aka: Peter Michael Howard (birth name); Shok (street name).
Australia's "serial pest", renowned and popularly despised for his habit of disrupting public events.
Some highlights of his career:
- November 4, 1997: Is removed from the VIP stand at the Melbourne Cup after confronting Prime Minister John Howard about the Stolen Generation. Shortly thereafter, runs semi-naked onto the track, protesting animal cruelty.
- November 27, 1997: Disrupts Michael Hutchence's funeral, interrupting a performance by Nick Cave with shouts of "I am the Second Coming!" (Some popular mythology has it that he threw himself from a balcony with a noose around his neck. This, while funny, is not true.)
- November 29, 1997: Runs onto the pitch at the MCG during the soccer World Cup qualifier between Australia and Iran and tears down Iran's goal net.
- September 2, 1998: "Disrupts" the funeral of famed horse trainer, Tommy "TJ" Smith.
- January 30, 2000: Interrupts the Australian Open Men's Final (Andre Agassi v Yevgeny Kafelnikov), dancing on the court and jumping the net.
- March 28, 2000: Storms the floor of the South Australian Parliament.
- October 1, 2000: Invades the Sydney Olympic Games Men's Marathon course. Runs ahead of the field brandishing a didgeridoo and a four foot stick.
- January 1, 2001: At the Centenary of Federation Parade in Sydney, jumps onto a float and scales the plaster head of Mary McKillop.
- January 17, 2001: Interrupts the Australia-West Indies one-day cricket match at the SCG. Sits on the pitch in a kilt and black bra top, removes the bails, "gesticulates" at Sherwin Campbell.
- February 6, 2001: At the Big Day Out in Sydney, throws his guitar onstage during Limp Bizkit's show. Has since demanded it back.
- August 9, 2001: Rushes supermodel Sarah O'Hare on the catwalk at the launch of her lingerie line in Brisbane.
Public attitudes to Hore are mostly hostile, his actions viewed as at best irritating, and at worst unforgivably deleterious to Australia's sporting endeavours. (Some still hold him personally responsible for Australia's failure to qualify in the 1998 World Cup.) Nevertheless, he has his supporters. Australia will always have a soft spot for an iconoclast, someone willing to have a go at big egos and big business.
Hore himself claims to be an activist. He speaks out often (in conventional, as well as his less-conventional, ways) on environmental damage, animal rights, and the plight of Australia's indigenous people; he was arrested in July, 2002 for his part in the escape of 35 asylum seekers from the Woomera Detention Centre; he has attempted to register his own political party. It should be noted that he has also claimed variously to be a secret agent, Nostradamus, and Jesus Christ.
The Australian media, meanwhile, continue to revel in whatever Hore can do for them, and will seldom miss an opportunity to print a headline or run a teaser with "serial pest" in it. Love him or hate him, Peter Hore sells.
Hore currently resides in Sydney and is working on a singing career.