Budgie

Peter Edward Clarke (born 21 August 1957), known professionally as Budgie, is an English drummer best known for his work in Siouxsie and the Banshees. He is also the co-founder of the Creatures.

He was the drummer of the Slits in 1979. He was then a member of Siouxsie and the Banshees from 1979 to 1996 and a member of the Creatures from 1981 to 2004. Budgie worked with other musicians including John Cale, Leonard Eto (formerly of the Kodo Drummers), John Grant and Anohni with Hercules and Love Affair. In 2023, he released the album Los Angeles with Lol Tolhurst and Jacknife Lee: the lead single and title track featured James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem on vocals.

Spin rated him at No. 28 in their list of “The 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music”, writing: “Post-punk introduced a lot of amazing drummers, but none more influential than Budgie. With the Banshees, Budgie didn’t just play rhythms—he played hooks and leads, brilliant parts that set the songs on fire. His tom-tom-intensive approach, [was] enlightened by his awareness of world music”. Spin considered his “most booming moment” to be “Into the Light”, from 1981’s Juju, saying: “Budgie drums up a marvel of kinetic syncopation and invention”.Stewart Copeland of the Police described Budgie’s playing as “very economical and offbeat”, adding, “Budgie didn’t play your standard hi-hat–kick–snare; there were a lot of tom-toms and a big throb.” Ari Up of the Slits felt that he was “a very sensitive drummer”, saying, “He could go from reggae to punk to funk to jazz […] but still very steady.” NME readers voted Budgie the best drummer of 1983. Music journalist David Cavanagh commented that “Terry Chambers was, along with Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees, the outstanding English drummer of the post-punk era”. Ian McCulloch said that Echo & the Bunnymen’s drummer “Pete de Freitas loved his drumming”, and Larry Mullen Junior of U2 dubbed him “one

of the greats”.

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