Jet Black

Jet Black
Jet Black performing with the Stranglers at the 2006 Bestival
Background information
Birth name	Brian John Duffy
Also known as	Jet Black
Born	(1938-08-26) 26 August 1938 (age 78)
Origin	Ilford, Essex, England
Genres	Jazz, punk rock, new wave, post-punk
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Drums
Years active	Early 1970s–2015
Associated acts	The Stranglers

Jet Black (born Brian John Duffy, 26 August 1938,Ilford, Essex) is an English drummer and founding member of punk rock/new wave band The Stranglers.

Black was a successful businessman up until the mid-1970s, owning a fleet of ice cream vans, and an off-licence in Guildford, called 'The Jackpot'. This establishment was the base for the early Stranglers. He was also the owner of one of the earliest home brewing equipment companies, at the time of a vogue in home brewing.

He became a full-time professional musician in the mid-1970s and met Hugh Cornwell of the band Johnny Sox after reading an advertisement in the Melody Maker magazine. Cornwell joined Black in the Stranglers in 1974.

His style is usually simple and jazz-influenced, although "Duchess" and "Down in the Sewer" are examples of Stranglers songs that feature more frantic drumming. In the mid-1980s, Black elected to cease playing acoustic drums in the recording studio and used a Simmons kit triggered by pick-ups, most notably on the Feline and Aural Sculpture albums. Black is still currently drumming for the Stranglers, despite his advancing years. His name is frequently chanted by the crowd at concerts.