Pete Kircher
Encyclopedia
Peter Derek Kircher is a retired English
rock
/pop
drummer
.
He played between 1982 to 1985 in the rock band
Status Quo. Highlights of this period included playing at Live Aid
and the National Bowl
, and meeting HRH The Prince of Wales
at a benefit gig for The Prince's Trust
at the Birmingham
NEC
, an event preserved on the 1982 album
Live at the N.E.C..
Kircher's style is very rhythmic, and much of his work carries a very distinctive snare drum
sound which could be considered his signature trait. He has also shown himself to be a talented vocalist, though his excursions into singing on record were generally limited to backing vocals, notably with Honeybus, Colin Hare, Shanghai and Status Quo. However, test pressings of a 1973 solo single, "Rockin' Lady", are known to exist and are extremely collectable.
In the early 1960s Kircher toured Germany
doing club
gigs as the drummer for The Burnettes, a band featuring Neil Landon
as singer and Noel Redding
playing guitar
. His earliest documented recording
s are with Noel Redding
, who later played bass
with Jimi Hendrix
. More session work followed, before Kircher was recruited in April 1967 to join Honeybus
, who, although often written off as one-hit wonders, produced a fine body of work, which culminated in a critically acclaimed 1970 album, Story, released after the eventual dissolution of the band.
Less commercially successful work with Honeybus survives in the form of two album
s, March Hare (credited to Colin Hare, rhythm guitarist with Honeybus) and Into Your Ears, a solo album
by Pete Dello
, which were both released in 1971. Comparisons with Honeybus were inevitably drawn; the sessions bled into each other causing a reunion in all but name, and record company executives were so impressed by this new work that they commissioned an album, Recital, to be released under the Honeybus name. Only test pressings of this exist, as a change in management at the label aborted the planned release.
The next excursion for Kircher's drumming was as a member of the band Shanghai, where he joined Mick Green
from Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
. The band produced two albums, released in 1974 and 1976, when the band supported Status Quo on the Blue for You
tour. This, in turn, directly led to Kircher's induction into a group of session musician
s for John Du Cann
's Nothing Better album in 1977, which mixes an energetic, raw sound comparable with the Sex Pistols
with the boogie sound of Quo. The sessions were, perhaps unsurprisingly, produced by Quo's guitarist Francis Rossi
.
After spending most of 1979 as the drummer in Liverpool Express
and contributing to their third album "LEX", Kircher was invited in 1979 to join the Original Mirrors, a new wave-influenced band featuring the Lightning Seeds
' Ian Broudie
on guitar. His time in this band took him up to 1981, taking in a session playing drums on Nolan Sisters
single 'Who's Gonna Rock You' before being invited to join Status Quo following the resignation of John Coghlan
. Kircher's membership was announced to the world in a press conference in January 1982.
Aside from recording some tracks with Francis Rossi
and Bernard Frost for their unreleased solo album Flying Debris in 1985, very little has been heard from Kircher since, although Honeybus were briefly reunited for a Dutch
TV show in 2003. Kircher stated during an interview in this programme that he is now working as a signwriter, a profession he first started as a school-leaver.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
/pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
.
He played between 1982 to 1985 in the rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Status Quo. Highlights of this period included playing at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
and the National Bowl
National Bowl
The National Bowl is an entertainment venue in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay-pit , filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil excavated by the many new developments in the area and it has a current maximum capacity of 65,000...
, and meeting HRH The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
at a benefit gig for The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...
at the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
, an event preserved on the 1982 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Live at the N.E.C..
Kircher's style is very rhythmic, and much of his work carries a very distinctive snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
sound which could be considered his signature trait. He has also shown himself to be a talented vocalist, though his excursions into singing on record were generally limited to backing vocals, notably with Honeybus, Colin Hare, Shanghai and Status Quo. However, test pressings of a 1973 solo single, "Rockin' Lady", are known to exist and are extremely collectable.
In the early 1960s Kircher toured Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
doing club
Club
A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.- History...
gigs as the drummer for The Burnettes, a band featuring Neil Landon
Neil Landon
Neil Landon is an English singer, who has been credited with singing on a number of hits in the UK Singles Chart...
as singer and Noel Redding
Noel Redding
Noel Redding was an English rock and roll guitarist best known as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Biography:...
playing guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. His earliest documented recording
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
s are with Noel Redding
Noel Redding
Noel Redding was an English rock and roll guitarist best known as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Biography:...
