Pete Way facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pete Way
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Way in 1982
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Peter Frederick Way |
| Born | 7 August 1950 Enfield, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 14 August 2020 (aged 70) |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal |
| Instruments | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1969–2020 |
| Associated acts | UFO, Fastway, Waysted, The Plot, Ozzy Osbourne, |
Peter Frederick Way (born August 7, 1950 – died August 14, 2020) was a famous English bass guitar player. He was known for playing hard rock and heavy metal music. Pete Way was a founding member of the popular rock band UFO. He also helped start other bands like Waysted and Fastway. He played with other well-known musicians too, such as Ozzy Osbourne.
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Pete Way's Music Career
Pete Way grew up in Enfield, London. He started playing bass guitar with friends from high school. He and guitarist Mick Bolton became friends. They formed their first serious band called The Boyfriends. After high school, Pete left home at 17. He worked in different jobs before focusing on music.
Forming UFO
The band later added singer Phil Mogg. They changed their name to Hocus Pocus. Then, they changed it again to UFO. After two albums, a very talented young guitarist named Michael Schenker joined the band. He came from the band Scorpions. Later, their friend Paul Raymond joined on guitar and keyboards. Paul 'Tonka' Chapman took over from Schenker in the early 1980s. UFO released many albums and had two songs that reached the top 40 in the UK.
New Bands: Fastway and Waysted
In the early 1980s, Pete Way wanted to try different music styles. He left UFO to form Fastway. He started this band with "Fast" Eddie Clarke, who used to play guitar for Motörhead. Because of a contract he had, Pete also played bass for Ozzy Osbourne for a short time during the Diary of a Madman tour.
In 1982, Pete formed another band called Waysted. The name was a fun play on his last name. Their first album, Vices, came out in 1982. It reached number 78 on the UK music charts. Their third album, Save your Prayers, was more successful in America. It reached number 185 there.
Returning to UFO
Pete Way briefly rejoined UFO in 1988–1989. Then, he came back to the band full-time in 1991. He recorded six more albums with UFO over the next seventeen years. These albums included High Stakes & Dangerous Men (1992) and Walk on Water (1995). He also played on Covenant (2000), Sharks (2002), You Are Here (2004), and The Monkey Puzzle (2006). Due to health problems, he had to leave the band again in 2008.
Later Projects
Pete Way released two albums with a project called Damage Control. The first album featured musicians like Robin George and Chris Slade. The second album was a trio with Robin and Pete sharing lead vocals.
More recently, in 2018, Pete formed the Pete Way Band. He played with guitarist Kamil Woj (later replaced by Tym Scopes), Jason Poole, and Clive Edwards. Laurence Archer also joined them for some live shows when they toured the UK. Pete also played guest bass on a song called "Misanthropy" by Warfare. This song was special because it was the first time Eddie Clarke and Pete played together on a commercial release.
Guitars Pete Way Used
During UFO's most famous period in the 1970s, Pete Way often used a Fender Precision bass. His look, including his striped trousers, influenced the stage style of Steve Harris, another famous bass player.
Later, Pete switched to Gibson Thunderbird basses. These guitars are known for their strong, hard rock sound. However, he later said he was using an Epiphone Thunderbird because he thought it had a richer sound. He also used basses from other brands like Ibanez, including a pink Ibanez Iceman bass. He was also featured in ads for Washburn B-20 and Artex basses.
Pete Way's Personal Life and Death
Pete Way passed away on August 14, 2020. This was just one week after his 70th birthday. He died after an accident that happened two months earlier. Before this, Pete had faced some health challenges.
He is survived by his wife Jenny, his oldest son David, and his two daughters Zowie and Charlotte. He also had a younger brother named Neill. Pete Way died just ten weeks after his former UFO bandmate and guitarist Paul Chapman. He also passed away one year after keyboardist Paul Raymond. This means that singer Phil Mogg and drummer Andy Parker are the only surviving members from the No Place to Run UFO lineup.
See also
In Spanish: Pete Way para niños
