About five years after his global smash hit Mysterious Girl took him around the world and on the same stage as some of the biggest global artists, Peter Andre had a premonition.
“Unless you were somebody like Bono from U2 or Sir Elton John or Michael Jackson, who were absolutely killing it with their music, I knew all of that was not going to last,” says the London-born singer. “So I knew I had to take up other opportunities and do other things so you can expand and be good at a lot of other things than just one thing.”
Andre, now 41, first began by investing in property, in Cyprus where his parents are from, and in Australia where he grew up. Then he appeared on the UK show I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where he met his future wife, model Katie Price, with whom he went on to launch a reality show series.
Of course, the music is still happening, which is why Andre is back here in Dubai, to headline the annual retro concert series MixTape Rewind on November 21 at the Emirates Golf Club, and share the stage with other ’90s biggies B*witched and 5ive.
tabloid! sat down with Andre to talk music, the beauty of being a 1990s child and about a business venture he wants to bring to Dubai:
Hello Peter. You are a regular here in Dubai. What brings you back this time?
I am here in Dubai to perform at the MixTape Rewind. They’ve asked me to headline the show. Everyone knows I love Dubai. My family knows I have a very close association with Dubai and want to buy a property here, which is something I will eventually do.
But you have performed here before.
I performed here many years ago. No, I’m not that old. I think it was about 10 years ago.
You’re still active musically, you just launched your 10th album this year and have a Christmas album coming up. Would you consider yourself a ’90s artist?
Well, I had three No 1s in the ’90s and a No 1 album. Success wise, yes. But some of the albums I did later sold more, they just weren’t No 1. So in a way I can understand someone calling me a ’90s artist.
Does it ever get old though, being mostly known as the guy with the six pack who sang about a mysterious girl?
That song is great it doesn’t get old. I will tell you why: Up until a year ago I was still wearing a lot of baggie clothes. But now I’m in suits and ties so you get to reinvent yourself and get to come back with a big band. We’re doing big band shows in England now. So it’s great.
That was what I was going to ask you next, reinvention. You’ve been performing for 24 years, how do you keep yourself relevant?
I think you have to be open-minded. I know this because when I first started doing music, I didn’t want to do any thing else. There were so many opportunities coming and I had to say no because I was so serious about music. That’s fine, but you’ve got to be smart too. When I noticed that the music wasn’t selling as much, instead of becoming upset and depressed, I took other opportunities. Now, because of those opportunities I get to do all of it: music, touring, TV, calendars, perfumes, I have my own coffee business. All of these come from taking opportunities. You can’t take everything. But there are a lot of opportunities that come and don’t come again. So take them.
Speaking of your coffee business, we hear you’re in talks with partners here to open your New York Coffee Club here?
I have spoken before about bringing my coffee to Dubai. I really think we should do it. I have met a few people who have shops in The Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates. And the more I think about it, the more I think we should do it. Now we’ve expanded in the UK. What I love about it is because it’s something outside of my industry and one day when people get completely bored and they don’t want me anymore, I have something outside of the industry. And I love coffee.
At what point in your career did you think you had to do something outside of the entertainment business?
I think it was about 15 years ago I remember seeing an interview once with The Beatles. One of the guys said, ‘we don’t know if we’re going to be here tomorrow so we want to make the most of it.’ It stuck to my mind. You never know how long you’re going to last. Don’t presume, just because you’ve made it, you’re going to stay like that. I started thinking you need to have things away from the industry... property and everything. You have to be smart.
You’ve got the music, TV show, reality show, property, coffee. Anything else?
I’d love to do a movie. I’ve had a little bit of experience. I did a lot for Disney for Mr Peabody & Sherman (Andre performed the lead song Kid for the film’s soundtrack). We’ve got a good relationship with Dreamworks and we’re talking about doing more voice overs. So yes, I want to get into the acting side.
So what can we expect from your performance on Friday night?
It’s a great opportunity for people to come down, not just if they like you, but anyone who wants to be entertained. We just finished a tour in the UK with a 10-piece band. We did everything from blues and jazz. We also did brand new songs and Stevie Wonder, The Jacksons and Pharrell. So expect anything from one of my songs to Pharrell’s and Michael Jackson’s.
How many times does Mysterious Girl get requested in a night?
We cannot do a show without that song. It’s almost a sin. I love performing it. It never gets old, if you get sick of it, you get the crowd to sing it. But it’s going to be different. We’ve added different things to it. So the audience will be surprised.
Don’t miss it
Tickets to Mixtape Rewind featuring Peter Andre, B*witched and 5ive cost Dh275. Entry is for those 21 years and over only. Go to platinumlist.ae.
