In Memoriam: Pete Way – August 7, 1951 – August 14, 2020

With the daily arrival of new bands, new albums, and new subgenres, one tends to forget that heavy metal is indeed an old man’s music. Well, true heavy metal at least. How do I know this? I know this because here I am penning an in memoriam tribute to a UFO member for the second time this year. After a decade of various health issues, Pete Way has ascended to rock n’ roll heaven just a week after his 69th birthday.

How do you even approach something like this? On one hand, I guess you could say it’s miraculous Way made it this long. After all, this is a man who was banned by Sharon Osbourne from hanging out with Ozzy because he was a “bad influence”. Let that sink in for a second. As one of the founding members of UFO, Way helped craft a sound and image that has been often imitated, but never duplicated. He was perhaps the first wildman of the bass. Could you imagine the over the top onstage personas of Cronos, Nikki Sixx, or the late Cliff Burton without Pete Way? Neither could I.

The rhythmic groove of Way’s four string was as important to UFO as Phil Mogg’s soulful vocals, Michael Schenker’s savage leads, Andy Parker’s powerhouse drumming, and Paul Raymond’s auxiliary abilities. It wasn’t just his onstage antics that made him who he was. Revisit those classic UFO albums. Listen to the way he holds it down on a track like “Cherry”. His playing was precise, to the point, and cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jumBu28hXs

Way left UFO in 1982 to form Fastway with ex-Motörhead guitarist, Fast Eddie Clarke. Never the one to stay in the same place, he abandoned the project to briefly tour with his old pal Ozzy Osbourne and then formed his own namesake band, Waysted. Several of Way’s ex-UFO mates would reunite with him during Waysted’s run including Andy Parker, Paul Raymond, and Paul “Tonka” Chapman. Sure, it wasn’t the gritty, cutting edge, metallic attack of UFO. But in terms of slick, light hearted pop metal which dominated the era, Waysted delivered and then some.

As upset as I am about Way’s passing, I know it’s the last thing he’d want me to be. This was a man who lived his entire life on the edge. In the spirit of true heavy metal and rock n’ roll, spend this Friday night by drinking your finest booze and cranking your trusty old UFO albums to maximum volume. If the neighbors ain’t complaining, it ain’t loud enough.