Pete & the Pirates

Pete and the Pirates
Performing live at 013, Tilburg in 2009
Background information
Origin	Reading, England
Genres	Indie pop, indie rock, post-punk revival
Years active	2004–2012
Labels	Stolen Recordings Little Teddy Recordings
Website	www.peteandthepirates.co.uk/
Members	Thomas Sanders Pete Hefferan David Thorpe Pete Cattermoul Jonny Sanders

Pete and the Pirates were an English indie rock band from Reading. The band consisted of Thomas Sanders (vocals), Peter Hefferan (vocals and guitar), David Thorpe (guitar), Peter Cattermoul (bass) and Jonny Sanders (drums). They have extensively toured the UK and Europe.

Brothers Tommy Sanders and Jonny Sanders grew up playing music together at home in their early teens. Jonny later played in a band with Guitarist David Thorpe while attending Maiden Erlegh School in Reading. It was not until they all left school that they met with Bassist Peter Cattermoul and Guitarist Peter Hefferan, who had also played music together in their late teens, that the band was formed. Initially, the lineup did not include Tommy Sanders and was fronted by Peter Hefferan.

After playing just a few shows around Reading, the band were invited on a short tour with all-girl punk band Wetdog, who took them to play at The Spitz in Spitalfield Market. It was here that the band was picked up by a new indie label Stolen Recordings and where they would begin to build their reputation as an exciting live act. Just a few months later, the bands was in a studio in Hornsey making their first EP.

The band's first release, the Get Even EP, was limited to 500 numbered CDs, all with handmade covers.

Rough Trade wrote of the EP "The six tracks have folk bits, byrdsy harmony bits, kraut-rock frug-outs, punk blasts of power and superb pop moments all segued and strewn together carelessly but precisely. It's oddball and charming and would sit perfectly next to the englishness of the Mystery Jets or Wire, although they sound like neither."

After the release of their first EP, the band came to the notice of Jason Lamont of CMO Management. The band continued to play more shows around London and the UK and Tommy Sanders joined the group in 2006. Sometime after this the band were approached by Lamont for management and also by William Morris Endeavor for live bookings. Songs from Wait, Stop Begin would appear later on the debut album Little Death.

On 25 August 2007 the band played in the Carling Tent at Reading Festival. They also played guerilla gigs in the campsite later that day, which came to the attention of the NME who featured an article in their magazine.