Peter Combe

Peter Charles Combe OAM (/ˈkuːm/; born 20 October 1948) is an Australian children's entertainer and musician.

At the ARIA Music Awards he has won three ARIA Awards for Best Children's Album, for Toffee Apple (1988), Newspaper Mama (1989) and The Absolutely Very Best of Peter Combe (So Far) Recorded in Concert (1992) and four additional nominations (Chopsticks (1990), Little Groover (1996), Live It Up (2017) and Planet Earth 3rd from the Sun (2023)).

He was inspired by folk singers of the 1960s, including Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.

[3] One of the early ones, Bows Against the Barons, is based on Geoffrey Trease's novel of the same name, relating the legend of Robin Hood.

He wrote a children's musical, Frederick WhatsHisName & his TwoLegged Six String Guitar, which provided the track, "Spangle Road".

In 1977, Combe migrated to England where he became a presenter on Music Time, a BBC Television educational program.

[6] At that time, children's albums comprised nursery rhymes, which were sung and played in a simple traditional style.

[7] In 1986, he returned to England for an eight-month stay – he wrote material for his next album, Toffee Apple (June 1987).

[9] The Canberra Times correspondent described him as "the master of loony tunes for kids"; with this album having "a selection of original songs with the title track accompanied by an imaginative video.

In 1993, Peter's musical version of May Gibbs' classic book "Snugglepot & Cuddlepie", was performed in the Adelaide Festival of Arts.

Since 2005, Combe has started playing pub gigs around Australia aimed at young adults who grew up listening to his music.

[15] A clip of the live performance at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne is available showing a crowd of young adults singing along to lyrics such as "Wash Your Face in Orange Juice", and "Belly Flop on a Pizza?

[17] Combe resides in Adelaide, South Australia and spends time at his holiday house in Carrickalinga.

[18] Combe and his wife Carol have four children - a son and three daughters - who have all performed with him over the years: Joni [a], Alice, Emily and Thomas 'Thom' [b]; and seven grandchildren.

Combe in Adelaide, 2005
Combe performs his classic songs to an audience of adults in 2012 during a pub show in Melbourne.