Pete Astor

Peter Astor (born 1960) is a British songwriter and solo artist, known for his work with The Loft, The Weather Prophets, The Wisdom of Harry and Ellis Island Sound.

Pete Astor
Birth namePeter Astor
Born (1960-08-13) 13 August 1960
Hammersmith, London, England
GenresIndie rock, indie pop, electronic
Occupation(s)Songwriter, lecturer, writer
Years active1981–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitehttp://peteastor.com

History

Pete Astor was born in England, in 1960.[1] The Loft formed in 1983, and signed to Creation Records to release two acclaimed singles, "Why Does the Rain" and "Up the Hill and Down the Slope".[2] They split at the Hammersmith Palais in 1985.[3] Astor then formed The Weather Prophets, continuing to be managed by Creation founder, Alan McGee, and signing to his short-lived Elevation label under the auspice of WEA4 releasing the album Mayflower in 1987.[4] Returning to Creation for Judges, Juries and Horsemen, the band split in 1989.[3]

Astor then undertook a solo career with the albums Submarine (1990) and Zoo (1991) on Creation. Finding success in France, Astor moved to the Danceteria label to release Paradise (1992, as Peter Astor and the Holy Road), and God and Other Stories in 1992.[4]

After becoming disillusioned with the music business, he disappeared from view for a number of years, returning in the late 1990s with his Ellis Island Sound and The Wisdom of Harry projects, both releasing music on 7", 12" and 10"[5][6] for a variety of emerging independent labels such as Static Caravan Recordings,[7] Wurlitzer Jukebox[8] and Astor's own label, Faux Lux. The Wisdom of Harry eventually signed to Matador Records, while Ellis Island Sound, Astor's collaboration with David Sheppard, signed with Heavenly Recordings.

In 2005, Astor released Hal's Eggs, a solo album including radical reworkings of folk standards on Static Caravan Recordings.[7] At around the same time, Cherry Red released compilation albums featuring his work: The Weather Prophets' Blues Skies and Freerides (The Best Of, 1986–1989),[9] Injury Time (Solo 89–93),[10] a selection of solo work from his two Creation and Danceteria albums. The label re-issued The Loft's retrospective Once More Round the Fair. Astor continued to write and release with on the Peace Frog label. His solo album, Songbox followed in 2011, featuring an extra disc of cover versions of the albums' songs by Let's Wrestle, The Raincoats, Darren Hayman, Comet Gain, The Proper Ornaments, Mathew Sawyer, Dollboy and Piano Magic.

He works as senior lecturer at the University of Westminster,[11] where he teaches, researches and writes about music; in 2014, he published his study of Richard Hell and the Voidoids' Blank Generation, as part of Bloomsbury's 33⅓ series.[12] At the beginning of 2015, Astor signed to Fortuna Pop, and released the single "Mr Music", followed by an album, Spilt Milk,[13] recorded with James Hoare of Veronica Falls. In 2020 he released "Attendant1: Music On/Opening Lines" under the name The Attendant, with "Music On" being a indie track which was recorded in a talk-sung style to evoke the work of Mark E. Smith.[14][15]

Solo discography

Albums
  • Submarine (Creation, 1990)
  • Zoo (Creation, 1991)
  • Paradise (Danceteria, 1992, as Peter Astor and the Holy Road)
  • God and Other Stories (Danceteria, 1993)
  • Hal's Eggs (Static Caravan, 2005, as Pete Astor)
  • Injury Time (Cherry Red, 2006)
  • Songbox (Second Language, 2011, as Pete Astor)
  • Spilt Milk (Slumberland Records, 2016, as Pete Astor)
  • One for the Ghost (Tapete Records, 2018)
  • You Made Me (2020)

Singles
  • "Walk into the Wind" (Creation, 1990)
  • "Chevron" (Creation, 1991)
  • "Der Kaiser, Der Dealer und Das Geburtstagskind/Lundi Bleu" (Creation, 1991, split 7-inch with The Times)
  • "Almost Falling in Love" (Danceteria, 1992, as Peter Astor and the Holy Road)
  • "Disco Lights" (Danceteria, 1993)
  • "Mr Music" (Fortuna Pop, 2015)
  • "Water Tower" (Tapete, 2017)

References
  1. Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 565-7
  2. "The 50 Greatest UK Indie Records of All Time | MOJO". Mojo. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  3. Cavanagh, David, (2000). My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize, pp 135–6, 215, Virgin, London. ISBN 1 8522 7775 0
  4. McGee, Alan, (2013). Creation Stories: Riots. Raves and Running a Label, Sidgewick and Jackson, p.69, 142, London ISBN 978-0-283-07177-5
  5. "Wisdom of Harry Discography – UK". 45cat.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  6. "Ellis Island Sound Discography". discogs. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  7. "Static Caravan Catalogue". Staticcaravan.org. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  8. "Wurlitzer Jukebox – CDs and Vinyl". discogs. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  9. "Cherry Red Records - Artist-A-Z - W". cherryred.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Astor, Pete – About us – University of Westminster". Westminster.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  12. "Richard Hell and the Voidoids' Blank Generation (33 1/3) Pete Astor: Bloomsbury Academic". Bloomsbury.com. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  13. "Spilt Milk – Peter Astor | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  14. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000lscs
  15. https://peteastor1.bandcamp.com/album/attendant1-music-on-opening-lines
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