assisted by Chris Bell’s father, Peter, and inspired by The Everly Brothers, they formed a singing duo called The Allen Brothers. Allen began performing as “Peter Allen” around the same time. Within a year, they were based in Sydney performing on the Australian music television program Bandstand. In 1964, Mark Herron, the husband of Judy Garland, discovered The Allen Brothers while they were performing in Hong Kong. They became Judy Garland’s opening act when she toured. Charmed by Allen, Judy served as a matchmaker between him and her daughter, Liza Minnelli. The Allen Brothers Act broke up in the spring of 1970.{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000314155|tab=biography|author=William Ruhlmann}}

Career

Allen started releasing solo recordings in 1971, but throughout his career achieved greater success through his songs being recorded by others. Allen scored his biggest success with the song “I Honestly Love You”, which he co-wrote with Jeff Barry and which became a major hit in 1974 for Olivia Newton-John. Her single reached number one in the United States and Canada and won two Grammy Awards, for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Newton-John. Allen also co-wrote “Don’t Cry Out Loud” with Carole Bayer Sager, popularized by Melissa Manchester in 1978, and “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love”, also co-written with Bayer Sager and popularized by Rita Coolidge in 1979. One of his signature songs, “I Go to Rio”, co-written with Adrienne Anderson, was popularized in America by the group Pablo Cruise.In 1976, Allen released an album, Taught by Experts, which reached number one in Australia, along with the number one single “I Go to Rio” and the Top 10 hit of a Harry Warren standard “The More I See You”. The album also included the song “Quiet Please, There’s A Lady On Stage” which was recorded by many artists including Jack Jones and Dusty Springfield. Although his recording career in the US never progressed, he performed in Atlantic City and at Carnegie Hall. He had three extended sold-out engagements at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, where he became the first male dancer to dance with The Rockettes and rode a camel during “I Go to Rio”. This performance was broadcast live and exclusively on subscription television service WHT The Movie Network.{{YouTube|id=92eXJSKhbS8#t=1m8s|title=Wometco Home Theater/Peter Allen and the Rockettes TV Commercial}}Allen’s most successful album was Bi-Coastal (1980), produced by David Foster and featuring the single “Fly Away”, which in 1981 became his only US chart single, reaching No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, Allen co-wrote the Patti LaBelle hit “I Don’t Go Shopping”, which reached the top 30 on the R&B chart in 1980.Allen co-wrote the song “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” with Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Christopher Cross, for the 1981 film Arthur. The song reached number one in the US and the songwriters won an Academy Award for Best Song. One lyric for the song, “If you get caught between the moon and New York City”, was adapted from an earlier song that he and Bayer Sager co-wrote. Allen and Bayer Sager also co-wrote “You and Me (We Wanted It All)”, which was recorded by Frank Sinatra for his 1980 album (Trilogy: Past Present Future|Trilogy). A video of Sinatra singing the song at Carnegie Hall was included as part of the (Sinatra: New York) live performance box set, released in late 2009.Allen performed on Australian television for many important occasions: in front of Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 at the Sydney Opera House, before Prince Charles and Princess Diana, once in Melbourne and again in Sydney in 1981, at the opening of the Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1983, where he unveiled for the first time his Australian “Flag” shirt, and the 1980 VFL Grand Final in Melbourne. His “Up in One Concert” of 1980 was a big ratings success across the country. When Australia won the America’s Cup in 1983, he flew to Perth to sing before an audience of 100,000. In 1988, he opened for Frank Sinatra at Sanctuary Cove, Queensland. In America, he appeared at the 30th anniversary of Disneyland. He returned to recording on Arista with an album entitled Not the Boy Next Door (1983). In 1990, he recorded his final album on RCA Victor, Making Every Moment Count, which featured Melissa Manchester and Harry Connick Jr. The song “Making Every Moment Count”, a duet with Manchester, was co-written by Seth Swirsky, who also produced a number of songs he co-wrote with Allen, including Allen’s last-released single, “Tonight You Made My Day”.One of his songs, ‘“I Still Call Australia Home”, became popular through its use in television commercials, initially for National Panasonic and, since 1987, for Qantas Airways.WEB,theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/qantas-i-still-call-australia-home, Qantas I Still Call Australia Home, The Inspiration Room Daily, 2 July 2009, Duncan Macleod, 12 June 2006, 27 November 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201127015117/https://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/qantas-i-still-call-australia-home/, dead, McIntyre, Paul. “It’s all aboard for a Qantas jumbo”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 July 2004Allen’s most covered song is “I Honestly Love You”.

