James Baker, Australian drummer for The Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, dies aged 71
James Baker, the drummer for some of Australia's most important and influential rock bands, including The Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon and The Dubrovniks, has died. He was 71.
Baker died "around 7:30 last night" at his home in Perth, according to a press statement hailing him as "the King of the Perth Big Beat, the godfather of Perth Punk and Australia's Garage Guru".
It continued: "With a CV that reads like a who's who of Australian rock'n'roll greatness … James was also a genuine tastemaker and style influencer. He was a man who LOVED rock'n'roll, and who shared that love with everybody. And he was loved. He was so loved."
Baker was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in 2015. Doctors gave him six months to live, but instead he thrived, continuing to perform live, write and record music. In March 2024, he released his first (and last) solo release: a mini-album titled Born To Rock.
Last year, Support Act launched a Help A Mate campaign, which raised over $30,000 towards assisting with Baker's medical and household expenses as he continued palliative care courtesy of his partner, Cathy.
James Baker (middle) and Dave Faulkner (far left) co-wrote The Victims' most well-known song, Television Addict.
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Supplied
)
A key figure in Perth's pioneering punk scene, Baker's distinctive tub-thumping was the heartbeat to so many great Australian records that were the soundtrack to punk- and rock-loving teens of the 1970s and 80s.
Born in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1954, Baker was inspired to take up the drums after seeing Ringo Starr play, beginning his drumming career in a Beatles covers band in the 1970s.
He spent his early years touring with Perth acts such as Black Sun, Slick City Boys and The Geeks (aka Beheaded).
In 1977, Baker co-founded
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While touring the US and UK in 1976, Baker also rubbed shoulders with punk royalty: Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Clash.
"My first day in London, I had a New York Dolls T-shirt on and [Sid Vicious] came up and sat next to me and said how much he liked the New York Dolls," Baker recounted
"And he was a nice guy, to me. I met up with him again at a Clash gig one night and these skinheads were going to beat me up. And he came in and said, 'leave him alone'. And they did."
He also considered auditioning for The Clash after meeting members Joe Strummer and Mick Jones after a gig by The Damned. "I had a Ramones T-shirt on and they came up to me and talked to me about that. They said they needed a drummer. But I hadn't played for a year, so…"
After The Victims disbanded in 1978, Baker joined another local favourite, The Invaders, who morphed into the equally influential band The Scientists, featuring Kim Salmon.
Following the Scientists' first break-up in 1981, Baker rejoined Faulkner in his new Sydney-based band, Hoodoo Gurus, and co-wrote two tracks on their
Stoneage Romeos (Leilani and (Let's All) Turn On
.)
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Around the same time, Baker joined Australian rock supergroup Beasts of Bourbon — the original line-up featuring vocalist Tex Perkins, guitarist Spencer P Jones and former Scientists bandmates Salmon and bassist Boris Sujdovic.
When Sujdovic and another ex-Scientist, Roddy Radalj, formed a new group in 1988, The Dubrovniks (named in honour of the pair's Croatian heritage), Baker filled the drum stool.
The mid-80s also saw him fronting his own solo project,
Inducted into the West Australian Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2006, and alongside Hoodoo Gurus in the ARIA Hall of Fame the following year, Baker continued touring, playing and writing even as he lived with terminal liver cancer.
Recent activity included tours with The Victims, The Beasts of Bourbon, joining Hoodoo Gurus onstage at a Perth concert and, earlier this year, releasing
Tex Perkins, James Baker and Kim Salmon backstage at Northcote Theatre in 2024.
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Getty Images: Martin Philbey
)
Speaking to ABC Illawarra Drive host Lindsay McDougall earlier this year, both Kim Salmon and Tex Perkins talked about making new music with Baker, reflecting on his understated talent and legacy.
"Back in the old days, when he and I were writing in The Scientists, that partnership was like the one I had with
"You couldn't tell where whose contributions finished and started. He kind of wrote the lyrics but I did as well. I kind of wrote the music but he informed it. I could read his mind."
During their creative peak, he remembers "giving away" tunes to other artists, including Drop Out to Beasts Of Bourbon for their 2005 album The Axeman's Jazz. "That was a leftover Scientists song."
Baker, Salmon and Perkins also co-wrote The Battle Of The Ballad Of Rock N Roll, the closing track to 2024's Ultimo,
"I just had to sniff the lyrics to know that they were classic. I didn't have to look at them," Salmon remembered.
"
I love that song … It's a great intersection of what Perkins, Baker and me could do. I was just so proud of that song.
"
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Baker also joined The Beasts for a
Hailed as a "genuine tastemaker and style influencer", Baker was initially given six months to live by doctors but "thrived" for nearly a decade more.
(
Supplied: Dave Laing Publicity
)
Perkins continued: "The Beasts activity was really based on me, all of us, wanting to spend time with James. Then it turned out to be good for him, actually playing music and having something to look forward to.
"I've known James for 40 years. I love the guy, and
"Rather than being about entering the marketplace and wanting to put out a new record … It's really about just honouring the results of long-standing friendships and working relationships."
Upon the release of his swan song record, Born To Rock, Baker shared in a statement:
"I think rock was always what I was meant to do. As many of you know, it's not the easiest path, but I've had a blast and that will be my way till the very last.
"As you know, I'm heading towards the end of the show but hey I've made my music for me and all of you, I really hope and almost know you will all continue to enjoy and love rock 'n' roll as much as I have."
Baker is survived by his wife, Cathy, daughters Lorna and Faye and sister, Barbara. A grandson will be "arriving on the scene in the next week or so," according to a statement.
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