Pete Thomas

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Pete Thomas in St Louis 1984

Cribbed and trimmed article from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...


Pete Thomas (born on 9 August 1954. in Hillsborough, Sheffield, England) is the longtime drummer for Costello's backing bands, The Attractions and The Imposters.

Following early work with Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and John Stewart, Thomas was recruited as a member of Costello's backing band The Attractions. He spent the next decade touring the world and recording nine albums, including This Year's Model (1978), Get Happy!! (1980), and Blood & Chocolate (1986).

Although Costello split with The Attractions between 1987 and 1993, he continued to work regularly with Thomas during this period. Thomas played drums on Spike (1989), Mighty Like A Rose (1991), and Kojak Variety (recorded in 1990; released in 1995), and was a member of Costello's 1989-1991 touring band, The Rude 5.

In 1994 Thomas was part of a trio that included vocalist/avant garde opera diva Diamanda Galas, and former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones who recorded The Sporting Life.

Costello reunited with The Attractions for Brutal Youth (1994) and All This Useless Beauty (1996). After Costello split with The Attractions for a second time, Thomas worked as a session drummer, recording with such artists as Suzanne Vega, Neil Finn, Vonda Shepard, Sheryl Crow, and John Paul Jones. During this period he relocated from London to Los Angeles, and played local gigs with bassist Davey Faragher and guitarist Val McCallum under the band name Jackshit. He also played on the Elliott Smith album Figure 8 (2000).

In 2001 Costello recruited Thomas, Faragher, and fellow Attraction Steve Nieve to record When I Was Cruel (2002). Elvis Costello & The Imposters, as they were subsequently named, have gone on to tour extensively, and recorded the album The Delivery Man (2004).

Thomas lives in Los Angeles, with his wife Judy. Their daughter Tennessee is drummer for the band The Like. In 2003 Pete Thomas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions. [edit]


Costello sessionography

Other sessionography

  • 1974 - Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers, Bongos over Balham
  • 1980 - Tyla Gang, Just Popped Out
  • 1980 - Johnny Cash, Rockabilly Blues
  • 1985 - The Waterboys, This Is the Sea
  • 1986 - Zerra One, Domino Effect
  • 1988 - Graham Parker, Mona Lisa's Sister
  • 1988 - Nick Lowe, Pinker and Prouder Than Previous
  • 1989 - John Wesley Harding, Here Comes the Groom
  • 1990 - Duncan Dhu, Autobiografia
  • 1990 - The Dream Academy, Different Kind of Weather
  • 1990 - Graham Parker, Human Soul
  • 1990 - Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erikson
  • 1991 - Matthew Sweet, Goodfriend
  • 1991 - John Wesley Harding, Name Above the Title
  • 1991 - Graham Parker, Struck by Lightning
  • 1992 - Graham Parker, Burning Questions
  • 1992 - Los Lobos', Kiko'
  • 1993 - Matthew Sweet, Altered Beast
  • 1993 - Squeeze, Some Fantastic Place
  • 1994 - Wild Colonials, Fruit of Life
  • 1994 - Richard Thompson, Mirror Blue
  • 1994 - Duncan Dhu, Piedras
  • 1994 - Matthew Sweet, Son of Altered Beast
  • 1994 - Diamanda Galas, Sporting Life
  • 1995 - Martin Belmont, Big Guitar
  • 1995 - Dave Dobbyn, Twist
  • 1996 - Los Lobos, Colossal Head
  • 1996 - John Wesley Harding, Dynablob
  • 1996 - Suzanne Vega, Nine Objects of Desire
  • 1996 - Sheryl Crow, Sheryl Crow
  • 1996 - Richard Thompson, You? Me? Us?
  • 1998 - Mitchell Froom, Dopamine
  • 1998 - Bonnie Raitt, Fundamental
  • 1998 - Sheryl Crow, Sheryl Crow
  • 1998 - Lisa Germano, Slide
  • 1998 - Neil Finn, Try Whistling This
  • 1998 - Kristy MacColl, What Do Pretty Girls Do?
  • 1999 - Balham Alligators, Gateway to South
  • 1999 - Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons
  • 1999 - Los Lobos, This Time

Internal links

External links