Los Angeles, Apr 25 (UNI) Experimental rock band Pere Ubu founder David Thomas has died aged 71. A highly important figure in the rock scene, his passing was announced by his band members on their Facebook account, who only said that he died after battling a “a long illness”.
The band’s statement said that Thomas died on Wednesday “in his home town of Brighton & Hove, with his wife and youngest stepdaughter by his side. MC5 were playing on the radio. He will ultimately be returned to his home, the farm in Pennsylvania, where he insisted he was to be ‘thrown in the barn’,” reported Variety.
Before his gig with Pere Ubu, Thomas also was a founder of the short-lived mid-’70s band Rocket From the Tombs, a Cleveland group that was considered influential in proto-punk circles even though they split up before ever recording an album.
Thomas was the co-founder of the rock band, which proved heavily important in the development of the rock scene in the ‘70s. Despite their underground nature, Pere Ubu are today considered a highly important influence in the development of genres such as post-punk, and avant-garde music, with their eclectic and boundary bushing approach.
The band’s unique blend of old-school-rock, avant-garde, garage rock, and performance art deeply influenced genres like post-punk and other subsequent underground music scenes. Their approach inspired some highly big artists such as Joy Division, The Pixies, Hüsker Dü, and R.E.M., all of which have labelled Pere Ubu as an important influence.
The band’s statement on Facebook added: “David Thomas and his band have been recording a new album. He knew it was to be his last. We will endeavour to continue with mixing and finalising the new album so that his last music is available to all.
“Aside from that, he left instruction that the work should continue to catalogue all the tapes from live shows via the official Bandcamp page. His autobiography was nearly completed and we will finish that for him. Pere Ubu’s Patreon will continue as a community, run by communex.”
The statement concluded: “We’ll leave you with his own words, which sums up who he was better than we can – ‘My name is David F****** Thomas… and I’m the lead singer of the best fucking rock and roll band in the world.’ … Long Live Pere Ubu.”
