Biography
Pete Way earned his primary recognition as UFO's bassist, though his résumé also included tenures with Waysted, Fastway, and Ozzy Osbourne's road band. He entered the world on August 7, 1951, in Enfield, Middlesex, and joined Phil Mogg and Andy Parker to launch UFO in 1969. Modest headway came during the early 1970s, yet the band's identity crystallized only after German guitarist Michael Schenker arrived, yielding the influential heavy-metal landmarks Lights Out in 1977, Obsession in 1978, and Strangers in the Night in 1979. Throughout that period UFO also acquired a reputation as one of rock's most relentlessly hard-partying groups. Photographers frequently captured Way with a low-slung Gibson Thunderbird bass and a polka-dotted stage outfit.
UFO persisted following Schenker's departure in 1979, and Way himself exited in 1982. He next helped form Fastway alongside ex-Motörhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke, only to leave shortly after the band's self-titled 1983 album became an unexpected U.S. success; the move allowed him to join Ozzy Osbourne's touring lineup and simultaneously start Waysted. That new group issued several albums in quick succession, among them the modestly charting Vices in 1983 and a self-titled set in 1984, before disbanding. Way returned to UFO in the early 1990s, after which the classic Schenker-era lineup reconvened for Walk on Water in 1995. Alongside Mogg he also recorded under the Mogg/Way name while keeping UFO active into the early twenty-first century, with Vinnie Moore now occupying Schenker's slot. During those same years Way put out multiple solo projects and revived Waysted. On August 14, 2020, two months after a serious accident, Pete Way died at age 69.
UFO persisted following Schenker's departure in 1979, and Way himself exited in 1982. He next helped form Fastway alongside ex-Motörhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke, only to leave shortly after the band's self-titled 1983 album became an unexpected U.S. success; the move allowed him to join Ozzy Osbourne's touring lineup and simultaneously start Waysted. That new group issued several albums in quick succession, among them the modestly charting Vices in 1983 and a self-titled set in 1984, before disbanding. Way returned to UFO in the early 1990s, after which the classic Schenker-era lineup reconvened for Walk on Water in 1995. Alongside Mogg he also recorded under the Mogg/Way name while keeping UFO active into the early twenty-first century, with Vinnie Moore now occupying Schenker's slot. During those same years Way put out multiple solo projects and revived Waysted. On August 14, 2020, two months after a serious accident, Pete Way died at age 69.