The Pete Quaife Foundation

Atom Retro is proud to be in alliance with The Pete Quaife Foundation.

Pete Quaife, one of the founding members of The Kinks and their bass player up until 1969, sadly passed away in 2010 after battling kidney failure and enduring kidney dialysis for more than ten years. Shortly after, his brother, Dave Quaife, decided to start The Pete Quaife Foundation in his memory. The foundation aims to give children on dialysis treatment some means of enjoyment, interest or entertainment while undergoing their four hours of treatment three times per week – providing equipment such as portable DVD players, Kindles etc that can be sterilized. To achieve this The Pete Quaife Foundation arranges gigs and events to raise funds and awareness.

 

Recent Pete Quaife Foundation News:

• The Pete Quaife Foundation - Article about the foundation which was first published in issue 1 of Up&Atom Magazine, Autumn 2013.

 

More news can be found on the Atom Retro official blog - Up&Atom.

 

About The Pete Quaife Foundation: 

Pete Quaife was born on 31st December 1943 in Tavistock, Devon, but moved to North London with his family when he was still young. After briefly studying commercial art, Pete formed a band along with school friend, Dave Davies. They later asked Dave's brother, Ray to join and considered a few names including the Pete Quaife Band, The Bo-Weevils and The Ramrods, before (temporarily) settling on The Ravens. A little later they asked drummer Mick Avory to join and decided to change their name to The Kinks.

The rest, as they say, is history. The Kinks rose to international fame. They had many hit singles and albums, including the number one's 'You Really Got Me', 'Tired of Waiting For You' and 'Sunny Afternoon'.

In early 1969, Pete told The Kinks he intended to leave, somthing the rest of the band didn't consider seriously until they saw an advert in NME for Pete's new band. Ray Davies asked Pete to return to The Kinks, but he refused, instead investing his time and talents into country-rock group, Mapeloak. Mapeloak enjoyed touring sucess but chart success would ellude them and Pete decided to leave the band in 1970.

In 1980 Pete moved to Ontario, Canada, where he taught classical guitar and worked as a graphic artist, fine artist, and college instructor of astronomy. In 1981 he made his only post-sixties appearence with The Kinks playing bass in an encore number at a show in Toronto. Along with the other original members of The Kinks, Pete was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. He was diagnosed with renal failure in 1998. During dialysis treatment sessions, Pete drew a series of cartoons based on his experiences. The cartoons were published in 2004 as The Lighter Side of Dialysis.

In 2005 Pete was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame with The Kinks, marking the final reunion of the four original band members. 

Sadly, Pete died after more than a decade long struggle with End Stage Renal Failure in on the 23rd of June 2013 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was 66.

Shortly afterwards, David Quaife, Pete's brother decided to try and publish Pete's book, Veritas. A fictional account of a 1960's beat group, largely based on Pete's experiences with The Kinks and beyond. Dave also arranged for a blue plaque to be placed at Fortismere School, where the band had started. Following this event, Dave had the idea to start fundraising. He said, "I remembered how hard it was for Pete attending the dialysis clinic every other day for four hours, with nothing to do because everything in the clinic had to be sterile, no books... [I thought] it would be a great idea to supply kindles, play stations and more (which can be sterilized) to the children attending dialysis treatment." And so The Pete Quaife Foundation began. Each year they arrange events and live music gigs to raise funds and awareness. In September 2013, The Pete Quaife Foundation launched a new 35 track CD, featuring both original music and covers of Kinks songs. All royalties from the CD will go to the foundation.

To learn more about the Pete Quaife Foundation, donate or offer your support, please visit the Pete Quaife Foundation website: http://www.petequaifefoundation.com

 

All images/logos © David Quaife, used by permission.