Pete Tong Responds to John Summit's Remix Stealing Accusations

Tong Shares Release Proposal and Text Messages

Pete Tong addressed the controversy in a video interview with Alex Tripi, CEO of the Pete Tong DJ Academy, posted on Friday. According to Tong, he had been in discussions with both John Summit and Franky Rizardo about creating separate versions of the track.

"[we] had positive conversations on text about making a new version of his remix, and at the same time I was talking to Franky about doing a new version of his remix… It's quite normal when releasing a song to have different versions of the same song, or in this case it would have been a cover version, so there could have been a Pete Tong orchestral version, a version with Franky Rizardo and a version with John Summit," Tong said in the interview.

Orchestral Arrangement Origins

Tong explained that the orchestral version of "Missing" was originally created for the upcoming winter leg of his Ibiza Classics tour, where he reimagines iconic dance records alongside a full live orchestra. He first secured approval from Everything But The Girl members Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt to perform the orchestral arrangement live, then later returned to the duo for permission to transform that arrangement into a remix alongside Summit and Layton Giordani.

In the video, Tong displayed a proposal dated May 13, 2026, outlining a release strategy that reads: "Our provisional plan is to release the Franky mix in the next six weeks. Franky's version will have very minimal orchestral elements, and the vocal will be a straight replay of the original. For John's mix, we would like to release this later in the summer (although totally open to discussing timelines with you guys, of course)."

Rizardo Withdraws from Release

Franky Rizardo announced he would no longer participate in the release after learning more about the remix's background, emphasizing that his decision was based on personal values rather than on assigning blame to anyone involved.

Tong expressed frustration with how the dispute unfolded publicly. "I'm disappointed. I don't like being accused of things that aren't true. If you've got a problem, pick up the phone. That's certainly what I would preach. I've tried to call John, I've tried to text him," he said.