Broadway

Allen made his Broadway debut on 12 January 1971, in Soon, a rock opera that opened at the Ritz Theatre and ran for three performances. He starred in his own one-man revue on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre, Up in One: More Than a Concert (1979), which ran for 46 performances.Program for Peter Allen: Up in One at the Biltmore Theatre, New York. Playbill, 1979, p. 36. Retrieved 9 March 2021.Allen recorded a live album called Captured Live at Carnegie Hall, in which songs from his musical Legs Diamond, were previewed. Legs Diamond opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on 26 December 1988, with a book co-written by Harvey Fierstein. The musical ran for 64 performances and 72 previews. After Legs Diamond closed he returned to concert work, touring with Bernadette Peters during the summer of 1989.Cudd, Bruce.“Remembering Peter Allen” {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207101815www.gmhc.org/calendar/allen.html |date=7 February 2009 }}, gmhc.org, 2003 Allen and Bernadette also performed in the 1983 Academy Award broadcast in an extended musical tribute to Irving Berlin.

Other work

• Allen appeared in a cameo role in the film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978).
• Allen’s live version of “Everything Old is New Again” can be heard on the soundtrack of the film All That Jazz (1979).
• Allen was the musical guest at Miss Universe 1981.WEB,www.bellezavenezolana.net/MU/81/judges.htm, Miss Universe 1981 Judges & Guest stars, bellezavenezolana.net, 20 October 2013,www.bellezavenezolana.net/MU/81/judges.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20150923223408www.bellezavenezolana.net/MU/81/judges.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20150923223408www.bellezavenezolana.net/MU/81/judges.htm, 23 September 2015, dead,
• Allen appeared in the 1982 television version of The Pirates of Penzance (as the Pirate King).
• Allen appeared as the “man in studio” in the TV series Miami Vice’s second-season premiere episode “The Prodigal Son”.
• Allen did a pilot for a new Name That Tune show in 1990, and the pilot for what became CBS’s short-lived prime-time game show The Hollywood Game (both projects were produced by Marty Pasetta). He died the day of the series, which ended up being hosted by Bob Goen due to Allen’s illness, debuted.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|p={{page needed|date=March 2021}}}}

