Peter Anthony Watts (16 January 1946 – 2 August 1976) was an English road manager and

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

who worked with rock band

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

Early life

Watts was born on 16 January 1946, in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England, the son of Jane Patricia Grace (''née'' Rolt; born 1923, in Naivasha,

Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa from 1920 until 1963. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a Brit ...

) and Anthony Watts. Watts had one older brother, Michael, and one younger sister, Patricia. Watts' mother remarried, to Anthony Daniells, in 1989.

Career

Watts was the road manager for Pretty Things before joining

as their first experienced road manager. Alongside fellow roadie Alan Styles, he appears on the rear cover of Pink Floyd's 1969 album '' Ummagumma'', shown with the band's van and equipment laid out on a runway at Biggin Hill Airport, with the intention of replicating the "exploded" drawings of military aircraft and their payloads, which were popular at the time. On the 1973 album '' The Dark Side of the Moon'', he contributed the repeated laughter on "

Brain Damage Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage. A common ...

", and was also heard in the album's overture, " Speak to Me". His wife Patricia 'Puddie' Watts was responsible for the line about the "geezer" who was "cruisin' for a bruisin used in the segue between "

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

" and " Us and Them", and the words "I never said I was frightened of dying." heard near the end of " The Great Gig in the Sky".

Personal life

In 1966, Watts married Myfanwy Edwards-Roberts, the daughter of a Welsh father and Australian mother, who was an antiques dealer and costume and set designer. They had two children, Ben (b. 1967; a photographer), and Naomi (b. 1968; an actress). The couple divorced in 1972. After the divorce, the children were raised by their grandparents and their mother as she built a career. The family relocated to London. Peter Watts left Pink Floyd's service in 1974. In 1976, he married Patricia Deighton, known as "Puddie", who can also be heard on ''The Dark Side of the Moon.''

Death

In August 1976, Watts was found dead in a flat in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

, London, from a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

. After his death, Pink Floyd provided financial support to his two young children. The money allowed the family to move to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, in 1982, where Edwards-Roberts became part of a burgeoning film industry.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Peter 1946 births 1976 deaths People from Bedford Road crew English audio engineers Deaths by heroin overdose in England