Peter Thomas (composer)


Peter Thomas was a German composer and arranger with an active career of more than 50 years. He was known for his TV and film soundtracks such as Raumpatrouille, the Edgar Wallace movies film series, and the Jerry Cotton film series.

Life

Thomas was born in Breslau, Silesia. In the 1950s, he played as a musician for the RIAS broadcaster, typically live.
The restored Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was re-opened in 2002 with a live version of the main theme of the Raumpatrouille soundtrack.
In his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, actor George Clooney used three tracks of Peter Thomas' music originally composed for Edgar Wallace movies of the 1960s. The 1990s avant-garde band Mr. Bungle performed his piece "Love In Space" on several dates of their 1995/1996 tour for Disco Volante. UK Plunderphonics and avant-garde band, The Perrinormal, name Peter Thomas as one of their main influences, alongside John Barry and Lalo Schifrin.
For some of his exceptional scores, Thomas used a self-developed musical instrument called "ThoWiephon", today being exhibited in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, standing near the famous Theremin, also being used in many movies. According to UCM.ONE, a Movie company currently releasing a movie with the Soundtrack composed by Peter Thomas, he died on 17 May 2020 in Lugano.

Films