I'm a fan too!!!
I'm collecting their stuff now (books, 7 inch, T Shirts, etc.) an believe me, here in Mexico only a real fan would do that.
For quite some time in the UK Pete was very much on the tabloids, TV, magazines, etc. having nothing to do with his music, so a lot of peope seem to hate him just because of that and again, nothing to do with their music.
Yes, I think Pete is a genius and the bass player in an extraodinary musician.
They're one of the very few to keep the punk ethics alive, and in this aspect and in many others, I see them as being far apart from the rest of the bands nowadays.