Peter Astor (born 1960) is an English songwriter and solo artist, known for his work with

The Loft The Loft may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * The Loft (British band), a British indie band * The Loft (Danish band), a Danish band * ''The Loft'' (film) (2014) an American film * The Loft (Sirius XM), a music channel on satellite r ...

The Weather Prophets The Weather Prophets were a British indie band formed in London in 1986 after the break-up of The Loft. After two studio albums, the band split up, with singer Peter Astor going on to a solo career. History Following the breakup of The Loft, Pe ...

The Wisdom of Harry The Wisdom of Harry was an experimental electronic music ensemble from London, England. The group was formed by Peter Astor, formerly the singer/songwriter of Weather Prophets and The Loft, in 1997 and began doing remixes for musicians such as ...

and

Ellis Island Sound Ellis Island Sound are an instrumental band from London, England, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Peter Astor (formerly of The Loft, The Weather Prophets) and David Sheppard (of State River Widening). Background The band formed in 1996, a ...

History

Pete Astor was born in England, in 1960.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 565-7

formed in 1983, and signed to

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

to release two acclaimed singles, "Why Does the Rain" and "Up the Hill and Down the Slope". They split at the

Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse'' to be ...

in 1985.Cavanagh, David, (2000). ''My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize'', pp 135–6, 215, Virgin, London. Astor then formed

, continuing to be managed by Creation founder,

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

, and signing to his short-lived Elevation label under the auspice of WEA4 releasing the album ''Mayflower'' in 1987.McGee, Alan, (2013). Creation Stories: Riots. Raves and Running a Label, Sidgewick and Jackson, p.69, 142, London Returning to Creation for ''Judges, Juries and Horsemen'', the band split in 1989. 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 Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from 1979 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous locati ...

label to release ''Paradise'' (1992, as Peter Astor and the Holy Road), and ''God and Other Stories'' in 1992. After becoming disillusioned with the music business, he disappeared from view for a number of years, returning in the late 1990s with his

and

projects, both releasing music on 7", 12" and 10" for a variety of emerging independent labels such as

Static Caravan Recordings Static Caravan Recordings is an independent record label based in the North West of England, whose artist releases include singles and albums by Darren Hayman, the Hornblower Brothers, Hannah Peel, Erland & the Carnival, Shady Bard, the Yel ...

Wurlitzer Jukebox The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

and Astor's own label, Faux Lux. The Wisdom of Harry eventually signed to

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...

, while Ellis Island Sound, Astor's collaboration with David Sheppard, signed with

Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves (band), Doves, and early singles by Manic Street P ...

. In 2005, Astor released ''Hal's Eggs'', a solo album including radical reworkings of folk standards on Static Caravan Recordings. 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)'', ''Injury Time (Solo 89–93)'', 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 Let's Wrestle were an English indie rock band based in London. The band consisted of Wesley Patrick Gonzalez (vocals and guitar), Mike Lightning (bass) and Louis Scase A.K.A Darkus Bishop (drums). History Gonzalez, bassist Mike Hankin (also kn ...

The Raincoats The Raincoats are a British experimental post-punk band. Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art in London. Signed to the label Rough Trade, the ...

Darren Hayman Darren Hayman (born 1 December 1970) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the writer, lead singer, and guitarist in Hefner. Since Hefner disbanded in 2002, Hayman has embarked on a prolific solo career releasing t ...

Comet Gain Comet Gain are a British indie pop band, formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist David Christian (aka David Feck/Charlie Damage) in 1992, with musical influences including post-punk and northern soul. Pitchfork called them "one of the most un ...

, The Proper Ornaments,

Mathew Sawyer Mathew John Sawyer (born 1977, Hammersmith, England) is a British visual artist and musician, who lives and works in London. Sawyer studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art in London. His band Mathew Sawyer and ...

, Dollboy and

Piano Magic Piano Magic was a musical collective formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance in London, England. Their sound has been described as ambient pop, post-rock, indietronica, dark wave, "arty baroque pop" and "En ...

. He works as senior lecturer at the

University of Westminster , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...

, where he teaches, researches and writes about music; in 2014, he published his study of

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...

and the Voidoids' '' Blank Generation'', as part of Bloomsbury's

33⅓ (Thirty-Three and a Third) is a series of books, each about a single music album. The series title refers to the rotation speed of a vinyl LP, RPM. History Originally published by Continuum, the series was founded by editor David Barker in ...

series. At the beginning of 2015, Astor signed to Fortuna Pop, and released the single "Mr Music", followed by an album, ''Spilt Milk'', recorded with James Hoare of

Veronica Falls Veronica Falls were an English indie pop band that formed in London in 2009. The band consisted of Roxanne Clifford and James Hoare, both on vocals and guitar, Marion Herbain on bass guitar and Patrick Doyle on drums and backing vocals. The mem ...

. 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 Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the ...

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 ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

) *"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) *"English Weather" (Tapete, 2022) *"Time on Earth" (Tapete, 2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, Pete 1960 births Living people English songwriters English rock musicians British indie pop musicians Creation Records artists English male singer-songwriters English male singers People from Hammersmith Matador Records artists Heavenly Recordings artists Academics of the University of Westminster British male songwriters