Pete Thomas (born 9 August 1954, Hillsborough, Sheffield, England) is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello.

Career

Following early work with Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and John Stewart, Thomas was recruited as a member of Costello's backing band The Attractions in 1977. Elvis Costello & The Attractions would spend the next decade touring the world, and recording nine albums, including This Year's Model (1978), Get Happy!! (1980), and Blood & Chocolate (1986).

Although Costello split with The Attractions between 1987 and 1993, he continued to work regularly with Thomas during this period. Thomas played drums on the albums Spike (1989), Mighty Like a Rose (1991), and Kojak Variety (recorded in 1990 but not released until 1995) and was a member of Costello's 1989-1991 touring band, The Rude 5.

In 1993 Thomas joined the band Squeeze for their album "Some Fantastic Place" replacing Gilson Lavis on drums. He was not a part of that band after the one album.

In 1994, Thomas was part of a trio that included vocalist/avant garde opera diva, Diamanda Galás, and former Led Zeppelin bassist/multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones, who recorded the album, The Sporting Life.

Costello reunited with The Attractions for the albums Brutal Youth (1994) and All This Useless Beauty (1996). After Costello split with The Attractions for a second time, Thomas worked for the next few years primarily as a session drummer, recording with such artists as Suzanne Vega, Neil Finn, Vonda Shepard, Sheryl Crow, and John Paul Jones. During this period he also relocated from London to Los Angeles, and played local gigs with bassist Davey Faragher and guitarist Val McCallum, under the band name, Jack Shit. He also played on the Elliott Smith album, Figure 8 (Dreamworks) (2000) on the songs "Junk Bond Trader", "Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?" and "Can't Make A Sound".

In 2001 Costello recruited Thomas, Faragher, and fellow Attraction Steve Nieve to record the album that became When I Was Cruel (2002). Elvis Costello & The Imposters, as they were subsequently named, have gone on to tour extensively, and recorded the album The Delivery Man (2004).

Thomas lives in Los Angeles, with his wife Judy. Their daughter Tennessee is drummer for the band The Like. In 2003 Pete Thomas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions.

External link

• Official Website