As a Black Country teenager in the late 1970s, bassist Williams was invited by an old school friend to join an unnamed “new wave soul group” little imagining that the band would becomeDexys Midnight Runners. Before he knew it, Pete was part of an outfit that had supported The Specials on their first 2 Tone tour, seen their debut album Searching For the Young Soul Rebels rightly hailed as an all-time classic, and scored a No 1 hit single with Geno.
Further success followed, with pivotal 1980s bands The Bureau and These Tender Virtues. And, in 2003, Pete rejoined the reformed Dexys, taking centre stage with Kevin Rowland for a UK tour, and recording sessions that eventually became the 2012 comeback album One Day I’m Going To Soar.
The resulting live show – with Pete once again at the forefront alongside Kevin – received rave reviews for both its musicianship and its theatricality. Since then, Pete has released two solo albums: 2012 effort See, with Richard Hawley on guitar and 2015 follow-up Roughnecks and Roustabouts.