Reply With QuoteNo more heroes any more.
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Jet, drummer with the best band imho, from the first UK wave of punk bands has passed away
Jet Black, the original drummer for 1970s punks The Stranglers, has died aged 84, the band confirmed.
The musician, who was born Brian Duffy, was a founding member of the Guildford group, playing on hits Golden Brown, Peaches and No More Heroes.
He last performed with them in 2015, announcing his retirement a few years later due to ill health.
In a statement online, his ex-bandmates described him as an "elder statesman" of British music.
Bassist and co-frontman JJ Burnel said: "After years of ill health, Jet has finally been released. He was a force of nature. An inspiration.
"The Stranglers would not have been if it wasn't for him. The most erudite of men. A rebel with many causes."
Sil Willcox, the band's manager, added: "Jet Black was the real deal. Astute in business, a talented drummer and an obsessive perfectionist.
"I will cherish the times we planned, pranked, ate, drank and laughed on so many great nights together."
The Stranglers formed in west Surrey in 1974 and went on to became an integral part of the riotous UK punk and new wave scenes.
Despite the indolent, youthful rage associated with the genre, Black - a semi-professional drummer in the late 1950s and early 1960s - was in fact by then a successful businessman in his mid-30s.
He owned a fleet of ice cream vans and later an off-licence called The Jackpot. In the early days, the Stranglers used one of the vans as a tour bus and his shop as their headquarters.
Speaking to the band's official website in a 2010 interview, Black said he never doubted the decision to shift his focus away from business and back into music.
"Once I had made the decision, and then the commitment, I then pretty much burnt my bridges, there was no turning back," he said. "I told myself that one way or another I was going to succeed.
"Now, there were many, many problems, but my thoughts were focussed on how to solve them, not on questioning whether I had made the right decision."
Supporting US punk stars the Ramones and Patti Smith at their UK gigs, The Strangers' musical virtuosity set them apart from the more DIY aesthetic of their peers.
After original frontman Hugh Cornwell left in 1990, the band continued touring and recording. According to Cornwell's autobiography, when he phoned Black to announce his resignation, the drummer's response was simply "OK, fine".
On Thursday, Cornwell paid tribute to Black, noting how they had "shared a special period" of their lives together, achieving their dreams of becoming musicians.
"We were immediately drawn to one another, he had a singular sense of purpose that I identified with," wrote Cornwell. "He threw everything in his previous life out, to dedicate himself to our common goal."
Adding: "The Stranglers success was founded on his determination and drive... His timing was faultless."
In 2007, the band announced that Black was suffering with heart issues and he took a step back from performing, being temporarily replaced by his drum technician.
He resumed his duties full-time for the band's tours in 2010 and 2011, but the following year he was taken to hospital after falling ill just before he was due on stage in Oxford.
The musician, who had suffered respiratory issues since childhood, began to restrict his live work to the UK, although he vowed to "carry on until I'm incapable of doing it".
Despite difficulties in performing towards the end of his career, he remained a fan favourite. Audiences would often chant his name as he took his place behind the kit, until he finally retired in 2015.
No more heroes any more.
Ahh Gutted.
Such a great band.
Classic BandOriginally Posted by Wash DC Blue
They were called a punk band but that must have been about their attitude in their early days as there was nothing lightweight about a lot of their stuff
The fusion of bass , drums , guitars and keyboards on The Raven in amazing
They were well into the groove on that one
Couldn’t agree more. I bought The Raven when I was 15 in 1979. What a brilliant and varied album. Life was very different then. Great band and as you say the fusion of the instruments especially Dave Greenfield's whirling keyboard was brilliant. Strangely I saw them live in 83 and they were disappointing. Even so they were really one of the best bands this country has ever produced but with Jet Black and Dave Greenfield gone they are no more and that’s sad.
I personally think they were one of those bands that once a member left it was a case of naaaa , that's it
I agree
RIP. They were one of my favorite bands for a while. I still listen to The Raven from time to time. 84 is a decent age mind.
I disagree, I saw the original band live in 1980 and then again a few times in the 2000s. Baz, who replaced Hugh Cornwall, was a very accomplished performer and fitted in well with the rest of the band and they were still fantastic to see live in a small venue
I'd have to see the setlist before I'd buy a ticket. And it would have to be on a Friday or Saturday.
I've seen Hugh Cornwell a few times. He puts on a good show, but I'm not really interested in his solo material. Same with the Stranglers, It would have to be a set comprised of songs I know. I've avoided quite a few bands I really like over the last few years by looking at Setlist.fm first.
One if my favourite bands of that era .
Rip
I knew the Stranglers were older than your typical punk bands, but he was at or close to the age life is said to begin at when they were singing Peaches and No More Heroes - didn't realise he was that old.
I call them punks, but I think that was just a case of them seeing which way the wind was blowing so to speak and playing a role - whatever, one of the best of that set of bands which gave music a much needed shake up in the mid to late seventies.
RIP
The times I saw them in the past 10 years when there was still 3 of the original line up ( just minus Cornwall) they played all The Stranglers hits , they were great crowd pleasing gigs
I saw them about 5 times in the late 70s/early 80s and loved every minute but never went to see them again, it just wouldn't have been the same.
It's like a greatest hits smash hits sort of thing
For me was a perfect match for the band , didn't stick out as a great drummer but just did a great job with the bass...sad and all but they were the oldest of the punks. RIP fellow stick swinger
I never had them as a punk band..
Great band yes ,felt they were influenced by the Doors and the Music Machine and fused it cleverly into punk ..
RIP all members ..
Wonderful unique sound ..
Best UK punk.band for me was The Clash.
Best USA punk band was Stooges.
When The Stranglers released their first album my mate in school insisted that they were a Doors rip off.
I agree with you about The Clash. Not sure about The Stooges. New York Dolls and The Ramones were up there.
As a rock and metal fan when I listen to dirt with Ron Ashton ripping shreds into his guitar I think that's really heavy and intense not tinny and weak like punk was in my view
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