For over 50 years, the image of Pete Way in full flight with a bass slung low around his striped trousers was the epitome of the rock bassist. Three stints with rock heavyweights UFO as well as Fastway, Waysted, the Pete Way Band and Ozzy Osbourne cemented his standing as a highly capable bassist and vocalist. Way used Fender Precision, Ibanez Iceman, Washburn B-20 and Epiphone Thunderbird basses, but his choice of a Gibson Thunderbird sits in the mind most vividly. He helped to create the concept of the mobile bassist at stage front, rather than at the rear of the stage, onto many musicians who went on to take up the instrument. Way died on August 14 at the age of 69, from injuries sustained in an earlier car accident. He leaves his wife and two children.
Mike Brooks