Pere Ubu

A Cleveland band led by David Thomas that began as a one-off single in 1975 and went on to make 19 studio albums, starting with The Modern Dance and Dub Housing in 1978.

Origin: Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Years active: 1975-2025
Genres: art punk, post-punk, avant-garage
Labels: Hearthan, Hearpen, Blank, Chrysalis, Rough Trade, Fontana, Cooking Vinyl, Fire, Cherry Red

Cleveland

Pere Ubu formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975 around David Thomas, who stayed the only constant member through every lineup. The band grew out of Rocket From the Tombs, which had split in mid-1975. In September of that year Thomas and the guitarist Peter Laughner started a new group to record one of the old band's songs as a single. They recruited guitarist Tom Herman, bassist Tim Wright, drummer Scott Krauss and the synthesist Allen Ravenstine, and took the name from the title character of Alfred Jarry's 1896 play Ubu Roi. The band lived at the Plaza Apartments on Prospect Avenue. Thomas rejected the punk label and preferred to call the band avant-garage.

The single was 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, released in December 1975 on Thomas's own label. He said later that he only wanted to leave something behind, a record someone might find in a Salvation Army bin years afterward. It was meant to be the band's only release. A second single, Final Solution, followed in 1976, and Wright left for DNA, with Tony Maimone taking over on bass. Another single, Street Waves, caught the ear of Cliff Burnstein, an A&R man at Mercury Records, who set up a new Mercury imprint, Blank, to sign them.

Two albums in 1978

The Modern Dance came out in February 1978. Most of it was recorded in November 1977 at Suma, in Painesville, Ohio, with the engineer Ken Hamann, though three tracks dated from earlier sessions at Cleveland Recording Company. It opens with Non-Alignment Pact, includes Street Waves, and includes the glass-smashing Sentimental Journey. Writing in The Quietus, Brian Coney said Ravenstine, working like a dub producer, manipulated his synthesizers more than he played them. The album sold poorly and was acclaimed. In 1978 Jon Savage called it a brilliant debut.

Dub Housing followed on Chrysalis on 17 November 1978. Thomas named it after rows of identical terrace houses he saw from the van in Baltimore on the first date of the Coed Jail tour, while dub played on the stereo, and the title track, Dub Housing, carries the name. Unlike the debut, it was made as a set of songs meant to fit together. When Burnstein heard the final mixes he told them that two more albums like it would make them pop stars, and Ravenstine asked what if they did not want to. NME ranked it eighth and Sounds 13th among the albums of 1978.

Breakup and return

New Picnic Time arrived in September 1979. The sessions were stressful and contentious, and Chrysalis refused to release it in America. Herman left soon after. Mayo Thompson of the Red Krayola joined for The Art of Walking in 1980, which reportedly sold better than any earlier Pere Ubu record. Anton Fier replaced Krauss for Song of the Bailing Man in 1982, and the group disbanded soon afterward.

Thomas worked on solo projects, and one of them eventually involved much of the band, which led to a reunion in 1987 with guitarist Jim Jones and the drummer Chris Cutler. The Tenement Year appeared in 1988. Cloudland followed in May 1989 on Fontana. The video for Waiting for Mary got some exposure on MTV, and the single reached number 6 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the band's only Billboard chart success. Cutler and Ravenstine then left, and Ravenstine became an airline pilot.

Later years and legacy

Pere Ubu kept recording and touring with a changing lineup, from Story of My Life in 1993 to Trouble on Big Beat Street in 2023, which was the 19th studio album. Fire Records reissued much of the catalog on vinyl in box sets, beginning with Elitism for the People 1975-1978 in 2015. The band played The Modern Dance in full in Cleveland and Chicago in 2010, again in Cleveland in 2011 with Herman, and in Melbourne in 2013. Thomas died on 23 April 2025.

Jon Savage used the term post-punk in Sounds in November 1977 for Ohio bands such as Devo and Pere Ubu alongside British groups. Record Collector wrote that The Modern Dance and Dub Housing show why the band were bound up with the post-punk scene. Joy Division, Pixies, Husker Du, R.E.M., Mission of Burma and Peter Murphy are among the acts who have cited them as an influence.

