Peter Thomas

by John Bush

Practically uncontested as the original German electro-lounge pioneer, Peter Thomas fused the spy-string paranoia of John Barry with Carnaby Street go-go music and lounge on his recordings for several German sci-fi series of the 1960s, including Raumpatrouille (Space Patrol) and Der Bann von dem Sinister (The Spell of the Sinister One). His Sound Orchestra was also the beginning for another notable producer, Giorgio Moroder. Long neglected during the 1970s, '80s and '90s, Thomas experienced a revival of sorts in the late '90s. After Bungalow Records and City Slang reissued a Raumpatrouille collection in 1996, Pulp sampled a track to create the title song for their album 1997 This Is Hardcore. Two Thomas collections appeared in 1998, Tanzmusik of general interest and 100% Cotton which recycled Thomas' soundtrack material for the series of Jerry Cotton films (Cotton was the German equivalent of James Bond). The inevitable remix album Warp Back to Earth appeared in early 1999.