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. He is also the co-founder of the Creatures. He was the drummer of the Slits in 1979. He was then a member of Siouxsie and the Banshees from 1979 to 1996 and a member of the Creatures from 1981 to 2004. Budgie worked with other musicians including John Cale, Leonard Eto (formerly of the Kodo Drummers), John Grant and Anohni with Hercules and Love Affair. Spin rated him at No. 28 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music", writing: "Post-punk introduced a lot of amazing drummers, but none more influential than Budgie. With the Banshees, Budgie didn't just play rhythms—he played hooks and leads, brilliant parts that set the songs on fire. His tom-tom-intensive approach, [was] enlightened by his awareness of world music". 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". Stewart Copeland of the Police described Budgie's playing as "very economical and offbeat", adding, "Budgie didn’t play your standard hi-hat–kick–snare; there were a lot of tom-toms and a big throb." Ari Up of the Slits felt that he was "a very sensitive drummer", saying, "He could go from reggae to punk to funk to jazz [...] but still very steady." NME readers voted Budgie the best drummer of 1983. 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". Ian McCulloch said that Echo & the Bunnymen's drummer "Pete de Freitas loved his drumming", and Larry Mullen Junior of U2 dubbed him "one of the greats". Career Budgie grew up in St Helens in the north west of England. He then lived in Liverpool in the 1970s, studying at an art school while being part of the local music scene. He rehearsed with other musicians at Eric's Club when there was no concert billed for the evening. He debuted as a drummer with the Spitfire Boys and Big in Japan before playing with the Slits on the 1979 album Cut. Years later in 2010, Slits singer Ari Up commented: In September 1979, he joined Siouxsie and the Banshees on their Join Hands tour. Initially he was intended to