Dibbens, Peter, 1948-2009

British composer Peter Dibbens appears to have been born in Bournemouth, Dorset, but not much else is known about him except that he was half of the British duo “Shepstone and Dibbens.” They joined up around 1973 and worked together through at least 1984. The other half, drummer Michael James Roger (Mike) Shepstone, had been a member of “The Rokers,” a group of British expatriate musicians who were successful for a while in Italy. After the group broke up in 1970, Shepstone returned to Britain, and he began collaborating with Dibbens. Most of their recordings were released in Paris, Madrid, Munich and other European cities; one of the more successful was “Shady Lady” in 1973, followed by “Please Tell Her That I Said Hello” in 1974 that has been covered by at least 30 artists, including Marie Osmond, Wayne Newton and Bobby Vinton. French singer Sylvie Vartan sang their “Tambourine” in 1976.