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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ben Beaumont-Thomas

David Thomas, anarchic Pere Ubu bandleader, dies aged 71

‘I’m the lead singer of the best band in the world’ … David Thomas in concert with Pere Ubu in 1986.
‘I’m the lead singer of the best band in the world’ … David Thomas in concert with Pere Ubu in 1986. Photograph: Dubravko Grakalic/Alamy

David Thomas, who fronted the wild and free-thinking American rock band Pere Ubu, has died aged 71.

A statement on Pere Ubu’s Facebook page said that he died “in his home town of Brighton & Hove, with his wife and youngest step-daughter by his side. MC5 were playing on the radio.” The statement continues: “He will ultimately be returned to his [family] home, the farm in Pennsylvania, where he insisted he was to be ‘thrown in the barn’ … We’ll leave you with his own words, which sums up who he was better than we can: ‘My name is David Fucking Thomas… and I’m the lead singer of the best fucking rock and roll band in the world.’”

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