Snowy White Says Peter Green Went Very Strange In The End

Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Snowy White recently spoke to Louder Sound and opened up about his relationship with Peter Green, acknowledging that the late musician’s mental condition deteriorated over time.

Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green formed the band in 1967 along with the drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer. Although he was a founding member and played a prominent role in the band’s creative process, the singer’s tenure was short-lived. He had to leave Fleetwood Mac in 1970 when his mental health issues, reportedly triggered by his use of psychedelic drugs, started affecting his performances negatively.

A few years after his departure from the band, Green was diagnosed with schizophrenia and received treatment in psychiatric hospitals for several years. Unfortunately, the guitarist died aged 73 in July 2020. In a new interview, Snowy White, who met Peter Green at the beginning of his career as a session musician, reflected on their lifelong friendship.

After talking about their memories from their youth, White was asked how he felt about the common depiction of Green’s life as a tragic story. The guitarist admitted that the late musician had become a sad figure over time, especially towards the end of his life. He would act pretty strangely when Snowy White went to see him occasionally. Green had failed to take care of himself, which was heartbreaking to witness for the guitarist.

Snowy White’s words on Peter Green:

“Well, he turned into a slightly tragic figure. He went very strange in the end. I’d go and see him, and he was in a really strange way, his fingernails so long they curled up. He’d just let himself go. That was sad. But I accepted it as Pete’s path.”

Besides being a permanent member of Thin Lizzy during the early 1980s, Snowy White also played with Pink Floyd as a backing guitarist. Later, he also joined Roger Waters in his solo tours several times.