Names on the buses

685 Donald Peers

785 Donald Peers

Connections with Brighton and Hove : 1908-1973
With his good looks and rich tenor voice, Donald was one of Britain's most popular entertainers during the 1950s. Born in Wales, he became a singer with British dance bands before the Second World War. He later achieved great success singing ballads on the radio. This earned him the nickname 'Cavalier of Song'. By 1947, he had his own BBC radio programme of the same name. His best-known song was his signature tune 'By a Babbling Brook', released in 1944. Another hit was the cheerfully titled 'Powder Your Face with Sunshine'. At his peak, Donald was earning £600 a week (equivalent to £18,000 today) and receiving thousands of fan letters each month. In 1949, he played a solo concert to a packed audience at the Royal Albert Hall in London. With the advent of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s, his style went out of fashion. He revived his career hosting the BBC Wales TV programme Donald Peers Presents. In 1962, he gave Tom Jones his first exposure on British television. Popular in Australia, Donald lived there for a while, touring his show. He broke his back during one visit and was told he would never walk again. He confounded the doctors by recovering and returned to performing on stage. During his career, he appeared in two films, The Balloon Goes Up (1942) and Sing Along with Me! (1952), both showcasing his vocal talents. In 1951, he published an autobiography called Pathway. In it he recounts his early life in a Welsh mining community and his subsequent rise to fame. He spent his later years living in St John's Road, Hove. Donald died at the age of 65 and was cremated at Downs Crematorium, Brighton.

685 Scania Omnidekka - carried name since delivery in October 2007 in Regency livery. Regency branding changed March 2011. Repainted into new Regency livery October 2014. Regency branding removed August 2015. Bus transferred to Go-Ahead North East in August 2020. Name reappeared on 785 ADL Enviro400 in December 2025.