Peter Bardens

Peter Bardens (June 19, 1945 — Jan. 22, 2002) was an English keyboardist, composer, and singer, best known as the co-mastermind of Camel.

Bardens first emerged during the mid-’60s beat era as a member of Van Morrison‘s Them. As a solo artist, he released two 1970/71 albums on Transatlantic. He formed Camel in 1972 and recorded six studio albums with the band between 1973 and 1978, including the popular works Mirage, The Snow Goose, Moonmadness, and Rain Dances.

After leaving Camel, Bardens resumed his solo career with the 1979 Arista release Heart to Heart. In 1984, he partook in the supergroup Keats with members of the Alan Parsons Project.

Peter Bardens was born in Westminster, London, the only child of Marie Marks and broadcast journalist Dennis Bardens (1911–2004), who founded the BBC current affairs documentary program Panorama in 1953. Peter took up piano at an early age but switched to Hammond organ after hearing soul-jazz keyboardist Jimmy Smith. He studied fine art at Byam Shaw School of Art.

Discography:

• The Answer (1970)
  
• Peter Bardens (1971)
  
• Heart to Heart (1979)
  
• Seen One Earth (1987)
  
• Speed of Light (1988)
  
• White Magic (OST, 1989)
  
• Water Colors (1991)
  
• Further Than You Know (1993)
  
• Big Sky (1994)
  
• The Art of Levitation (2002)

Sources:

• Discogs: Peter Bardens