Peter James Stapleton (25 April 1954 – 22 March 2020) was a musician from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

who was best known as the drummer and co-founder of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

The Terminals The Terminals were a New Zealand alternative rock band. They released material on the Xpressway and Flying Nun Records, Flying Nun labels. History The band was formed in 1988, with several members being veterans of other bands. Vocalist Stephe ...

. Stapleton was also a member of the groups Vacuum, The Pin Group, Dadamah, Flies Inside The Sun, Eye, and Scorched Earth Policy.

Career

Stapleton was principally a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

, although he also contributed

shortwave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

and sample manipulations to various recordings. In 1976 Stapleton joined Vacuum, who went largely unrecorded. The band consisted of Stapleton,

Bill Direen William Direen (born 1957) is a New Zealand writer and performer. He graduated from Canterbury University (Christchurch) with the John Tinline Prize (1980) and M.A. Hons. (1st). His masters thesis was titled ''The influence of Japanese noh, B ...

, Steve Cogle, Peter Fryer and, later replacing Fryer, Alan Meek. When Vacuum split,

went on to form

The Bilders Bilders (or Builders) is a New Zealand music group of varying lineups that produced a string of self-recorded 7-inch vinyl releases between 1980 and 1982 leading to Beatin Hearts, the first studio-album from fledgling New Zealand indie label, ind ...

, while Stapleton, Cogle, Tony O'Grady and Meek, along with singer/songwriter Mary Heney transformed into The Victor Dimisich Band, which released its first self-titled EP on the

Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...

label in 1982. The Victor Dimisich Band disbanded, and posthumously released a cassette, ''Mekong Delta Blues'', on the

Xpressway Xpressway was a record label founded by New Zealand musician Bruce Russell (musician), Bruce Russell in Dunedin in 1988. Until it ceased in 1993, Xpressway released a variety of New Zealand musicians, primarily on cassette, but its catalogue incl ...

label in 1988. Stapleton and Cogle went on to form

in 1986. Stapleton also formed The Pin Group with

Roy Montgomery Roy Montgomery (born 1959) is a composer, guitarist and lecturer from Christchurch, New Zealand. Montgomery's mostly instrumental solo works have elements of post-rock, lo-fi, folk and avant-garde experimentation. His signature sound might be d ...

and Ross Humphries. Their 1981 "Ambivalence" 7-inch was the first release on the Flying Nun label. Another 7-inch, "Coat" was issued later that year, followed by ''The Pin Group Go To Town'' EP in 1982. The Pin Group then disbanded, yet reunited in 1992 for the "Eleven Years After" 7-inch. A compilation of these recordings was released in 1997 on the

Siltbreeze Siltbreeze is an American independent record label based in Philadelphia. It is known for its eclectic roster of artists and releases of experimental, noise, folk, and rock-based music. Founded in 1989 by Ohio native Tom Lax, the label evolved out ...

label, and later in expanded form on Flying Nun. Stapleton formed the

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band

Scorched Earth Policy A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communi ...

, who released two EPs; ''Dust to Dust'' (1984) and ''Going Through a Hole in the Back of Your Head'' (1985). These recordings were later compiled and reissued on the Medication label as ''Keep Away From The Wires,'' and on the Siltbreeze label as ''Going Thru' A Hole in the Back of Your Head''. During the 1990s, Stapleton moved into more

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

music, forming bands such as Dadamah, Flies Inside The Sun, and

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

. In 1996 he founded the Metonymic and Medication record labels. From 2003 until his death, he played in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

improvised psychedelic noise rock trio Eye. Stapleton died in Dunedin on 22 March 2020.

References

External links

Biography at New Zealand Electronic Poetry CentreAn interview with Peter StapletonAn interview with The TerminalsInterview with Peter Stapleton (parts 1 – 3)Interview with Peter Stapleton (parts 4 & 5)Interview with Peter Stapleton (parts 6 – 8)Interview with Peter Stapleton (parts 9 and 10)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stapleton, Peter 1954 births 2020 deaths New Zealand drummers Musicians from Dunedin