Peter O'Doherty

Early life

O'Doherty was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 23 March 1958. O'Doherty and his family emigrated to Sydney in 1969. While his older brother attended art school (forming Mental As Anything with fellow students), Peter was attending high school on Sydney's Northern Beaches, learning classical guitar and later working as a petrol station attendant. He eventually appeared onstage with the Mentals in August 1977, filling in on bass. From that night he became a permanent member as bass guitarist, completing the "classic" lineup of Mental As Anything.

Art career

Although he never attended art school, unlike the other members of the Mentals, he eventually became the most prolific artist of the five, and second most acclaimed after his brother Chris. He left the Mentals in 2000 to concentrate full-time on his art. Both Peter and his wife Susan are prolific artists, Peter himself specialises in still lifes and built landscapes. He has entered the Archibald Prize numerous times with many of his works making the Salon des Refusés.

Pseudonym/Nickname (or lack thereof)

Unlike the other five members of the classic Mentals lineup, he never used a pseudonym or stage name for any length of time. He at one stage went by the name Ouzo Pork in the early days but wisely dropped it shortly after. His nickname often quoted in interviews is "Yoga Dog" and a B-side track from 1982 written by him was titled Yoga Dog Sunset

Solo and Side Projects

In 1987, with Peter and Martin and members of Gang Gajang, he recorded a country music album credited to The Stetsons. During the late 80s and early 90s he also performed live with the bands The Bejesus Burgers and the Happening Thang.

Dog Trumpet

Since 2000 Peter's main musical outlet has been Dog Trumpet, a collaboration with his brother Reg, however this project predates both Peter and Reg leaving the Mentals. They have so far released four studio albums and two EPs.