The Naughty Corner

The Naughty Corner are vocalist Peter Clarke & keyboardist/songwriter Si Owens, and both are from Widnes in Northwest England. Peter & Si first met as classmates at St. Bede’s Junior School and have tolerated each other ever since.

Their first musical venture came in 1996 for The Queens Hall’s production of Little Shop Of Horrors. Si was in the stage band and Peter played the role of Seymour. From there, they began to get together and practice their own material, taking to the stage as a duo for the first time at Cronton Village Hall in 1996.

Gigs followed, before the lads joined up with fellow Halton College students to form the rock-pop band Big Wednesday in the late nineties. Although Si continued to write for Big Wednesday, the majority of the band’s compositions were penned by guitarist and future professional sound technician Mike Quirk.

The band also featured acclaimed drummer Paul O’Neil (later of Little Volcanoes and Conan), bassist Sarah Leckie and the great synth player Phil Carr (later of Don Juan Forever and Masters Of The Radio).

Big Wednesday disbanded, and following a brief period in which Si played keys for The Blind Lemons, Peter and Si were back together again as The Naughty Corner – a name which Si has later described as being “the worst band name in the history of recorded music”, and for which he takes full responsibility.

Following a full debut album, 2002’s Urban Tales, The Naughty Corner became a familiar fixture on the Halton music scene as regular performers and producers of numerous recordings, culminating in 2012’s album, Redemption (produced by MakoMusic), which The Naughty Corner site as being by far their finest work.

On a personal level, Si’s hobbies include whisky-drinking, and he claims to be useful during a power cut due to the brightness of his big red whisky nose. Peter shares his time between Sayers’ pastry shops and the bog.

The Naughty Corner would like to thank all the many people who have supported and encouraged them during their time together, and all of the many interesting people they have met on the music scene, many of whom are long term friends of the lads.

The Naughty Corner would also like to thank MakoMusic for making the Redemption album a reality, Chris Lines for this website, and the musicians who have helped them record and perform over the years, including Paul O’Neil, Mike Quirk, Sarah Leckie, Phil Carr, Mike Crane, Peter Knowels, Rob Parker, Pete Muldoon, Chris Jackson, Jon Grimes, Carl Goodridge and Leanne Griffiths.