Peter Kerr (author)

The Writer

Peter Kerr is a best-selling Scottish author. Snowball Oranges, Mañana Mañana, Viva Mallorca! and A Basketful of Snowflakes, his critically acclaimed Mallorcan-based travel books, have sold in large numbers worldwide and have been translated into fourteen languages.

Contents

• Peter kerr on relationships adam meets eve part 5 of 7
• Peter kerr on relationships adam meets eve part 3 of 7
• The Writer
• Awards
• The Musician
• The Farmer
• References

The inspiration for Peter’s Mallorcan books comes from his own experience. When the recession of the 1980s hit he threw in the towel as a farmer of barley and beef cattle in Scotland and moved his family to the Spanish Mediterranean island to take on a run-down orange farm – something he knew absolutely nothing about!

Thistle Soup, a prequel to Snowball Oranges, was published in 2002 and is an account of his life from boyhood in East Lothian, ‘the Garden of Scotland’. Peter’s latest travel book, From Paella to Porridge (Summersdale 2006), tells of the Kerr family’s final year in Mallorca and what they got up to on returning to East Lothian. His first fiction book, a humour-laced mystery called Bob Burns Investigates – The Mallorca Connection, was also released in 2006, to be followed by Bob Burns Investigates – The Sporran Connection (2007). Fiddler On the Make, a quirky town-meets-country caper, was published later the same year, with The Cruise Connection, the third in the Bob Burns trilogy, and The Gannet Has Landed, a romantic adventure set in Mallorca, both released in 2008. His first historical novel, Song of the Eight Winds, set in 13th century Mallorca, was published in 2012. Don’t Call Me Clyde!, a fascinating memoir of his life as a young jazz musician in early-Sixties London, was completed in 2016. A talented artist, Peter also illustrates his own work.

Awards

In 2002, Snowball Oranges won the bronze prize in the prestigious American Book of the Year, while Manana Manana was shortlisted for the WH Smith British Book of the Year.

The Musician

Prior to taking over the family farm Peter was a musician. His musical career is rooted in jazz and he was the clarinettist-leader of Scotland’s premiere jazz band The Clyde Valley Stompers in the 1960s.

Recording for Beatles producer George Martin, The Stompers stormed the charts in 1962 with Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. This catapulted them into a frenzy of incessant touring, recording and broadcasting, including regular network TV dates with luminaries such as Shirley Bassey, Morcambe and Wise, Brenda Lee, Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield and The Beatles. ‘The Clydes’ also played the title music for Norman Wisdom’s comedy film romp On the Beat and appeared in Tommy Steele’s It’s All Happening.

As a freelance producer Peter hit the jackpot in 1972 with what became the biggest-selling instrumental single of all time: the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards’ Amazing Grace. Less tuneful but still a monster hit, Peter also wrote the music and lyrics for The Krankies’ trademark song - Fan-Dabi-Dozi!

The Farmer

From 1970 Peter managed to combine his recording work with running his own farm in East Lothian. When the recession of the early 1980s hit, Peter took his wife and two sons off to Mallorca and the rest, as they say, is history.