Dr. Beter

DR. BETER

The name of the conspiracy theorist referenced in the album by The Wanderers, Dr. Peter Beter sounds like a weak masturbation joke. In actuality, however, Dr. Beter is a real person, an ex-CIA agent who brought news from the intelligence-community underground in a series of “audio letters”. (Oddly, the liner notes on the 2000 reissue never mentioned that, nor did those on the original album release). Not only that, Stiv Bators was obsessed with him in real life and used to regale anyone who would listen about the dangers of impending Bolshevism and the end of the world. The song “Dr. Beter” presents a synopsis of the endless conspiracies discussed by Dr. Beter and features an actual excerpt from one of his recordings. Talk about “Reality . . . What A Concept”: Only Lovers Left Alive had it all!

(February 2011)