The punk world is in mourning. Cheetah Chrome, co-founder and guitarist of the classic U.S. punk band Dead Boys, has died at 71.
Dead Boys shared the news of Cheetah Chrome’s passing on social media.
“We are incredibly sad to announce the news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Cheetah Chrome. Cheetah was a true original, an architect of the punk rock movement. A one-man hurricane tearing up the musical landscape with his feral guitar riffs and manic energy,” the band wrote.
“Beyond all that, Cheetah was also just a really sweet guy who loved rock’n’roll. We extend our deepest condolences to Cheetah’s family, friends and fans around the world. His music lives on and will continue to inspire others for generations to come,” it further read.
Born on February 18, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio, Chrome’s real name was Eugene Richard O’Connor, joined the Cleveland punk band Rocket From The Tombs in 1974.
Dead Boys guitarist and co-founder Cheetah Chrome dead at 71
However, just a year later, he teamed up with singer Stiv Bators, guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, and drummer Johnny Blitz to form the band Dead Boys.
In 1976, with encouragement from Joey Ramone, the band moved to New York and quickly became part of the city’s emerging punk scene. Not least at the legendary New York City music club CBGB in the East Village.
“We realized that there were a lot of people like us out there,” Chrome told Classic Rock in 2023. “Why it didn’t occur to us earlier, to just jump in the damn van and get a gig out of town… we weren’t rocket scientists, we were the Dead Boys.”
While the band’s debut album, Young, Loud and Snotty, failed to become a major commercial success at the time, the Dead Boys went on to become hugely influential in the punk world.
Their music has cotninued to live on and will do so for many years to come. For example, Guns N’ Roses famously covered their song Ain’t It Fun. It helped Chrome, who also wrote the song, reach a whole new generation of rock fans.
No cause of death announced
Sadly, the Dead Boys broke up in 1979. However, they reunited several times over the years, but they were not very successful. In late 2024, the Dead Boys planned to begin recording a new album; however, it never happened.
Cheetah Chrome was 71. No cause of death has been announced.
Rest in peace.
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