Peter Laughner

• Name — Peter Laughner • Birth Name — Peter Ravenscroft Laughner • Died — 22 June 1977 • Place of death — Cleveland, Ohio, United States • Birthplace — Bay Village, Ohio, United States • Instrument — Guitar • Genre — * Rock • acoustic • proto-punk • garage rock • Occupation — * Singer-songwriter • guitarist • Years Active — 1968–1977 • Past Member Of — * Rocket from the Tombs • Pere Ubu • Friction • Cinderella Backstreet

Laughner led a variety of groups. Among them were Mr. Charlie, Cinderella Backstreet, Peter & The Wolves, The Blue Drivers, and Friction. However, his most enduring contributions were to Rocket From The Tombs and the early work of Pere Ubu. In addition to all this, he wrote for Creem magazine. Laughner was a voracious rock fan and writer, and was heavily influenced by the writings of Lester Bangs. Like Bangs, Laughner admired Lou Reed, but also drew inspiration from folk and blues figures such as Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie. Tom Verlaine was also one of Laughner's idols. Laughner admired the early New York punk scene, routinely hanging around prominent CBGB figures like Patti Smith, Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine during the early 1970s. He had reportedly auditioned to replace Richard Hell in Television and was responsible for organizing the band's first gig outside NYC, which was played in Cleveland, Ohio.

Laughner had severe drug and alcohol abuse problems, which were self-attributed to his emulation of rock heroes like Lou Reed. This behavior contributed to his bandmates in Pere Ubu bringing up concerns regarding his unreliability, which led him to leave the band in 1976. He subsequently joined the writing staff of Creem alongside Lester Bangs. Laughner's drug abuse ultimately led to his death from acute pancreatitis on June 22, 1977 at the age of 24. Lester Bangs wrote a eulogy for him, simply titled "Peter Laughner is Dead". Rumors to the effect that Laughner was despondent, even suicidal, at the time of his death have been contradicted by Laughner's last known message, written and mailed to Cleveland singer Ruby Port on the evening prior to his death. This letter revealed his intent to move to a retreat in the Ohio countryside, where he could write new music as well as rest and regain his health.