Pere Ubu's David Thomas Dies at 71

Thomas had been recording a new album with his band before his death

Apr 24, 2025 - 19:53
 2

Thomas had been recording a new album with his band before his death

Stacia Timonere/Getty David Thomas performing with Peru Ubu in 1988

Stacia Timonere/Getty David Thomas performing with Peru Ubu in 1988

David Thomas, lead singer of Pere Ubu, has died. He was 71. 

Thomas died on Wednesday, April 23, at his home in Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England, the band wrote in a Facebook post. His death was the result of "a long illness."

The statement said that Thomas had his wife and daughter by his side, and was listening to music by the rock band MC5.

"He will ultimately be returned to his home, the farm in Pennsylvania, where he insisted he was to be 'thrown in the barn,' " the statement added.

David Corio/Redferns David Thomas performing with Pere Ubu in London

David Corio/Redferns David Thomas performing with Pere Ubu in London

Thomas had been recording a new album with his band before his death. "He knew it was to be his last. We will endeavor to continue with mixing and finalizing the new album so that his last music is available to all," Pere Ubu wrote. "Aside from that, he left instruction that the work should continue to catalog all the tapes from live shows via the official Bandcamp page."

The musician was also working on an autobiography, which will be completed by the band. 

"We’ll leave you with his own words, which sums up who he was better than we can," Pere Ubu wrote, before quoting the late rock star. "My name is David F---ing Thomas…  and I’m the lead singer of the best f---ing rock n roll band in the world.”

"Long Live Pere Ubu," the statement concluded.

 Andy Sheppard/Redferns David Thomas performing in London in February 2010

 Andy Sheppard/Redferns David Thomas performing in London in February 2010

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Pere Ubu has released a total of 19 studio albums, with the latest, Trouble on Big Beat Street, premiering in 2023. 

Thomas was also a founding member of the punk band Rocket from the Tombs, which disassembled after one year in 1975. The band reunited with its original members in 2003 and went on to release the new album Black Record in 2015.

The musician worked on several solo projects throughout his music career.

In a 2022 interview with The Guardian, Thomas revealed that he does not make new music for money. "I’ve saved enough that I don’t have to work any more and I could easily coast to death at this point," he said. "This is not the easiest life in the world. But I want to keep pushing at it. If I were satisfied, I’d quit."

Thomas also told The Guardian that he was undergoing kidney dialysis three times a week and needed to use a walker. "I’m not in the best of health, but my singing voice is better than it’s ever been," he said. "I’m sort of glad that I can’t jump around any more because I don’t have to worry about falling into the drums. All my concentration goes into singing."

Tributes for Thomas have been pouring in on social media. The experimental band Good Willsmith wrote on X, "David Thomas expanded the vocabulary of rock performance & songwriting in beautifully alien directions. a dude you could see on an assembly line who happened to contain universes. more gravitas & gonzo humor in one finger than most singers could ever aspire to have. rest in peace."

BBC radio presenter Vic Galloway shared a photo of himself and Pere Ubu, writing, "Sad news about David Thomas of Pere Ubu… I had the band play LIVE in session for me on @BBC6Music in 2015 and here we are. It was... ahem... a 'tricky' interview... but I think I won David over in the end, and they were great!"

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