David Thomas, Pere Ubu Singer, Dies at 71

David Thomas, a cofounder of Pere Ubu and the only member to perform on all their albums, has died. The singer was 71.

The band shared the news on social media, noting that Thomas “died after a long illness” on Wednesday. … He died in his hometown 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.'”

The post noted that Thomas was recording a new album with Pere Ubu. Their last LP, Trouble on Big Beat Street, came out in 2023. “He knew it was to be his last,” reads the post. “We will endeavor to continue with mixing and finalizing the new album so that his last music is available to all.”

It was also said that Thomas “left instruction that the work should continue to catalog all the tapes from live shows via the official Bandcamp page,” and that an autobiography he was working on was almost finished and that friends and family would complete it.

READ MORE: Punk Rock’s 40 Best Albums

Thomas was born on June 14, 1953, in Miami. By the ’70s, he was living in Cleveland, where he formed Rocket From the Tombs, which evolved into Pere Ubu, one of the leading bands of the art-rock and punk movements in the U.S.

Their mix of proto-punk and avant-garde music became a beacon for like-minded and outside artists worldwide. They released nearly 20 albums over their four-decade recording career, starting with 1978’s classic The Modern Dance.

Thomas’ distinctive voice, which often soared from low to high ranges, helped stamp his music throughout his career. Critic Greil Marcus stated that Thomas’ “voice is that of a man muttering in a crowd. You think he’s talking to himself until you realize he’s talking to you.”

Why Was Pere Ubu So Influential?

Pere Ubu’s first four albums influenced a generation of post-punk acts. Dub Housing, New Picnic Time and The Art of Walking were at the forefront of new music, almost impossible to classify and often working within boundary-bleeding genres.

Pere Ubu’s music drew inspiration from proto-punk bands like the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, as well as performance art and the industrial landscapes of Cleveland. Yet, Thomas always insisted that his group was “just a rock band.”

After a six-year hiatus in the mid-’80s, the band established a comeback with 1987’s The Tenement Year and even had a Modern Rock radio hit with “Waiting for Mary,” from 1989’s Cloudland.

Pere Ubu continued to release albums over the next three decades as Thomas juggled several projects, including a solo career, working under the names David Thomas & the Pedestrians, David Thomas & the Wooden Birds and Unknown Instructors.

He lived in Europe and had settled in England for decades before his death on Wednesday.