Personal life

Though flamboyant on stage, Allen was quite the opposite offstage. He once remarked, “I’m not the let’s-tear-his-clothes-off type. I’m fairly quiet. The maniac only comes out when I hit the stage. I have to be a different person offstage. If I were to try to keep that up 24 hours a day, I would have a nervous breakdown.“Cain, Scott. “The Maniac in Peter Allen Surfaces Only on the Stage.” The Atlanta Constitution, 30 November 1980, p. 1E. Via ProQuest. Retrieved 7 March 2021. Allen described his stage persona as “a much more interesting person than me. I think that’s why I’m in show business, to get to be that other person.“”Peter Allen; Obituary”. The Times, 22 June 1992, p. 17. Via ProQuest. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Allen further depicted his stage persona as “someone much taller, much handsomer, with a better hairline.“Holden, Stephen. “Boy from Australia Up There with the Rockettes.” The New York Times, 24 September 1982, p. c4. Via ProQuest. Retrieved 7 March 2021. Although Allen described himself as “so boring” when not performing, he enjoyed swimming; wind surfing; skiing; water skiing; sailing; collecting Hawaiian shirts; reading; cooking; and growing flowers, herbs, and vegetables.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 18, par. 39}}Cox, Jean P. “Peter Allen: A 30s-Model Camper.” Los Angeles Times, 26 May 1978, p. 1. Via ProQuest. Retrieved 7 March 2021. Allen spent so much time working in his yard that he imagined his neighbors thought he was a landscape gardener.Allen owned a beach house in Leucadia, California (north of San Diego), a place he called a ‘shack’ in Oak Beach, Queensland, Australia, and a penthouse apartment in Manhattan.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 16, par. 72; ch. 20, par. 49, 115}} While visiting Gregory Connell’s parents in Leucadia in 1975, Allen learned there was a nearby house for sale and so purchased his first house with the earnings made from his 1974 song, “I Honestly Love You”.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 16, par. 72–73}} The area was quiet and far enough away from Los Angeles that he did not get people dropping in because they were in the neighborhood. He wrote the 1976 song “Puttin’ Out Roots” about his move to Leucadia.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 16, par. 72}} The living room of Allen’s Leucadia beach house is featured on the cover of his 1979 album, I Could Have Been a Sailor.{{YouTube|1Wg2MmfD_og|Peter Allen interview with Bill Boggs, 2 May 2012}}Allen met Liza Minnelli (1946-) at London Airport on 28 October 1964, where she and her mother Judy Garland were rehearsing for their upcoming performance at the London Palladium in early November.Short, Don. “Judy: I’m So Happy.” Daily Mirror, 29 October 1964, p. 5. Via Newspapers.com. Retrieved 30 March 2024. They were engaged a month later on 26 November 1964 at Trader Vic’s, a restaurant at the London Hilton. They married in New York City on 3 March 1967, formally separated on 8 April 1970, and divorced on 24 July 1974.Allen became more comfortable with his homosexuality in the early 1970s.ENCYCLOPEDIA Although Allen wrote “Once Before I Go” in 1982 for good friend Ann-Margret to use as a closing song at her concerts, the song took on new meaning when he sang it. According to the song’s co-writer Dean Pitchford, Allen asked him to personalize the last verse of “Once Before I Go” from “The air I breathe/My morning sun/You’ll be with me in years to come” to “You are the light that shines on me/You always were and you’ll always be” to reference Connell’s role as Allen’s lighting director.Barrand, Janine, et al. Peter Allen. Melbourne, Vic: Victorian Arts Centre Trust, 2008, p. 45. Allen told Pitchford that “it was the one song he related most to Greg; that he thought of Greg as he sang it, Greg behind the lights at all of his shows.“{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 21, pars. 29-31; ch. 23, par. 28}}WEB,www.nytimes.com/2003/10/05/theater/theater-the-boy-from-oz-you-won-t-meet-on-broadway.html, The Boy From Oz You Won’t Meet on Broadway, Michael Joseph Gross, Michael Joseph Gross, The New York Times, 5 October 2003, 14 April 2021, Allen further told Pitchford that “after Gregory died, he would always look into the spotlight and imagine that Gregory was behind the light.“Allen dedicated his 1985 album, Captured Live at Carnegie Hall to Connell and sang songs in his memory at AIDS benefit concerts.Allen, Peter. Captured Live at Carnegie Hall. Arista Records, 1985.McCombs, Phil. “Of Love, Death and Hope; at the Human Rights Campaign Fund Dinner, Focusing on AIDS.” The Washington Post, 9 October 1989, p. d01. Via ProQuest. Retrieved 7 March 2021.DeVault, Russ. “Peter Allen’s Giving a Hand in the Battle Against AIDS.” The Atlanta Constitution, 9 August 1985, p. 1 I-P. Via ProQuest. Retrieved 8 March 2021. After Connell’s death, Allen poured himself even more into his work. Allen spent several years getting his musical Legs Diamond on Broadway (it premiered in 1988), recorded his final album Making Every Moment Count in 1990, and continued performing in concerts and doing various benefits until his death in 1992 at the age of 48.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 23, par. 34}}On 26 November 2005, an extension of the Tenterfield Library was opened and named the “George Woolnough Wing”, named after Allen’s paternal grandfather who was memorialized in his song, “Tenterfield Saddler”.

