British songwriter Pete Wylie is best known as the leader of the band Wah! and its various incarnations. Born in Liverpool on March 22, 1958, Peter James Wylie made his name in 1977 with The Crucial Three, alongside Ian McCulloch and Julian Cope, before each formed his own band, Wah! for Pete Wylie, Echo & the Bunnymen for McCulloch and Teardrop Explodes for Cope. Wylie played in other punk and new wave bands before founding Wah! in 1979, recording two albums under the name The Mighty Wah! He made his first solo album Sinful in 1987, created the short-lived Big Hard Excellent Fish project and collaborated with The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu in 1990, then reformed his band, now called Pete Wylie and Wah! The Mongrel, for the album Infamy! Or How I Didn't Get Where I Am Today (1991). The band reverted to The Mighty Wah! and recorded the album Songs of Strength & Heartbreak (2000), featuring the soccer anthem "Heart as Big as Liverpool", between London and Memphis. Wylie continues his solo career with a tribute to the Beach Boys entitled Pete Sounds (2017).