Pete Woosh

Pete Woosh

Pete Woosh started playing records in the late 1980s, always an avid collector of a wide range of music, from soundtracks to jazz, roots to dance. His records were “a route out of what could have ended up a dreary existence in a small Northern town”. In 1990 he moved to Nottingham joining the then fledgling DiY Sound System and, after meeting a bunch of travellers at Glastonbury ’90, the Free Parties began in earnest.

DiY was one of Britain’s first house sound systems, the group divided their activities “between free parties and legal club nights, acting as a bridge between counter-culture and the mainstream”. They became a ‘fuck you’ to the pay parties that offered much and gave little. DiY’s parties were about moments under the stars, with no security and no door charge. They invited participants to “bring what you can to the party, but be sure to make it count!” This inclusive attitude led to the formation of a cohesive collective, a political front against the prevailing anti-rave legislation which was coming into force at the time. DiY’s name was firmly placed in free party / counter culture history when the collective played a key role in holding the UK’s largest ever illegal rave at the Castlemorton Common Festival.

Always cultivating a spirit of cross pollination, with efforts somewhere between club culture, free parties, situationism and launching numerous record labels; Strictly 4 Groovers / DiY Discs and DiY Diversions, somehow a quarter of a century of righteous partying passed by. August 2014 saw DiY celebrate its silver anniversary, in the way they love best, a free party in a field in the Midlands, with a big sound system and lots of flashing lights.

Pete still plays records for DiY and was recently invited to play at Banksy’s Dismaland. He currently records and curates for the Spirit Wrestlers label; named after the Russian Doukhabors who were persecuted and excommunicated from 19th century Russia for their beliefs. The Spirit Wrestlers moniker is also used for a series of Interventions, of what some may call an art based nature!

www.vice.com/en_uk/read/diy-25th-anniversary-scott-oliver-125
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bUgtdAgClU
www.facebook.com/Spirit-Wrestlers-1420148774916051/timeline/