2- David Thomas and Chris Cutler during a live performance of the "Musique Noir" project.
"My name is David Fucking Thomas… and I am the lead singer of the best rock and roll band in the world."
Today, June 14, 2026, would have been his 73rd birthday.
June 14, 1953, born in Miami, raised in Cleveland, died in Brighton & Hove.
RIP April 24, 2025, age 71
Founder and only member present in all Pere Ubu lineups since its inception in 1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, Thomas also dabbled in other projects such as Rocket From The Tombs and in his solo career.
Born in Florida, he has made the UK his creative base for the past few decades.
Always irreverent, he even left detailed instructions on what should be done after his death, such as finishing his autobiography, continuing to archive recordings of live shows, and maintaining the Pere Ubu community on Patreon.
Despite the health problems that have plagued him in recent years—and which led to the cancellation of a US tour in 2017—Thomas has never stopped working.
According to the statement, he and the band were recording a new album, already aware that it would be his farewell.
“We will strive to continue mixing and finishing the new album so that its last song is available to everyone,” the official message read.
Pere Ubu's last album, Trouble On Big Beat Street, was released in 2023, the same year they performed their last live show in Pisa, Italy.
The emotional farewell note ends with a striking phrase from the artist himself, said in a documentary... “My name is David Fucking Thomas… and I am the lead singer of the best rock and roll band in the world.” Long live Pere Ubu
The American musician died at his home in England, surrounded by family.
“MC5 was playing on the radio,” his bandmates wrote, revealing that David Thomas was working on a new album. “He knew it would be his last.”
David Thomas, founder and leader of the band Pere Ubu, died this at age 71.
In 2019, he said: “I’ve died twice, death is nothing special. There’s no golden path to the bright lights. It’s just nothingness, so I keep on.”
“Rock music is a folk art. It belongs to amateurs.”
“We don’t make music. We make scenes.”
“The modern world is a mistake.”
“I’m not a singer. I’m a storyteller who screams.”
He had chronic health problems for years. He had reduced mobility.
He continued working on his last album and autobiography. He left instructions to continue posting live recordings on Bandcamp.
One of the strangest, most stubborn, most visionary, and most profoundly unique artists in the history of experimental rock.Thomas was an imposing figure, both physically and in temperament.
During a show in the 90s, Thomas suffered a vertigo attack and fell seated on the stage.
The band stopped.
He yelled... “Keep playing! The world doesn't stop just because I sink.”
And continued the show sitting in a chair, bellowing the lyrics as if nothing had happened.
Thomas wrote lyrics from: road maps, industrial machinery catalogs, instruction manuals, engineering reports.
“Industrial folk surrealism” is why Pere Ubu's lyrics sound like the fever dream of an engineer lost on a post-industrial highway.
During a tour, Thomas appeared backstage with a raw fish wrapped in newspaper.
He said he needed it to “get in the right mood.”
Nobody understood if it was a joke, a ritual, a metaphor, or madness.
He never explained
David Thomas - Vaartkapoen - Brussels - Belgium - 22/06/1993
ph by giek naeps
CHRIS BUCK photo 2006 I was assigned to photograph David Thomas of Pere Ubu for The Wire, a British magazine for serious music lovers
Thomas was imposing figure, both physically and in temperament. We did some shooting in an antiques warehouse in Queens, NY, and then pivoted to a clean seamless.
He was a great subject; moving with a graceful awkwardness that hit my sweet spot.
He seemed comfortable posing but wouldn’t do anything that didn’t feel authentic. “I’m okay for now,” he cautioned me, “but if you give any additional direction, I will stop.
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