Death and legacy

Allen’s last performance was on 26 January 1992, in Sydney, and he was diagnosed with an AIDS-related throat cancer shortly after. Allen spent his final days at his beach house in Leucadia.{{sfn|MacLean|2015|loc=ch. 27, par 97; ch. 28, par. 28, 53}} He died at Mercy Hospital, San Diego, on 18 June 1992.NEWS, Lambert, Bruce, Peter Allen, Concert Entertainer and Songwriter, Is Dead at 48, The New York Times, 19 June 1992,www.nytimes.com/1992/06/19/arts/peter-allen-concert-entertainer-and-songwriter-is-dead-at-48.html, A private memorial service was held on 21 June 1992, at his home in Leucadia, where his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean within sight of his house.“Obits.” Update [San Diego, CA], no. 549, 1 July 1992, p. A-20. Via Gale. Retrieved 12 February 2022.A documentary titled The Boy from Oz about Allen was produced after his death, featuring clips from his performances as well as interviews with performers who worked with him.The Boy From Oz listing Amazon.com. Retrieved 2 December 2008A stage musical based on his life, also titled The Boy from Oz, opened in Australia in 1998. Using his largely autobiographical songs, the production starred Todd McKenney as Allen and Christina Amphlett of the rock group Divinyls as Judy Garland. In 2003, the musical opened on Broadway, becoming the first Australian musical ever to be performed there. In this production Allen was played by Hugh Jackman, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal in 2004. Jackman performed this role again two years later when the show toured large arenas in Australia under the title The Boy from Oz: Arena Spectacular. A TV mini series, (Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door), was broadcast in Australia in 2015 with Joel Jackson playing the adult Allen and Ky Baldwin playing him as a youth. Supporting roles were played by Rebecca Gibney as Marion Woolnough (Allen’s mother), Sarah West as Liza Minnelli and Sigrid Thornton as Judy Garland.WEB,www.imdb.com/title/tt4401126/, Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door, IMDb, 9 April 2020, Allen was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1993.WEB,www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36, Winners by Award: Hall of Fame, Australian Recording Industry Association, 23 October 2020, 2 February 2009,www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36," title="web.archive.org/web/20090202052952www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36,">web.archive.org/web/20090202052952www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36, dead,

In popular culture

During the closing few moments of the final episode of The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, during a video/photo montage, Allen’s “Once Before I Go” played in the backgroundDon Lane performed “Once Before I Go” on his last ever episode of “The Don Lane Show”.In the 1979 film All That Jazz, Allen’s live rendition of “Everything Old Is New Again” is danced to by Ann Reinking and Erzebet Foldi for Roy Scheider’s character Joe Gideon based on dancer Bob Fosse.In the 18th episode of season three of Glee, actor Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel performs “The Boy Next Door” for his initial audition to NYADA, eschewing “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera in favor of the unconventional choice. While he’s initially rejected, the song lays the groundwork for a second audition.Hugh Jackman’s performance of Allen’s “Once Before I Go” (from The Boy from Oz) was featured in a montage dedicated to Alex Trebek in his final episode of Jeopardy! which aired on 8 January 2021, exactly two months after Trebek’s death from stage IV pancreatic cancer on 8 November 2020, at the age of 80.WEB, 8 January 2021, Sentimental video tribute closes Trebek’s final “Jeopardy!”,apnews.com/article/entertainment-alex-trebek-hugh-jackman-coronavirus-pandemic-3e04a7bf83991e15229d1ce3ef6ead1b, 9 January 2021, Associated Press, Andrew, Dalton, WEB,cbc.ca/news/entertainment/trebek-tribute-final-episode-1.5867204, Alex Trebek’s final Jeopardy! episode closes with heartfelt tribute, Associated Press, 8 January 2021, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 21 April 2023, La Casa Azul’s song Terry, Peter y yo makes reference to Allen, Judy Garland, and Liza Minnelli:{{blockquote|Peter Allen sangAs Judy came back to life at ChristmasDecadent and stellarPeter Allen dancedAs Liza flashedAt the Sunday NightPeter Allen sang nonstopNo one listened to himPeter Allen danced aloneAnd got all sentimentalBut there was no one else...}}

