Peter Cunnah is best known as lead singer and songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 with 1990s dance

Dance music

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

-pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 duo

Duet (music)

A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...

, D:Ream

D:Ream

D:Ream was a UK pop and dance band of the 1990s. They had a UK Number One hit with "Things Can Only Get Better" in 1994 as well as eight more top 40 hits. They released two albums, both of which reached the top five...

. He was born in Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

D:Ream

Prior to forming D:Ream, he was lead guitarist with Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 based band Tie the Boy who were briefly signed to the Mother Records

Mother Records

Mother Records was a record label founded by the band U2 in 1984 and distributed by parent Island Records. The intent was 'to unearth fresh musical talent in Éire '...

 label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 owned by U2

U2

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

. When that deal foundered soon after the band's move from Belfast to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, in-fighting amongst the members of that band led rapidly to its split.

Finding himself in the heart of London's clubland, Cunnah, already a producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, originally conceived D:Ream as a way of re-using song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s from his previous band. With little by way of support in London, he teamed up with DJ Al Mackenzie on a series of dance records by a 'faceless' dance act which would be fronted live and on-record by a diva

Diva

A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....

, leaving Cunnah free to concentrate on songwriting and production and Mackenzie free to concentrate on building a DJ reputation.

However, after a live date when Cunnah stepped up to sing

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, he found himself enjoying and rapidly remodelled the D:Ream concept around his own vocals. Initially performing as a duo, they received clubland

Clubland

Clubland may refer to:* Clubland , an American film by Mary Lambert* Clubland , an Australian comedy film* Clubland , a 1990s house-music group* Clubland , a UK dance album and events brand...

 acclaim and found management and record and publishing deals.

Solo work

Cunnah subsequently developed solo and collaborative material while working as a writer and producer behind the scenes. He sang lead vocals on Chicane

Chicane (recording artist)

Chicane is a British electronic dance music act, and the guise of British musician, composer, songwriter and record producer, Nicholas Bracegirdle....

's 2003 single "Love on the Run

Love on the Run (Chicane Song)

"Love on the Run" is a song by British electronic dance music artist Chicane featuring Irish singer Peter Cunnah. It was released on 24 February 2003 in the United Kingdom as the lead single from the album Easy to Assemble, which were never given a commercial release...

", which reached #33 in the United Kingdom and #43 in Ireland. Cunnah also helped compose music for the anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 InuYasha

InuYasha

, also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008...

.

Recently, Cunnah has returned to live performances with a new guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

-based band, Shane whose debut single "The Weight of It" was released in May 2006.

External links

• www.d-ream.net: D:Ream's Official website
• EveryHit.com: UK Top 40 Database
• Paul Gambaccini, Tim Rice, Jonathan Rice (1995), UK Hit Singles, Guinness Publishing