Our dear mate Peter Allan left us peacefully on the 30th of May 2024. Words can’t describe our feelings of loss of our brother in music. We all thought he would continue with his remarkable ability to bounce back from adversity for a lot longer, because he had done it so many times before.

Peter was a determined powerhouse of a bloke, he defied the odds in 2020, suffered a heart attack onstage, was saved by people at the gig and paramedics and then had a stroke to make things even worse. When he came home and we got around him, we all thought he’d never play drums again. Little did we know that Peter had other plans. Slowly but surely over 18 months he got himself back in the seat in his studio and climbed a mountain to get match fit and made a triumphant return to the kit in 2022.

New songs were coming thick and fast and they all got the signature treatment of the master in groove himself. At Peter’s studio in Reynella, the question was asked “do we want to have another crack at the blues challenge?”

Prepping for the gig of our lives created an even tighter bond between us, there’s nothing like the pressure of a gig on the other side of the world to make you work bloody hard, we did, and none more so than Peter. He was constantly working, talking about, or listening to recordings to nail his part. It is pretty hard to name anyone else that was as committed to his craft as Peter, he was immersed in music in a way that not only made him play superbly, but he always found a way to support every single musician that ever shared a stage with him.

To see the pure joy on Peter’s face in Memphis, and the trip to New Orleans afterwards was really something special, we had a hell of a time. He drove us bananas at times as he was like a kid in a lolly shop over there, he’d disappear to the point we had to air tag him so we knew where he was. He had a four year life bonus and he wasn’t wasting a second of it.

Right up to the point where he couldn’t play the last gig, and despite getting the terrible diagnosis of the last two weeks of his life, most of the conversation was “how did the gig go” and discussions of “this is what I want you guys to do.”

The world has lost a magnificent human being, he was determined, loving, bloody funny and had more friends than anyone else we know. He would light a room up with gags, and then look down his peak cap with the cheekiest of smiles.

When we saw him just before he passed, he said his only regret was that he wouldn’t get to see what we did next. Whatever we do next, we will make you proud mate. Our love to Lorraine and all of Peter’s family.

Rest easy brother, right in the pocket. ah one, ah two, ah one two three four………..