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Harnessing chaos and charm, Pere Ubu’s David Thomas rewrote rock’n’roll
The bandleader, who has died aged 71, created a vast body of work that influenced everyone from Ramones to REM, thanks to his absurdist energy
Thomas was once introduced to Brian Wilson with the words: ‘Meet the other genius’ In fact, had this son of a literary professor stopped at The Modern Dance, he would have already sealed his legacy as one of rock’s great outsider innovator-pioneers. Thomas’s infamously self-destructive first band, Rocket from the Tombs, were only together for a few months in Cleveland, Ohio between 1974 and 1975 yet created a prototype for punk cited as a major influence by Ramones, Devo and the Fall. Other fans ranged from Rebus writer Ian Rankin to Beach Boys lyricist Van Dyke Parks, who once introduced Thomas to Brian Wilson with the words: “Meet the other genius”.
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