Paul Halmshaw also known as "Hammy" (born 1965) is a British musician who founded Peaceville Records, which signed some of the most infamous death, black, and doom metal and crust punk bands worldwide in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.
In 1988 he released the first album on the label, a compilation called A Vile Peace featuring Chumbawamba,[2] Sore Throat (whom he joined as drummer from 1988 to 1990), Axegrinder, Electro Hippies, Doom, Deviated Instinct, Hellbastard, and many more.
As the label grew, he signed more professional acts like Autopsy, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Darkthrone, At the Gates, Vital Remains, and many others throughout the early 1990s.
In December 2016, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the founding of the record label proper, he released his memoirs,[5] entitled Peaceville Life.
In August 2019 it was reissued by UK publishing house Cult Never Dies [8] As of March 2021, Paul was diagnosed with hereditary dilated cardiomyopathy.