Peter Edward Clarke (born 21 August 1957), known professionally as Budgie, is an English drummer best known for his work in Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Initially he was intended to be a temporary replacement for Kenny Morris, who had left the band two days into a tour, but Budgie remained with the group.
He first performed with guitarist John McGeoch on the album Kaleidoscope: Budgie became a permanent member of the band until they split up in 1996.
[4] Within the Banshees, he wrote the lyrics of several songs, including "She's Cuckoo", "Silver Waterfalls", "Staring Back", "Sick Child", "Hang Me High" and "Return" (the latter was co-written with Siouxsie).
[5] For the Creatures, he wrote the lyrics for several Boomerang-era songs, including "Willow", "Morriña" and "Pluto Drive" (the latter was co-written with Siouxsie).
In August 2002, Budgie first collaborated with Japanese taiko player Leonard Eto (formerly of the Kodo Drummers), recording spontaneous drum-duet improvisations in Tokyo for the fourth Creatures album, Hái!.
After recording four studio albums as the Creatures, Budgie's final performance with Siouxsie (featuring Eto and the Millennia Ensemble) was filmed in 2004 at the Royal Festival Hall in London for the DVD Dreamshow.
In 1994, Budgie recorded percussion on Hector Zazou's Chansons des mers froides, including a song for Jane Siberry.
[8] In 2010, he teamed up with two other drummers, Eto and Mabi, plus multi-instrumentalist Knox Chandler and guitarist Sugizo, for a programme called "The Butterfly Effect: East-West Percussive Parade."
[9] The programme's world première took place in Hong Kong in November 2010 as part of the New Vision Arts Festival.
"The Butterfly Effect" featured improvised solos and ensemble works as well as new pieces and arrangements specially created for the festival, inspired by the pace, rhythm and character of Hong Kong.
[19] He recorded percussion for Peaches for her cover version of Marc Bolan's "Solid Gold Easy Action" in 2020.
[20] In October 2021, Budgie and Lol Tolhurst launched the Curious Creatures podcast, in which they talk about "post punk’s enduring legacy and contemporary relevance".
[21] On a suggestion of Anohni who admired the percussion work on the Creatures' records,[22] Budgie contributed to Hercules and Love Affair's album In Amber: they contacted him "to derail some of the arrangements for more impact".
[28] Mojo praised it as "thrilling", saying that "Los Angeles lands with a visceral impact, rich texturing and smart distortions adding a destabilising wobble".
Spin considered his "most booming moment" to be "Into the Light", from 1981's Juju, saying: "Budgie drums up a marvel of kinetic syncopation and invention".
"[2] Music journalist David Cavanagh commented that "Terry Chambers was, along with Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees, the outstanding English drummer of the post-punk era".