Inside 80s singer Elkie Brooks’ first marriage with famous rock star husband

Elkie Brooks was one of the biggest rock stars of the 1970s and 1980s, achieving fame with the likes of Vinegar Joe, before starting off on her own solo career.

The singer, now aged 81, is a two-time nominee at the BRIT Awards, and she achieved top 10 singles with the likes of Pearl’s a Singer, Sunshine After the Rain, Fool (If You Think It’s Over) and No More the Fool.

Over the years, Elkie has released 21 albums, with four of them coming in the 1970s, with a further seven being released during the 1980s. The star’s latest album was released back in 2024.

The star is now happily married to sound engineer Trevor Jordan, with the pair walking down the aisle in 1978. The pair have welcomed two sons, Jermaine and Joseph, and Jermaine is heavily involved with his mother’s career, previously serving as her manager and tour producer.

However, before marrying, Trevor, Elkie was actually seeing her former Vinegar Joe bandmate, Pete Gage, who was the guitarist in the band. Here’s all you need to know about their relationship…

Pete Gage

Pete is a legendary rock guitarist, playing in the likes of Vinegar Joe and Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band. Pete formed the latter band in 1964, with the name reportedly inspired by a pub in Rutland.

The band released four albums during the 1960s, however, they disbanded in 1969.

During his time with the Ram Jam Band, Pete was approached by Elkie, who wanted them as her backing singers. Although he refused at the time, Pete would eventually start playing with Elkie, with the pair forming Vinegar Joe, before getting married.

Speaking to Louder in 2019, Pete revealed that he and Elkie kept their marriage a secret, with contemporary publications speculating that she was actually dating singer Robert Palmer. “Not many people knew that I was together with Elkie,” Pete told Louder. “We were very professional and agreed that marriage could alienate fans.”

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Reminiscing about their time together, Pete praised his ex-wife, saying: “Elkie was being really acclaimed and we were constantly gigging.” Elkie then added: “We were a full-on rock’n’roll band. There were very few ballads in Vinegar Joe. We just used to go out and boogie for an hour.”