Pete Gofton


Pete Gofton is a Sunderland-based musician and producer who is well known on the music scene of the North East of England and has been involved with many artists either playing with them or producing. He is the former drummer and guitarist for Kenickie and former guitarist for Frankie & The Heartstrings

History

As Johnny X, Gofton was drummer with Sunderland punk band Kenickie, formed in 1994 and disbanded in 1998, best known for the singles "Punka" and "In Your Car".
After Kenickie, Gofton worked under the name J Xaverre, described as "pop with knobs on", releasing These Acid Stars in 2003 on Memphis Industries after much critical acclaim. Gofton also found time to produce work by former Kenickie bandmate and sibling Lauren Laverne and bands such as Spraydog and Woodchuck.
A brief but popular stint as Meet Eric Roberts, alongside Maxïmo Park's Paul Smith, Field Music's Peter Brewis, and Jennie and the Bets' John Egdell in 2006, led to current project George Washington Brown. George Washington Brown released the album On the Night Plain in 2007 with further material in the works.
Gofton contributed to the album, and was a touring member of The Week That Was, the new project of Field Music member Peter Brewis.
Gofton is an ex-guitarist with Frankie & The Heartstrings.
In 2012, Gofton began working at the North East Surrey College of Technology as a music technology teacher.

Personal life

Gofton is the brother of Lauren Laverne, presenter of The Culture Show and Transmission. He has had many pseudonyms, such as 'that lad from South Shields',Johnny X, and then Pete Xtreme. The name J Xaverre stems from Kenickie's entry in The Great Indie Discography, which listed his supposed full name as "Johnny Xaverre" and furthermore claimed him to be the band's chief songwriter.
Originally thought to be pronounced to rhyme with 'fair', Gofton has since confirmed that it is to be pronounced 'Xavier'.
He appears on the cover of the Field Music album Tones of Town, as a café patronseemingly. He made an appearance in the 2006 film Confetti as a member of Snoopy's band.

Discography

Albums