Discography

Studio albums{|class“wikitable” style@text-align:center;”

!rowspan=“2“| Year!rowspan=“2“| Album details!colspan=“2“| Peak chart positions!rowspan=“2“| Certification! scope=“col” style="width:3em;font-size:90%;“| AUSBOOK, Australian Chart Book 1970–1992, David Kent, 0-646-11917-6, 1993, Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W., David Kent (historian), ! scope=“col” style="width:3em;font-size:90%;“| US{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}| 1971 Peter Allen

• Label: Metromedia| —| —|

| 1972 Tenterfield Saddler

• Label: Metromedia

group=upper-alpha|The album Tenterfield Saddler did not chart in Australia until January 1980.}}| —|| 1974 Continental American

• Label: A&M

group=upper-alpha|The album Continental American did not chart in Australia until October 1977.}}| —|| 1976 Taught by Experts

• Label: A&M| 11| —|
• ARIA: GoldMAGAZINE,worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-11-19.pdf, Allen Gets Gold Down Under, Cash Box, World Radio History, 68, 19 November 1977, 25 November 2021,

| 1979 I Could Have Been a Sailor

• Label: A&M| 69| 171|

| 1980 Bi-Coastal

• Label: A&M| 55| 123|

| 1983 Not the Boy Next Door

• Label: Arista| 36| 170|

| 1990 Making Every Moment Count

• Label: RCA| —| —|

“>

Live albums{|class“wikitable” style@text-align:center;”

!rowspan=“2“| Year!rowspan=“2“| Album details!colspan=“1“| Peak chart positions! scope=“col” style="width:3em;font-size:90%;“| AUS| 1977 It Is Time for Peter Allen

• Label: A&M| 30

| 1985 Captured Live at Carnegie Hall

• Label: Arista Records| —

“>

Compilation albums{|class“wikitable” style@text-align:center;”

!rowspan=“2“| Year!rowspan=“2“| Album details!colspan=“1“| Peak chart positions!rowspan=“2“| Certification! scope=“col” style="width:2em;font-size:90%;“| AUSWEB, Discography Peter Allen,www.australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Peter+Allen, Hung Medien, australian-charts.com, 3 September 2015, | 1982 The Very Best of Peter Allen / The Best

• Label: A&M| 9|
• AUS: GoldWEB,i.imgur.com/aNf84lX.jpg, Kent Music Report No 453 – 28 February 1983 > Platinum Albums 1982 (Continued), Imgur.com, 26 December 2022,

| 1992 (The Very Best of Peter Allen: The Boy from Down Under)

• Label: A&M| 16|

| 1993 At His Best

• Label: A&M| —|

| 1995 The Boy from Oz

• Label: A&M| 35|

| 1998 Singer-Songwriter: The Anthology

• Label: A&M| —|

| 2001 20th Century Masters: The Best of Peter Allen

• Label: A&M| —|

| 2006 The Ultimate Peter Allen

• Label: Universal

group=upper-alpha|The album The Ultimate Peter Allen reached its peak position in Australia in September 2015.}}|“>

Singles{| class“wikitable plainrowheaders” style@text-align:center;”

! rowspan=“2“| Year! rowspan=“2” style="width:20em;“| Single! colspan=“6” | Peak chart positions! rowspan=“2” style="width:16em;“| Album style="font-size:small;“!style="width:3em;font-size:90%“|AUSBOOK, Australian Chart Book 1970–1992, David Kent, 0-646-11917-6, 1993, Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W., David Kent (historian),

