Peter Perrett

Who is Peter Perrett?

Peter Perrett is an English singer-songwriter. He fronts the recently re-formed 1970s band, The Only Ones. Perrett lives in Forest Hill, South East London. The Only Ones, often described as new wave, were noted for their musicianship during the punk period, and their roots go back to the late 1960s. Perrett is influenced by Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and his eyeliner-look and tendency to disappear share similarities with the reclusive Barrett.

Perrett re-emerged briefly between 1994 and 1996 fronting a new band called The One which released an EP called Cultured Palate, and a full length album Woke up Sticky. Similar themes of vampirism, addiction and saturation which influenced his songwriting with The Only Ones appear on these records. Songs such as "Twilight World" and "Law of The Jungle" reveal Perrett's abiding fixation with social relations breaking down into disease and parasitism. Perrett's Gothic vision is concerned with the abuses of power. It is partly informed by his interest in Aleister Crowley, which is celebrated in the classic Only Ones song "The Whole of The Law".

Hardly anything was heard of Perrett until he appeared on stage with The Libertines in April 2004. He also appeared in concert with his sons Jamie and Peter, Jr. and their band Love Minus Zero. Long hiatuses in his music career have been ascribed to his enduring struggles with heroin and crack cocaine addiction.