British-Canadian Filmmaker and Musician Philip Booth Dies at 66
When a 17‑second clip from a 1986 adult film sparked a decade‑long hunt, the search ended with the death of its creator. Philip Adrian Booth, the British‑Canadian filmmaker and musician whose 1986 track “Ulterior Motives” became an internet legend, passed away on 11 June 2026 at the age of 66. His identical twin, Christopher, announced the loss on Instagram, calling Philip a beloved father, brother, uncle, partner and true artist.
Born on 19 February 1960 in Halifax, Yorkshire, Booth spent his early years in the UK before the family moved to Canada in the 1970s. There, Philip and Christopher began playing music with their older brother John, eventually joining the Canadian glam‑rock band Sweeney Todd. Christopher briefly filled in for vocalist Bryan Adams while Philip handled guitar duties, but the brothers left before the band recorded any material.
The 1980s brought a move to Los Angeles, where the twins formed the pop duo Who’s Who?. Unable to secure a record deal, they licensed their original recordings to adult films. One of those songs, written and recorded in the mid‑1980s, appeared in the 1986 pornographic film Angels of Passion and would later become the centerpiece of an online mystery.
In 2021, a 17‑second snippet of the track was posted on the French song‑identification site WatZatSong by user carl92. Dubbed “Everyone Knows That” (EKT) by the lostwave community, the clip ignited a multi‑year search for the full song and its creators. Coverage from The Guardian and Rolling Stone amplified the intrigue, and thousands of internet sleuths joined the hunt.
Reddit users confirmed on 28 April 2024 that the clip originated from Angels of Passion. Believing the original vocal, guitar, and synth tracks to be lost, the Booth brothers re‑recorded the song and released it on the digital album Ulterior Motives (The Lost Album) on 23 June 2024, with a CD edition following two weeks later. The album was credited to Who’s Who?. In October 2024, the duo announced that a tape of the original master might be held by a copyright registration office. Two years later, on 28 April 2026, they reported that the original studio master had been located; the song was subsequently featured in a scene of the horror film Backrooms.
Philip’s creative output extended far beyond music. Together with Christopher, he founded Spooked Productions, a company that specialized in independent horror and paranormal filmmaking. Philip directed, shot, edited, and wrote titles such as Droid, Death Tunnel, Dead Still, and the 2023 feature The Attached. The brothers also produced ghost‑focused documentaries, including Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium and Children of the Grave.
In 2026, the Booths released the documentary Ulterior Motives: The Search Is Over, The Story Begins!, chronicling the decades‑long hunt that turned them into internet legends. The film marked the culmination of a story that began with a 17‑second clip and ended with the discovery of the original master. Philip Booth’s passing marks the loss of a creator who bridged music and film, whose work resonated across niche communities and mainstream media. His legacy—an eclectic blend of pop, horror, and paranormal storytelling—continues to influence independent creators worldwide.