• “I Still Call Australia Home”: WEB,www.noise11.com/news/aria-singles-justin-bieber-what-do-you-mean-keeps-top-spot-20150919, ARIA Singles: Justin Bieber ‘What Do You Mean’ Keeps Top Spot, Noise11, Ryan, Gavin, 19 September 2015, 19 September 2015, none,
• “Tenterfield Saddler”: WEB,www.noise11.com/news/aria-singles-justin-bieber-maintains-top-spot-after-four-weeks-20150926, ARIA Singles: Justin Bieber Maintains Top Spot After Four Weeks, Noise11, Ryan, Gavin, 26 September 2015, 26 September 2015, none,

!style="width:3em;font-size:90%” |USMAGAZINE,www.billboard.com/artist/328822/peter-allen/chart, Peter Allen – Chart history, Billboard (magazine), Billboard, 3 September 2015, !style="width:3em;font-size:90%” |USAC!style="width:3em;font-size:90%” |NZWEB,charts.nz/search.asp?cat=s&artist=peter+allen&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts, Peter Allen New Zealand Singles, charts.nz, 3 September 2015, !style="width:3em;font-size:90%” |NLDWEB,www.top40.nl/zoeken?search=Peter+Allen, Nederlandse Top 40 – Peter Allen search results, Dutch Top 40, 3 September 2015, 8 March 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210308211440/https://www.top40.nl/zoeken?search=Peter+Allen, dead, !style="width:3em;font-size:90%” |BELWEB,www.ultratop.be/nl/search.asp?lang=nl&cat=s&artist=peterallen&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts, Peter Allen Belgian Singles, ultratop.be, ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch, 3 September 2015, | 1971! scope=“row“| “Honest Queen“| —| —| —| —| —| —| Peter Allen 1972! scope=“row“| “Just Ask Me I’ve Been There“| —| —| —| —| —| — Tenterfield Saddler! scope=“row“| “Tenterfield Saddler”group=upper-alpha|The single “Tenterfield Saddler” reached its peak position in Australia in September 2015.}}| —| —| —| —| — 1975! scope=“row“| “I Honestly Love You“| —| —| —| —| —| —| Continental American! scope=“row“| “She Loves to Hear the Music“| —| —| —| —| —| — Taught by Experts 1976! scope=“row“| “The More I See You“| 80| 108| 40| —| —| —! scope=“row“| “I Go to Rio“| 1| —| —| 22| 27| 30| 1977! scope=“row“| “The More I See You” (re-release)| 10| —| —| —| —| —| 1978! scope=“row“| “Don’t Cry Out Loud“| —| —| —| —| —| — I Could Have Been a Sailor 1979! scope=“row“| “Don’t Wish Too Hard“| —| —| —| —| —| —! scope=“row“| “I Could Have Been a Sailor“| —| —| —| —| —| — 1980! scope=“row“| “I Still Call Australia Home”group=upper-alpha|The single “I Still Call Australia Home” reached its peak position in Australia in September 2015.}}| —| —| —| —| — Bi-Coastal! scope=“row“| “Bi-Coastal“| 78| —| —| —| —| — 1981! scope=“row“| “Fly Away“| —| 55| 45| —| —| —! scope=“row“| “One Step Over the Borderline“| —| —| —| —| —| — 1983! scope=“row“| “Not the Boy Next Door“| 76| —| —| —| —| — Not the Boy Next Door! scope=“row“| “You Haven’t Heard the Last of Me“| —| —| 15| —| —| —! scope=“row“| “Once Before I Go“| —| —| 26| —| —| —| 1984! scope=“row“| “You and Me (We Wanted It All)“| —| —| 41| —| —| —

Notes

{{notelist-ua}}

Awards

Academy Awards

Peter Allen won an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Original Song for “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” in 1981.WEB,awardsdatabase.oscars.org/search/results, Academy Awards Database, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 15 January 2023, {{awards table}} (wins only)| 54th Academy Awards| Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach, Christopher Cross, & Carole Bayer Sager| Best Original Song - Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)| {{won}}

