James Baker was, as the title of his last solo release declared, Born to Rock. The musician, who died on Monday night aged 71, was the big beat behind the drums for a long list of influential Australian garage-rock bands including Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, the Scientists, the Dubrovniks and the Victims.
His impact went deeper than the many much-mythologised records he played on. With his Brian Jones-via-Ramones bowl cut, which he wore to the end, Baker was a one-man totem of style.
