Born in Hong Kong, Peter's father died when he was nine years-old. After attending primary school, he never commenced secondary school and started working at the age of ten. Peter was 26 when he worked as a chauffeur by day and started writing his own column in a weekly newspaper in his spare time. After writing the lyrics to a local Chinese pop song, he decided to have it published in his column. His lyrics drew the attention of a reader who then forwarded it to a famous male local actor in a late-night television variety show. The actor, putting words to the melody, performed an impromptu version of the popular song live on television, two nights in a row. The performance drew the attention of the popular cantopop singer Sam Hui who then teamed up with him to create, at the time, one of the most dynamic composer and lyrics writer duo. From famous lyrics writer, Peter subsequently ventured into both television and film acting. The rest they say, is history.