, who later played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
with Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. More session work followed, before Kircher was recruited in April 1967 to join Honeybus
Honeybus
Honeybus were a 1960s pop group formed in April 1967, in London. They were best known for their 1968 UK Top 10 hit single, "I Can't Let Maggie Go".-Line-up:The best known line-up consisted of:...
, who, although often written off as one-hit wonders, produced a fine body of work, which culminated in a critically acclaimed 1970 album, Story, released after the eventual dissolution of the band.
Less commercially successful work with Honeybus survives in the form of two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, March Hare (credited to Colin Hare, rhythm guitarist with Honeybus) and Into Your Ears, a solo album
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
by Pete Dello
Pete Dello
Pete Dello is a 1960s and 1970s singer-songwriter and now music teacher.-Career:Dello started his career as a musician in the skiffle era of the 1950s and was a founding member of the rock and roll band Grant Tracy and The Sunsets, after which he joined Steve Darbyshire's backing group, The Yum...
, which were both released in 1971. Comparisons with Honeybus were inevitably drawn; the sessions bled into each other causing a reunion in all but name, and record company executives were so impressed by this new work that they commissioned an album, Recital, to be released under the Honeybus name. Only test pressings of this exist, as a change in management at the label aborted the planned release.
The next excursion for Kircher's drumming was as a member of the band Shanghai, where he joined Mick Green
Mick Green
Michael Robert "Mick" Green was an English rock and roll guitarist who played with Johnny Kidd & The Pirates and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.-Biography:He was born Michael Robert Green, in Matlock, Derbyshire...
from Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates were an English rock 'n' roll group led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. They scored numerous hit songs from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, including the rock & roll classics 'Shakin' All Over' and 'Please Don't Touch', but their influence far outshines their chart...
. The band produced two albums, released in 1974 and 1976, when the band supported Status Quo on the Blue for You
Blue For You
Blue for You is the ninth studio album by English Rock band Status Quo, released in March 1976.Parfitt's "Rain", the first single from the album, reached #7 in the UK charts after its release in February 1976. Its b-side was the non-album track "You Lost the Love", written by Rossi and Young.The...
tour. This, in turn, directly led to Kircher's induction into a group of session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s for John Du Cann
John Du Cann
John William Cann , later known by his stage name John Du Cann, was a British guitarist primarily known through his work in the 1970s band, Atomic Rooster...
's Nothing Better album in 1977, which mixes an energetic, raw sound comparable with the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
with the boogie sound of Quo. The sessions were, perhaps unsurprisingly, produced by Quo's guitarist Francis Rossi
Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.- Career :...
.
After spending most of 1979 as the drummer in Liverpool Express
Liverpool Express
Liverpool Express was a 1970s British rock band. They are best known for songs such as "You Are My Love" and "Every Man Must Have A Dream", and charting several hits...
and contributing to their third album "LEX", Kircher was invited in 1979 to join the Original Mirrors, a new wave-influenced band featuring the Lightning Seeds
Lightning Seeds
The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed in 1989 by Ian Broudie , formerly of the Big in Japan band....
' Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
on guitar. His time in this band took him up to 1981, taking in a session playing drums on Nolan Sisters
The Nolans
The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish all-female band consisting of a group of sisters. The group, best known for their song "I'm In the Mood for Dancing", gained prominence as guest performers on numerous television shows in the United Kingdom...
single 'Who's Gonna Rock You' before being invited to join Status Quo following the resignation of John Coghlan
John Coghlan (drummer)
John Robert Coghlan was an original member of the English rock band, Status Quo.The son of a Glasgow-born father and a London born half-French mother, Coghlan grew up in Dulwich, and was educated at Kingsdale Comprehensive school until leaving school at 15 to begin an apprenticeship as a...
. Kircher's membership was announced to the world in a press conference in January 1982.
Aside from recording some tracks with Francis Rossi
Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.- Career :...
and Bernard Frost for their unreleased solo album Flying Debris in 1985, very little has been heard from Kircher since, although Honeybus were briefly reunited for a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
TV show in 2003. Kircher stated during an interview in this programme that he is now working as a signwriter, a profession he first started as a school-leaver.