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© Pete Wells 2001- 2007
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In Memory
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Dave Tice eulogy for Peter
We’re here today to say our goodbyes to Pete Wells
a loved and respected friend, someone who in one way or another has
touched our lives and had a part in shaping who we are. The fact is that
Pop has influenced and inspired a great many people, we all know about
his immense contribution to Australian music, but just as important is
the example of how he chose to live his life. And make no mistake, Pete
lived how he chose to live, he wasn’t interested in playing someone
else’s game.
He’s been called the “Rock and Roll Outlaw”
and there’s no denying he was that, but there was a lot more than that
to Pete, and those of us who knew him well can attest to his incisive
wit and genuine humanity.
He was a loyal friend who cared deeply about
the people around him and was always ready with a word of good advice or
encouragement when it was needed. His insights into the workings of the
music business were profound and he passed on this knowledge to anyone
who took the time to listen.
Pete and I met in
Brisbane in about 1966 when we formed our first band, we were both just
teenagers and pretty green, but already Pete had a good working
knowledge of what it took to make a great Rock and Roll band. We did our
time playing around Queensland and finally decided we’d have a go in the
big smoke, so off we went to Sydney where we spent a lot of time dossing
around the Cross and putting together Buffalo. During all this time Pete
was playing Bass, which he did very well indeed. As we all know he found
his true vocation when he took up Slide Guitar and formed “Rose Tattoo”,
the rest is history; he’s regarded world-wide as a unique treasure.
Pete was a generous man who never forgot his
friends. I remember when I turned 50 a taxi-driver appeared at my front
door and handed me a guitar case, when I took it inside and opened it up
there was a shiny, new red Bo-Diddley guitar inside with the message
“happy 50th from Pete”, so I rang him to say thanks and he said “no
worries mate I thought it was time you smartened up your image”.
If we can trace
a man’s journey through this life by the tracks he leaves behind then
Pete’s left some pretty large tracks. He wasn’t one to submit easily and
fought the good fight right up to the end. We won’t see his like again,
but we can take comfort in knowing he was our’s for a while.
So long Pete, we’ll miss you.
Dave Tice (Pete's funeral 30 March 2006) |
EULOGY FOR PETE WELLS by Chris Turner
Pete Wells (September 2005)
I met Pete Wells in 1973; he just nodded at me
when the band Buffalo turned up to one of my gigs in Wollongong. Our
friendship could have stalled at that point and we might have remained
nodding acquaintances, if it weren’t for our mutual desire to make good
music. We both detested the naff pop music that was being pushed onto
the Australian market by ‘vacuum salesmen’ and feckless TV hosts.
Pete never said much, but a snort of derision from him was enough to
make you rethink your idea. Pete loved to take musical risks and would
purposely not rehearse so that the on stage tension was always high. I
never got to rehearse with Buffalo or Rose Tattoo nor did he ever
rehearse with my Chris Turner Band or Scattered Aces.
People thought Pete was a hard man, but in fact underneath he was quite
fragile and his ego easily bruised, just like the rest of us. Pete was a
strong man, sticking to his musical guns throughout his long career. On
those long nights in yet another motel room he would talk to me about
his new “Band of Keith Richards’ with no fuckin’ pretty boys”. We would
talk about being the loudest in the world and about the fact that the
electric guitar was indeed the loudest instrument in history and we
should exploit this. Pete would quote his father and say “If you’re
gonna be a dog be an Alsatian!”
Pete loved to jam, playing bass or guitar with players he liked – I have
hours of stuff we recorded. Pete almost never did a second take when
recording and we could record an album in under three hours. Pete Wells
was a ‘Closet Professional’, doing hours of practice and prep at home so
that he knew his stuff.
Another side to Pete was that he loved food and on the road we would
head for the best restaurant in town to enjoy a good wine and dine. We
kept this habit up for well over thirty years meeting up two or three
times a month for a good meal. These nights were never ordinary with too
much wine and too much food. He also went through a cooking stage which
was interesting!
Except when he was playing the guitar, Pete would not let his left hand
know what his right was up to and it was quite hard to figure out what
he really thought. He was very political about the music industry,
phoning me up constantly saying “You’ll never fuckin’ believe this…!” It
was a wonder to behold him doing ten radio interviews and telling a
different story to each hapless DJ. He would also tell everyone in the
band a different version of what was “really happening” – this made life
interesting!
Pete had a really strong personality and would have people doing all
sorts of things for him and in this way drag them into his orbit, which
could be hard to break out off. I had to get away from Pete’s influence
a few times in the past 33 years and I’m sure he was offended at the
time.
Pete and Chris onstage
Originally from Brisbane, Pete was a gypsy at heart, moving around
the place, Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland although he lived close to me
for twenty years in Darlinghurst and just down the road from me in
Sydney’s Inner West. We would meet for coffee regularly.
Pete loved to improvise in all things. He would love to throw new music
at you and create musical tension that would force you to play right on
the edge. A good example of this was with ‘Rocks Push’ when we were dong
a ‘Live To Air’ on the World Wide Web. Doug Mulray asked us to do one
more piece and Pete with a smile on his face announced that we’d do “So
What”, a Miles Davis tune that we both admired. We had never played it!
Pete and I played together in most of our bands, Rose Tattoo, Buffalo,
Chris Turner Band, Rocks Push, Scattered Aces, The Laminex Tables,
Turner Wells & Royal, The Pete Wells Band, The Bandits, The Blues
Pirates and The Lucy De Soto Band. We also had an acoustic blues duo
called ‘Two Pissed’ in the early eighties. When Doug Mulray asked Pete
why we always played together he replied “Habit”.
Pete was musically active all the time, but unfortunately very few
people took any notice of his many and varied projects. There was no
time when Pete did not have a recording happening, but as is usually the
case only Rose Tattoo, and maybe Buffalo, got any cred. Pete was upset
by this but has still left us with dozens of albums to catch up on.
Pete was a frantic slide player and a phenomenal bass player and a great
Rock n’ Roller. He also played Sax and Harmonica.
Pete was not completely a hard case, when the mood was on him he would
talk for hours on life, the universe, the music business and to me even
on his most inner thoughts and fears. He was indeed a very secretive
person, keeping his cards very close to his chest.
Pete loved to ‘hold court’ and in his local pub could be found
surrounded by devoted admirers, hanging on every word. Of course they
couldn’t hear what Pete was saying because he mumbled! Even if they
could hear his pearls of wisdom they wouldn’t understand, because
everything was delivered in Pete’s special cryptic code! One had to work
it out for yourself!
Women loved Pete and he had time for them all, full of charm and
secrets…….
Pete Wells was the real thing, a lifer, a professional musician who
never did a day job and never compromised his search for great rock n’
roll. He was fiercely loyal to his friends and was always there for me
when I needed help. He actually re formed Rose Tattoo and arranged a
benefit concert for me when I had a heart problem. He also trusted me
enough to play slide for Rose Tattoo!
They say that life can be likened to a train ride, with people getting
on and off, some people staying on for a long ride whilst others are
only with us for a short journey. If this is the case, this was a hell
of a ride and I’m glad that Pete Wells was in my carriage!Chris Turner March 2006
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