Pete and Twigs – Spirit Wrestlers

Nottingham this week lost not one, but two of our friends.

Whoever it was that joked this week about Twigger bringing some style to the dancefloor was not wrong. Tapping me up for the latest cashmere sweaters I was finding in charity shops a few years back, he would try one for size, giving us a twirl and a hug with a glint in his eye knowing it had his name all over it. They are mainly found in a size small, saying everything about his ability to seek out the finest attire, and absolutely nothing about the enormous heart, smile, shapes on the dancefloor and love he had to give. Nottingham is broken, reeling, shocked and devastated for our brother taken too soon.

Lorraine, our thoughts and hearts are with you.

In 2001 I was working amongst a great bunch of digital industry and software development folk. Sat next to my colleague Joe, he was telling me about a DIY party he wanted to get to but didn’t have a lift. I’d got the car but was billy no mates. It was to be my first DIY free party. Joe reminded me that it was a baptism of fire with a helicopter present and a police road block we ignored and drove through without flinching. “Let’s go”. The rest is history.

I’ve had the honour of working with Pete a couple of times. First was with Pete, Noel and Mick on Headstock Festival where they gave me their full support to book one of my favourite bands, the Herbaliser.

Last Christmas, Pete gave permission for Lifesupportmachine.co.uk to give away one of the tracks from his Spirit Wrestlers, label, a charitable project poignantly created during his fight for life, which was ultimately and tragically lost the same day as Twigger. I guess even more poignantly is that Spirit Wrestlers is plural.

Take a look at their Bandcamp page for the 52 card trick project which asks for a minimum £2 donation and all proceeds go to grass roots organisations without government funding or support.

Most of Nottingham is using the DIY logo online in tribute to these men, it would be good to see some support for the charity as a tribute to Matthew James Twigger and Peter Edward Birch as well.

Kate, our thoughts and hearts are with you too.

Finally, thank you to Sharon Storer for taking the photos of these two wonderful men, that capture the essence of exactly how I remember them.

 

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