Where did Pere Ubu get their name? Origin explored as band founder David Thomas dies at 71
David Thomas, who led the avant-garde rock group Pere Ubu from the late 1970s forward, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 71. On April 24, 2025, the group posted the news on Facebook, stating that "a long illness" was the reason for his death.
The band's statement read:
"David Lynn Thomas, lead singer of Pere Ubu, Rocket From The Tombs and multiple solo projex, has died after a long illness… On Wednesday, April 23 2025, 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. He will ultimately be returned to his home, the farm in Pennsylvania, where he insisted he was to be "thrown in the barn."
As per Britannica, the experimental rock group Pere Ubu got its name from Père Ubu, who appeared in Alfred Jarry's absurdist comedy Ubu Roi. The band's absurdist and frequently discordant lyrics and music were influenced by this political satire play.
David Thomas founded the rock band Pere Ubu which had many hits
David Thomas was a founding member of the Cleveland band Rocket From the Tombs, which disbanded before releasing an album in the mid-1970s but was regarded as significant in proto-punk circles. He went on to lead Pere Ubu, whose music was adamantly uncommercial and self-described as "avante garage."
In 1975, the experimental rock band Pere Ubu was founded in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite the presence of numerous long-time members, the lone constant in the band is singer David Thomas. The group bears the name of Père Ubu, sometimes known as "father Ubu," the main character in Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi, which translates to "Ubu, the King."
Despite being underrated and typically labeled as "underground rock," Pere Ubu has a loyal fan base, has greatly influenced multiple generations of avant-garde musicians, and is a highly regarded American musical group. Pere Ubu created the phrase "avant garage" to describe their style, reflecting their interest in straight, raw garage rock and avant-garde music, particularly musique concrète.
Their 1978 debut album, The Modern Dance, became recognized as a significant influence. Although the group recently boasted that its Bandcamp page now included 40 albums, including historical live releases, Pere Ubu issued 19 studio albums between 1978 and 2023.
In the 1990s, the band Pere Ubu made hybrid CD-ROMs that combined text, video, and music, taking advantage of new technological advancements. The group appeared to be inspired by signing with smaller record labels, and many people thought Ray Gun Suitcase (1995) and Pennsylvania (1998) were deserving additions to their critically lauded body of work.
Subsequent albums included Carnival of Souls (2014), 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo (2017), The Long Goodbye (2019), St. Arkansas (2002), and Long Live Père Ubu! (2009), which was based on Thomas's musical adaptation of Ubu Roi and featured Sarah Jane Morris as Mère Ubu.
Meanwhile, while announcing David Thomas's demise, Pere Ubu's Facebook statement read:
"David Thomas and his band have been recording a new album. 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…"
It continued:
"Aside from that, he left instructions that the work should continue to catalog all the tapes from live shows via the official Bandcamp page. His autobiography was nearly completed and we will finish that for him. Pere Ubu's Patreon will continue as a community, run by communex."
The statement concluded:
"We'll leave you with his own words, which sums up who he was better than we can – 'My name is David F*cking Thomas… and I'm the lead singer of the best fucking rock and roll band in the world.' … Long Live Pere Ubu."
On the other hand, no cause of death was revealed. Following David Thomas's demise, his family has not made a public statement.
