The Man Himself, Peter Andre

The man himself, Peter Andre

The third edition of the MiXTAPE Rewind is set to transport gig-goers back to the 90s with great music, including live performances from Peter Andre, 5ive and B*witched! It’s definitely going to be a night to remember, so don’t miss out on this dedication to the unforgettable music from the 90s!

Of course, with big names like this on Dubai shores, we didn’t want to miss the chance for a chat with the man himself, Peter Andre. Peter had done a whirlwind tour of Dubai in the early hours of the day, visiting Dubai 92 and Virgin Radio before heading to the penthouse of Le Royal Meridien, JBR, where we sat down over coffee and a pastry and talked families, coffee shop enterprises, his music career and the launch of his latest album, White Christmas.

Keeping Fit

So how does Peter keep fit whilst he’s travelling between continents? He prefers to keep his fitness schedule more real these days, and he thinks keeping active is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

“At school I was very very skinny in Australia, and I used to get picked on for being skinny. And all my friends used to be athletic so… I trained really hard when I was younger, and nowadays not so much. I can maintain it doing shows, and exercising and training three times a week.”

Gone are the day of a six pack on display 24/7; back then it was about the videos, the likes of Mysterious Girl.

“I remember when I was about 15, everyone had Bruce Lee’s body. And then you had people like Marky Mark. Remember Marky Mark? From the early 90s. So I turned around to the record company, and said, well there’s no one doing, showing their bodies in pop music – their doing it for rap, and doing it in movies – and I was told I wouldn’t need to do that.

“But it was the only thing I was adamant about, and it worked! That was my decision, but then the problem was I had to train harder to match that. And now, I won’t walk around without my shirt on because I’m 41, okay, and I’m never going to be like that again. I don’t want that photo where someone says – look at him now! That’s my worst fear for a photo.”

Clearly it worked and he made the right decision; Mysterious Girl shot to high places on worldwide charts in 1996, and again in 2004! But as expected, a lot of hard work was expected from Peter.

His Love for Dubai

On to the topic of Dubai itself, Peter is asked what he’s been up to since his arrival.

“We’ve been pretty jet lagged, which is strange, because I don’t normally get jetlagged. But we’ve been working really hard, we’ve just finished the tour in the UK. So I can here for the last two days, and I’ve literally done nothing. And all of these kind people have said can I come and do this and that – yeah yeah yeah, but it gets to about 6 o’clock… It’s not an age thing!”

Having visited Dubai many times, Peter is an old hand and he fell in love with the emirate a long time ago. Back in the days when good friends showed him around Dubai as it was back then, before it became such a massive tourist hub. But his love still stands, as when asked what his ideal hangout was, he loyally stood by the city.

“I like nothing more than a nice quiet restaurant and hanging out with my friends and my family. I want to spend the day, rather than the night. And the facilities here – Dubai is perfect for that.”

“I absolutely love coming here. And one year – I absolutely loved it, I’ll never forget it – my first time to Dubai, I was invited to someone’s house when they used to have house parties, before Dubai pubs and bars. I walked in, and do you remember Paul Young? The singer? And Rod Stewart – and it was a big, big thing for me because it was the first time I’d ever been in the same room as these people.

“We made some good friends here, and they took us around and showed us Dubai as it was then, before it became a tourist hub. I fell in love with it, we had true Arabian night experiences. It was such a pleasure – I fell in love with Dubai.”

Coffee Ventures

It probably comes as no surprise then that Peter has even considered opening a coffee shop here on Dubai’s shores.

“You can get some great coffees from Australia. So we grew up loving coffee. We went to New York, to one of the early Starbucks, and my brother Michael said I should do a New York style café – one should be Manhattan, one a Little Italy, and one a Soho – and the concept started. But it was ultimately all about great coffee.”

Peter’s café, New York Coffee Club first opened in the UK in November 2011 and has inevitably grown since.

“I’ve been here twice and been around the malls and really thought about the idea of opening in Dubai, I understand it’s not as easy as simply opening a shop in a mall and expecting it to work out, I understand that – I really think it’s a great opportunity for someone out there.”

So you never know, we might see a Peter Andre New York style coffee shop in Dubai yet.

His album, White Christmas

We asked about his upcoming album. Beautifully named White Christmas, it’s very different to anything he’s ever done before.

“It’s not Bublé style, it’s very much old school. In the sense of Elvis, and Bing Crosby. It’s very 1920s, 1930s.

We were delighted to hear that his all-time favourite Christmas songs included ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Last Christmas’, two classics that will surely be heard around the emirate during the festive season. When we asked him if he preferred an Australia Christmas, or an English white Christmas, he honestly chose the latter.

“There’s nothing like an English Christmas. Christmas in Australia is more relaxed and laid back, beach parties and cold turkey – not at all Christmassy. However in England, you wake up, it’s all about log fires, Christmas trees and turkey in the oven.”

His children

With Amelia’s first birthday coming up, we talked about how gorgeous she is and for her birthday, they will be relaxing.

“This is the thing, what can you get a one year old? They don’t remember. But you still want to make it so special. It’s one of those things where really, you’re more excited as a parent.

“She’s so sweet, and such an easy child. We’re very, very lucky.”

Peter loves being a ‘cool’ dad it, he admits. Especially when he gets to meet all of the Disney and Dreamworks characters. That’s the fun part of his job, and his children, Princess and Junior, love it! They have a lot of fun. But of course, as a parent, we wondered if Peter will let his children follow in his footsteps?

“For me, I keep the kids guarded from a lot of things. They’re not allowed to watch any of the more, grown up videos, I won’t let them watch them. Our home is very guarded in that respect.

“My kids can do what they want to do but once they are only once they are old enough to sign their own contracts.”

Iceland

Lastly we discussed the Iceland saga, which came about after Peter went on to the UK show Celebrity Juice with Olly Murs and Fearne Cotton. And it’s interesting to see something so small get so taken out of proportion.

“What I mean, and anyone that knows me knows, I’m one of these people that is always embarrassed to see themselves on TV. Anything I do. I won’t watch it. I get really embarrassed at myself. And as we’re talking as friends on that show, that’s exactly what it was.”

Rest assured, he enjoys being Iceland’s ambassador, and has been working with Iceland for a long time, and as Peter concluded, he will be for a long time to come.