Members

David Thomas lead vocals, keyboards, melodeon, musette, theremin (1975-1982, 1987-2025)
Tom Herman guitar, bass (1975-1979, 1995-1998, 1998-2002, 2016)
Allen Ravenstine synthesizer, saxophone (1975, 1976-1982, 1987-1988)
Tony Maimone bass, guitar, keyboards (1976-1982, 1987-1993, 2003-2004)
Scott Krauss drums, keyboards (1975-1977, 1978-1981, 1987-1994)
Tim Wright bass, guitar (1975-1976)
Peter Laughner guitar, bass (1975-1976)
Mayo Thompson guitar (1979-1982)
Anton Fier drums, marimba (1977-1978, 1981-1982)

Records

The Modern Dance 1978 · Blank
The debut, built around the Hearpen singles and finished at Suma in November 1977: a poor seller, loudly praised.
Dub Housing 1978 · Chrysalis
The second album, made as one connected set, with a cover photograph of the building where the band lived.
New Picnic Time 1979 · Chrysalis
The third album, made in tense sessions, which Chrysalis would not release in America.
The Art of Walking 1980 · Rough Trade
The fourth album and the first with Mayo Thompson on guitar, recorded by Ken Hamann's son Paul.
Cloudland 1989 · Fontana
The seventh studio album, with the MTV video for Waiting for Mary.

Songs

30 Seconds Over Tokyo 1975
The first Pere Ubu single, a Rocket From the Tombs song about the Doolittle Raid, meant to be the band's only record.
Final Solution 1976
The second Pere Ubu single, a Rocket From the Tombs song recorded in Cleveland in 1976.
Non-Alignment Pact The Modern Dance · 1978
The opening track of The Modern Dance, recorded in Cleveland in January 1977.
Street Waves The Modern Dance · 1976
A 1976 single that brought the band to a record label, and track four of The Modern Dance.
Sentimental Journey The Modern Dance · 1978
The longest track on The Modern Dance, with a take on the Doris Day song and the sound of breaking glass.
Dub Housing Dub Housing · 1978
The title track, named for identical terrace houses seen from a touring van in Baltimore.

Rocket From the Tombs, Devo, Joy Division, Captain Beefheart, Red Krayola

Where to go next

Official

Ubu Projex: Dub Housing The band's own release and production notes, with studio dates and personnel.
Ubu Projex: The Modern Dance Recording notes track by track, release history and press reaction.

Reference

Pere Ubu A full band history with lineup changes and the later albums.
Rocket from the Tombs The band that came before Pere Ubu.

Discography and data

Ubu Projex: single releases Original sleeve credits and details of every early single.
Datapanik in the Year Zero The 1996 box set of the first phase of the band, with its full track listing.

Writing and criticism

The Quietus: Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance revisited A long look at the debut album and the Cleveland scene around it.
The Guardian: Thomas rewrote rock'n'roll An appreciation of Thomas and the early albums.
Guitar.com: The Genius of The Modern Dance Track notes and personnel for the debut.
Louder: The Modern Dance A short feature on why the debut matters.

Interviews

Bandcamp Daily: 50 years of music from David Thomas Thomas talks through the catalog release by release.
Record Collector: Pere Ubu A feature with Thomas, written around The Long Goodbye.
Perfect Sound Forever: Allen Ravenstine, part 2 The synthesist on the singles and the first albums.
Tape Op: Suma Recording Ken and Paul Hamann on their Suma studio in Painesville, Ohio.

Sources

Pere Ubu, Wikipedia
Ubu Projex: Dub Housing, Ubu Projex
Ubu Projex: The Modern Dance, Ubu Projex
The Quietus: Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance revisited, The Quietus
The Cup, the Dream, and the Tin Can: 50 Years of Music from David Thomas, Bandcamp Daily
Harnessing chaos and charm, Pere Ubu's David Thomas rewrote rock'n'roll, The Guardian (2025-04-24)
Pere Ubu single releases, vinyl and CD, Ubu Projex