Peter Grattan

Born in Cheshire, England to an English father and a Welsh mother, Peter Grattan arrived in New Zealand in 1957 at the age of six. The family settled first in Oratia in West Auckland. Grattan's first exposure to music was learning the piano. But it was the emergence of the Beatles and especially the influence of Ringo Starr that launched his life-long obsession with drumming. 

Grattan found an early love for music, performing with bongos and guitar at school concerts. In 1966, after moving to Whangārei, he formed his first band, Cliff & The Clan, later renamed The Clan. The group quicky became a leading act in Northland, opening for notable artists and performing at popular local venues.

Aged just 15, Grattan headed to Auckland, playing in bands including Marble Arch and Green & Yellow. At the same time he found a job working for music promoter Harry M Miller. In 1968 Grattan joined Pye RCA Record's promotions team as a stock controller, but the chance to tour the Pacific drumming with Peter Posa saw him pick up his sticks and hit the road. 

In 1975 Grattan was faced with a choice: follow the route of serious musicians and go full-time or, as he says, get a "proper job." An ad in The NZ Herald seeking staff for the country's new second television channel, TV2, got 300 applicants. Grattan became one of the lucky three to start work at TVNZ, where he could put his musical background to use. 

He was first rostered on for Telethon, New Zealand's inaugural 24-hour live broadcast, which fundraised over half a million dollars. Grattan spent time on the broadcast as a studio producer during Split Enz's performance. 

Grattan quickly moved on to children's programming, with a trainee producer role on Here's Andy, a live daily show fronted by future TVNZ executive Andrew Shaw. "Andy was a huge star" Grattan recalls, "I'd take sacks of mail home and my mum would answer it". Grattan found the format perfect for his background. The show incorporated pop hits of the day, including ABBA, Boney M, Bay City Rollers, thanks to a steady stream of promotional video from record companies. But not every clip was child appropriate, prompting Grattan to pitch something new.

In 1976, facing a surplus of music videos, Grattan pitched an idea to his boss Kevan Moore (producer of music shows C'mon and Happen Inn) for a show dedicated purely to music videos, "I was shaking when I went into his office". The pitch was simple: "It'll be kinda like radio, with pictures". The result was pioneering late-night show Radio With Pictures, running music video clips. With Grattan as producer, the series featured local acts like Red Hot Peppers, Hello Sailor, Split Enz and Dragon. 

xxxxxxAfter taking time off to tour with his band Jolly Roger aboard a Ukranian cruise ship, Grattan returned to TVNZ, to the children's department, directing weekly youth music show Tracy '80, hosted by Tracey Barr. He later spent a year as a sport producer for TVNZ's Sports Department alongside Graham Thorne, and, in his role as racing director, Glyn Tucker and Phillip Leishman. 

But entertainment was Grattan's love and in 1982 he was given the task of creating a new pop show. Shazam! was fronted by the young Phillip Schofield, featuring local talent, live performances, and international music videoes. Grattan produced the show for four years and made videos for the likes of Dave Dobbyn and the Mockers. In 1984 he produced the Enz With a Bang specials chronicling what was then the last Split Enz tour.  

In 1986 Grattan took a two year leave of absence from TVNZ and travelled to the UK, where he worked for the BBC and Thames Television, producing shows including Star Search and Sale of the Century. 

Returning to New Zealand in 1989, Peter was appointed Head of Entertainment at TVNZ, overseeing 600 hours of TV across two channels with a $15 million annual budget. It was a period marked by fierce competition with the newly launched TV3, “The TVNZ hierarchy seemed hell-bent on blowing TV3 out of the water, by whatever means necessary,” Grattan recalls. “They succeeded, signing up top TV hosts on retainers to stop them working at TV3, spending a fortune buying overseas shows left unseen on the shelf just so TV3 could not air them".

After three years he departed, spending time in the United States, in Washington, selling and playing drums full-time before heading to London again. There he continued to direct music and sprots events, and produced a documentary special on South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Returning to New Zealand for a period, Grattan settled in Nelson and ran the Mapua Music and Akaroa Jazz festivals, before heading abroad again. Back in Washington, he took on the role of Head of Production for the state's television station DCTV.

Grattan then moved to Florida, working for multimedia company Comcast Cable as a producer and account executive, helping independents develop local programming. 

These days, Grattan divides his time between Virginia, Florida, and Northland, where he continues to produce and perform music — both as a solo artist and alongside his partner, singer Robin Brown. During a 2020 stay in New Zealand, he took on the role of Creative Director for TV station Channel Northland Te Raki Media. While in New Zealand, he also performs with singer Larry Morris in the band Rebellion.

Profile updated on 16 July 2025

Sources include
Peter Grattan
'Peter Grattan'. Ashack website. Loaded April 2010. Accessed 16 July 2025
Jodi Bryant 'Northland TV station Channel North revived' (Interview) - The Northern Advocate. Loaded 2 October 2020. Accessed 16 July 2025
John Dix, 'Peter Grattan' (Profile) - AudioCulture website. Loaded 5 March 2025. Accessed 9 June 2025