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Awards

The ASCAP Awards honors its top members in a series of annual awards shows in seven different music categories: pop, rhythm and soul, film and television, Latin, country, Christian, and concert music.{{awards table}}| ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards 1991| Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach, Christopher Cross, & Carole Bayer Sager| Most Performed Feature Film Standards - Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)| {{won}}

Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Allen was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.WEB,www.ariahalloffame.com.au/inductees_listing.htm, ARIA Hall of Fame, Australian Recording Industry Association, 10 November 2020,www.ariahalloffame.com.au/inductees_listing.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080615011737www.ariahalloffame.com.au/inductees_listing.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080615011737www.ariahalloffame.com.au/inductees_listing.htm, 15 June 2008, dead, WEB,www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36, Winners by Award: Hall of Fame, Australian Recording Industry Association, 10 November 2020, dead,www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36," title="web.archive.org/web/20090202052952www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36,">web.archive.org/web/20090202052952www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-award.php?awardID=36, 2 February 2009, Note: shows inductees from 1999 to 2008, inclusive.{{awards table}}| ARIA Music Awards of 1993| Peter Allen| ARIA Hall of FameInductee}}

Golden Globes

Peter Allen won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song for “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” in 1981.WEB,www.goldenglobes.com/awards-database, Golden Globes Awards Database, Golden Globes, 15 January 2023, {{awards table}} (wins only)| 39th Golden Globe Awards| Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach, Christopher Cross, & Carole Bayer Sager| Best Original Song - Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)| {{won}}

Grammy Awards

Peter Allen was nominated twice for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1974 for “I Honestly Love You” and in 1981 for “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”.WEB,www.grammy.com/artists/peter-allen/173, Grammy Awards, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 15 January 2023, {{awards table}} (wins only)| 24th Annual Grammy Awards| Peter Allen & Jeff Barry| Song of the Year - I Honestly Love You (Single)| {{nominated}}| 17th Annual Grammy Awards| Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach, Christopher Cross, & Carole Bayer Sager| Song of the Year - Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)| {{nominated}}

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Peter Allen won two awards in that time.WEB,www.moawards.com.au/awardwinners, MO Award Winners, Mo Awards, 16 March 2022, {{awards table}} (wins only)| 1983| Peter Allen| International Act of the Year| {{won}}| 1984| Peter Allen| International Act of the Year| {{won}}

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Government.WEB,trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240730394?searchTerm=%22peter%20richard%20woolnough%20allen%22, The Queen’s Birthday 1990 Honours, Trove, 15 January 2023, {{awards table}} (wins only)| 1990| Peter Allen| Order of Australia, Member in the General Division (AM) - for service to the performing arts, particularly as a songwriter.| {{won}}

References

{{reflist|30em}}Sources

• BOOK, MacLean, Stephen, Peter Allen: The Boy from Oz, Sydney, Momentum, 2015, EPUB, 9781760301484,

Further reading

• David Smith and Neal Peters, Peter Allen: Between The Moon and New York City (Delilah Press, 1983; {{ISBN|0-933328-57-5}})
• Stephen Maclean, Peter Allen: The Boy From Oz (Random House Australia, 1995; {{ISBN|0-09-183052-4}})
• Frank Van Straten, “Peter Allen AM 1944–1992” (Live Performance Australia – Hall of Fame, 2007)

External links

• {{IMDb name|id=0020899|name=Peter Allen}}
• {{IBDB name|8107}}
• Peter Allen bio and recordings
• Peter Allen Exhibition Website
• Peter Allen Collection, including his personal archive and costumes, at the Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne

{{Peter Allen}}{{Navboxes| title = Awards for Peter Allen| list ={{AcademyAwardBestOriginalSong 1981–1990}}{{Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song}}}}{{Authority control}}