SINGER Peter Andre is plotting his return to pop music – 28 years after he sent pulses racing with his ripped abs on the video for his single Mysterious Girl.
The Nineties and Noughties star smashed it in the charts, with the catchy tune and others such as Flava, I Feel You and the bizarre Insania all Top Ten hits.
Now he is hoping to achieve more success by releasing a single he wrote for his upcoming action film Bullet, which he also stars in and helped to produce.
In the feature-length movie, which is now in pre-production, Peter plays hardman Flux.
A sneak preview that was released last month shows him squaring up to a thug in an abandoned boxing gym — with both men backed by heavies, hinting at their roles as crime bosses.
In an exclusive chat, Peter, 51, who has just had his FIFTH child, said: “It was recording the song for the film that made me realise I wanted to go back to music, but I want to do it differently.
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“I don’t want to just go and release an album and go, ‘Hi guys, this is my brand-new album, I’m trying to get to No1’.
"That’s not the right way to think.
“What I am going to do is probably release the song from the film as a single, then I’ll come up with a plan for an album to follow that.”
Fans will remember the hitmaker dancing in waterfalls in his music videos, with slicked-back hair and rippling muscles on display.
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Who knows if this time around they will be treated to the same fleshy fun that proved so successful.
Peter had planned to retire after he reached 50 but being stuck at home in Surrey during the Covid lockdowns put him off that idea.
He said: “I spent a lot of time at home and actually went, ‘No, I’m not ready at all to throw in the towel’.
"If anything, It’s given me much more of a drive.
“I haven’t released anything for ten or 12 years and was just happy doing the festivals and all these gigs, and headlining the Nineties gigs, and that was great.
“But then I thought, ‘No, actually, why not?
"Music is part of me, so why not release new material?’ ”
He last secured a No1 single in 2004, with a remix of Mysterious Girl, and in 2009 reached No4 with Behind Closed Doors.
While it is a number of years since he performed a full concert of his music, Peter is not worried that age will make this harder for him.
He said: “I can do a two-hour show, and I would have more energy at the end of it than I would at the start.
'I HAVE ENDURANCE'
"I’m one of those people that, once I have warmed up, I have endurance, and I don’t know why or how.”
That said, 5ft 9in Peter will categorically not be getting into the boxing ring to fight 6ft boxer and Love Island star Tommy Fury, 25.
The pair have been teasing a potential fight on their socials after coming up with the joke at Soccer Aid.
Peter taunted in one post: “Tommy Fury has challenged me to a fight. Does he know what he’s in for?”
But now, laughing about the challenge, Peter said: “I did do boxing, kickboxing and kung fu as a child.
"But I wouldn’t last half a round in a ring with Tommy. Have you seen the size of him?
“There is absolutely no chance that I’m stepping into a ring with him.”
Instead, the pair have agreed that Peter will accompany Tommy to the ring for one of his big international fights.
And the singer expects to be ringside when the dad of one eventually becomes a world champion, like his older brother Tyson achieved.
But for now the two will settle for raising their kids and being good pals.
In fact, Peter is not far from rivalling the prolific Fury family with his brood — Tyson has seven kids and Tommy hopes for four with his reality show fiancee Molly-Mae Hague.
But Peter has ruled out having another child with doctor wife Emily, 34.
Well, mostly.
In April, the couple had daughter Arabella, who joined siblings Amelia, ten, and Theo, seven.
But Peter also has daughter Princess, 16, and son Junior, 19, from his previous marriage to Katie Price.
Of Arabella’s arrival, Peter said: “This time we’re pretty sure it’s going to be our last one.
“Well, never say never. I’m not 100 per cent, but I’m enjoying having time to bond with her.
“I’ve not really had that chance before with the others because of work, so I’m grateful for how this has turned out.”
'BEAUTIFUL MADNESS'
But he struggles to get a turn with the little one because his other kids all relish playing with their youngest sibling.
Peter added: “The girls seem to have a natural instinct when it comes to babies.
“But everyone wants time with her whenever they can. Junior goes to see her first thing.”
And Peter and Emily are trying to ensure that all the kids get the same level of attention.
It is not an easy task, given the couple have to do this between work and barely sleeping a wink at night.
Peter said: “It is beautiful madness.
"Emily gets less sleep than I do because she is breastfeeding, but I try to do the last feed and one of the early ones.”
Their family is small compared to those of Peter’s parents and grandparents.
Peter’s Greek Cypriot parents had six children and his grandma was pregnant 17 times.
During his gran’s pregnancies in Cyprus, cars were not common, and Peter recalled: “There was a joke that when my dad was sent on a donkey to fetch the doctor, my grandma would have had the baby and been pregnant again.
I don’t want them to think that you meet someone then take them to your bedroom. I think the kids respect me for it
Peter Andre
“Everyone assumes it must be step- siblings, but nope, they were all from my grandma and grandad.”
But Peter loves all those large broods, and has even brought some rules with him from his childhood growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness.
He wasn’t allowed to have a girlfriend until he was an adult, and bringing one home would have caused problems.
So for his children, he has relaxed things slightly.
He explains: “My kids can’t have a girlfriend or boyfriend until they turn 16, and then they can bring them for dinner.
“That’s all fine. We can hang out and all that.
"But there is no going upstairs and shutting bedroom doors.
“If they have someone stay over, which is an if and is rare, one sleeps upstairs, one sleeps downstairs.
“It might sound harsh, but I think that it sets a good example for the young ones.
“I don’t want them to think that you meet someone then take them to your bedroom. I think the kids respect me for it.”
Junior still takes 20 minutes in the shower, but I’m working on that
Peter Andre
Peter also claims he has never heard any of his kids swear, except for Junior rapping along to something in the shower a little too loudly.
But there is one thing that has caused a bone of contention in the house — electricity.
Peter has recently had an electricity smart meter installed at his home and been left horrified by how much he and his family use — especially as it leaves the needle in the red section.
He said: “I go around turning things off now because I want to be in that green section.
“It’s definitely taught my kids a lesson, as they’re now doing the same.
"I used to have the light on during the day, which was ridiculous.
"Junior still takes 20 minutes in the shower, but I’m working on that.
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“It helps with the bills, and it also helps the planet, so it is win-win.”
- Peter is encouraging everyone, whether they rent or own their home, to look into getting a smart meter.