New York Dolls frontman David Johansen dies aged 75

Independent02-03-2025

New York Dolls frontman David Johansen has died aged 75.
Johansen died on Friday at his home in New York City, according to Rolling Stone, citing a family spokesperson.
Earlier this year it was revealed that he had stage four cancer and a brain tumour.
Johansen helped to redefine what rock and roll could be, providing the blueprint for the British punk bands who followed, with tracks such as Looking For A Kiss, Trash and Personality Crisis.
Born in New York City to an Irish American mother and Norwegian American father, Johansen's gravelly yet camped-up vocals were the perfect complement to the band's cross-dressing style and hard and fast blues punk sound.
The singer began his career in Staten Island band the Vagabond Missionaries in the late 1960s, before being invited to join the New York Dolls in 1971, after guitarist Johnny Thunders decided he no longer wanted to be the group's lead singer.
The band, who took their name from the New York Doll Hospital, a doll repair shop, released their self-titled debut LP in 1973, produced by Todd Rundgren, which achieved limited commercial success at the time, and saw them voted both the best and worst group of the year in US rock publication Creem.
Following the album's release, the band toured Europe and landed a spot on BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test, hosted by Bob Harris.
After the band performed Jet Boy on the show, Harris, who preferred the folk and country music of the day, infamously branded them 'mock rock', with the moment bringing the group to wider attention in the UK.
It is reported that Harris made the remarks after Johansen told him he had 'bunny teeth' prior to the performance.
During their heyday, the band became a favourite and friends of David Bowie, with Johansen once recalling a story of the pair being catcalled in New York after a passing driver had mistaken them for women due to their feminine style.
The band released their second album Too Much Too Soon in 1974, bringing in George 'Shadow' Morton on production.
Morton had worked with girl group the Shangri-Las, from whose track Give Him A Great Big Kiss the band took their Looking For A Kiss's 'when I say I'm in love, you best believe I'm in love, L.U.V' intro.
Too Much Too Soon saw limited sales, despite Morton's production receiving critical acclaim for bringing out the band's raw sound.
In 1975, the band appointed Malcolm McLaren as manager, who would go on to achieve success with the Sex Pistols.
McLaren dressed the band in red leather outfits and made them perform against a communist flag backdrop.
The change in style was unsuccessful and the band split up in 1976, amid creative differences and drug and alcohol problems among some of its members.
Shortly after their demise, the band would be quoted as a major influence on British punk bands such as The Clash, The Damned and the Sex Pistols, who wrote the deprecating New York about the Dolls.
After the break-up of the band, Johansen embarked on a solo career which spawned four studio albums from 1978 to 1984, with former New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain regularly reuniting with him for live performances during that time.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, he would go on to have some commercial success, releasing four albums under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter, which saw a change in style to novelty, blues, pop and swing.
Johansen also embarked on an acting career which saw him appear as the Ghost Of Christmas Past in Scrooged (1988).
In 2004, with the help of The Smiths' lead singer Morrissey, who had been the head of the Dolls' UK fan club and regularly described the group as his favourite, the band's three surviving original members Arthur 'Killer' Kane, Sylvain and Johansen reunited.
The trio performed their first reunion gig at the Meltdown Festival at London's Royal Festival Hall, curated by Morrissey, which was released as a live album and DVD.
The band continued to perform until 2011, having returned to recording with One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This (2006), Cause I Sez So (2009) and Dancing Backward In High Heels (2011).
In 2016, Johansen re-recorded the Dolls' Personality Crisis and cover of Stranded In The Jungle for Martin Scorsese's HBO series Vinyl, which saw the singer portrayed by Christian Peslak in the series' opening sequence, which shows the band performing at the Mercer Arts Centre in New York.
Scorsese also directed a 2023 documentary on Johansen's life entitled Personality Crisis: One Night Only.
At the time of his death, Johansen was the sole surviving member of the band, after Kane died just days after the first reunion concert in 2004, Sylvain died in 2021 after a cancer diagnosis, Thunders died in 1991, and drummers Jerry Nolan and Billy Mercia died in 1992 and 1972 respectively.
Up until his death, the singer had continued to present his US radio show David Johansen's Mansion Of Fun on Sirius XM.
In 2013, Johansen married artist Mara Hennessey, and he is also survived by his stepdaughter Leah Hennessey.
Prior to his death, his stepdaughter revealed Johansen had been suffering with stage four cancer for 'most of the past decade' and had been diagnosed with a brain tumour at the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
She also said he had broken his back in two places, leaving him 'bedridden and incapacitated', in a post on the singer's fundraising page, but said he remained 'hilarious and wise' in his final days.

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Windrush campaigners urge the Government to save Notting Hill Carnival

South Wales Guardian

2 hours ago

South Wales Guardian

Windrush campaigners urge the Government to save Notting Hill Carnival

The west London carnival is in jeopardy, its chairman Ian Comfort said in a letter on Wednesday, when he asked Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to provide urgent funding to save the event. Jacqueline McKenzie, a campaigner and human rights lawyer who helped victims of the Windrush scandal, said the carnival holds 'huge national and international significance'. 'The Government needs to recognise this and act urgently to protect it,' Ms McKenzie said. In the late 1950s, Notting Hill became home to many people from the Caribbean who arrived in Britain on Windrush and accompanying ships, and the carnival was founded by pioneers of that generation. Ms McKenzie said the carnival being at risk 'adds insult to injury' for victims of the Windrush scandal. 'It should not be lost on us that these funding concerns coincide with Windrush Day on Sunday,' she said. 'To see this celebration in jeopardy whilst so many of the Windrush generation continue to fight for justice following the Home Office scandal only adds insult to injury. 'Carnival embodies the fundamental role of Black and Caribbean communities in Britain, and the Government should be upholding the Windrush legacy instead of undermining it.' The carnival attracts around two million people over the August bank holiday, and Susan Hall, leader of the Conservatives on the London Assembly, previously said the event was a 'victim of its own success' and a 'disaster waiting to happen' because of the large number of attendees. City Hall said it has been working with partners to ensure the safety of carnival-goers, which it described as 'paramount'. Professor Patrick Vernon, a cultural historian and Windrush campaigner, said: 'Notting Hill Carnival is far more than a street event — it is a vital cultural institution with both national and international significance. 'As the second-largest carnival in the world, second only to Rio de Janeiro, it underscores London's position as a leading global capital of diversity, creativity and cultural exchange.' Professor Vernon campaigned for a national Windrush Day following the 2018 scandal when it was revealed thousands of British people, mainly of Caribbean origin, were wrongly classed as illegal immigrants – with many deported while others faced difficulty securing work, accessing healthcare or housing. 'The injustice faced by the Windrush Generation in recent years makes the threat to Notting Hill Carnival all the more painful,' Professor Vernon said. 'It is a celebration born of resistance, resilience, and unity – a legacy that should be upheld, not undermined. To allow this cornerstone of Black British identity to fall into jeopardy is to further betray the communities who have already given so much. 'As we approach the 70th anniversary of this extraordinary event, we are reminded that Notting Hill Carnival represents the very best of Britain: unity in diversity, creativity in adversity, and joy in community. Now more than ever, these are values worth defending.' Glenda Caesar, director of the Windrush National Organisation, also urged the Government to step in to save the event, adding: 'In the face of historical and ongoing injustices experienced by people of colour, the carnival stands not only as a celebration of resilience, heritage and identity but also as a powerful symbol of unity and inclusion. 'Supporting this event affirms the UK's commitment to embracing diversity, acknowledging its multicultural roots, and fostering a society where all communities feel seen, valued and empowered.' The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has been contacted for comment.