The global house music community is mourning the passing of DJ/producer/promoter Peter ‘Woosh’ Birch, who died on October 2.
Birch, who was one-half of Digs & Woosh, was a founding member of DiY Soundsystem. The grassroots collective were instrumental in creating a thriving underground party scene in Nottingham, England in the late ’80s and ’90s.
Birch was diagnosed with a highly aggressive head and neck cancer on December 15, 2015. He declined chemotherapy and radiotherapy to embark on a path of self-learning and healing, using cannabis oils and other treatments.
Birch explained at the time, “After a lifetime of djing, drug-taking and bad lifestyle choices the news hardly came as a surprise.”
He added, “I decided to look into natural cancer treatments and plant medicines due to a personal belief that cancer can be managed naturally and holistically in ways which will have less impact on the individual.”
In 2019, a collective of DJs including The 2 Bears’ Raf Rundell, Crazy P’s Hot Toddy and French producer Brawther joined Birch’s free-party collective The 52 Card Trick, a weekly-drop of music by the Spirit Wrestlers label over 52 weeks to raise funds and awareness for natural healing and holistic approaches to living with cancer, recovery and prevention.
RIP Pete Woosh. Such a good man and a great DJ. Love to the DIY crew. I had some beautiful times with you. X
— Justin Robertson (@robertsonjustin) October 3, 2020
Oh that’s very very sad. RIP Pete Woosh from DIY. Lovely guy and a great DJ. All love ❤️
— ELLIOT EASTWICK (@Faycebuk) October 2, 2020
Sad news…RIP DIY’s Pete Woosh. They were such an influence on me and signed my first record. Enjoyed my time with him and the crew in Nottingham …💔
— Fred Everything (@fredeverything) October 2, 2020
Really sad to hear about the passing of Pete “Woosh” Birch of Digs & Woosh thoughts with all his family on the DIY crew.
💜— PBR Streetgang (@pbrstreetgang) October 3, 2020
Sad to hear about Pete Woosh, had many a night at DiY https://t.co/xB9jcECrST
— TheBlackDog (@TheBlackDog) October 3, 2020