Pere Ubu

Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu performing in Vienna, 2009.
Background information
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Genres	Art punk, post-punk, experimental rock, avant-garde
Years active	1975–1982, 1987–present
Labels	Hearthan, Blank, Mercury, Radar, Chrysalis, Rough Trade, Fontana, Imago, Tim/Kerr, Cooking Vinyl, DGC, Thirsty Ear, Smog Veil, Fire
Associated acts	Rocket from the Tombs, The Red Krayola, Home and Garden
Website	ubuprojex.net
Members	David Thomas Michele Temple Robert Wheeler Keith Moliné Steve Mehlman Gagarin Darryl Boon
Past members	Scott Krauss Allen Ravenstine Tom Herman Tim Wright Peter Laughner Tony Maimone Mayo Thompson Jim Jones Chris Cutler Eric Drew Feldman Garo Yellin Scott Benedict

Pere Ubu is a rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. Despite a variety of long-term band members, singer David Thomas is the only constant. Describing their sound as "avant-garage," Pere Ubu's work drew inspiration from sources such as rock music, musique concrète, performance art, and the derelict industrial environments of the American midwest. The group's name is a reference to Ubu Roi, an avant-garde play by French writer Alfred Jarry. They are usually categorized as "underground rock", having rarely achieved commercial success.

Rocket from the Tombs was a Cleveland-based group that eventually fragmented: some members formed The Dead Boys, and others The Saucers, while David Thomas and guitarist Peter Laughner joined with guitarist Tom Herman, bass guitarist Tim Wright, drummer Scott Krauss and synthesist Allen Ravenstine to form Pere Ubu in 1975. At the time the band formed, Herman, Krauss, and Ravenstine lived in a house owned by Ravenstine.

Pere Ubu's debut single (their first four records were singles on their own "Hearthan" label) was "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (inspired by the "Doolittle Raid" and named after a film depicting the raid), backed with "Heart of Darkness"; followed by "Final Solution" in 1976. One review noted that "30 Seconds" "was clearly the work of a garage band, yet its arty dissonance and weird experimentalism were startlingly unique."