Cheetah Chrome, guitarist for punk pioneers the Dead Boys, dies at 71

The guitarist Cheetah Chrome, whose feral, razor-sharp riffs for the Dead Boys and Rocket from the Tombs helped define the sound of American punk rock in the 1970s, has died at the age of 71.

His bandmates in the Dead Boys announced his death on Sunday, 13 September, in a statement posted to Instagram. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

"Cheetah was a true original, an architect of the punk rock movement," the band said in their statement, describing him as a "one man hurricane" with "feral guitar riffs and manic energy" who was "just a really sweet guy that loved rock-roll."

Born Eugene Richard O’Connor in Cleveland, Ohio, on 18 February 1955, Chrome grew up in the city's fertile underground music scene. In 1974, he joined Rocket from the Tombs, a short-lived but highly influential proto-punk band whose members would go on to seed some of the era's most important alternative acts.

When Rocket from the Tombs disbanded, Chrome teamed up with singer Stiv Bators, drummer Johnny Blitz, guitarist Jimmy Zero and bassist Jeff Magnum to form Frankenstein. The group quickly renamed themselves the Dead Boys and relocated to New York City, where they became a foundational act at the legendary Bowery club CBGB.

With his shock of bright red hair and aggressive, unschooled playing style, Chrome became one of the defining faces of the early US punk scene. The Dead Boys’ 1977 debut album, Young, Loud and Snotty, and its explosive opening track, "Sonic Reducer" — co-written by Chrome during his time in Rocket from the Tombs — became enduring anthems of the genre. They followed it with a second album, We Have Come for Your Children, in 1978 before splitting the following year.

Though their initial run was brief, the band reunited periodically over the decades for live shows. In 2017, Chrome joined a reformed line-up for a 40th-anniversary tour and re-recorded their debut album under the title Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40. The band had recently been planning a tour for 2027 to mark the 50th anniversary of the album.

Tributes from fellow musicians began appearing online following the announcement. Duff McKagan, the bassist for Guns N' Roses, wrote on Instagram that Chrome's guitar work taught him about precision and edge in punk music, adding that getting to know him in later years was a "complete honour."

Chrome, who had been living in Nashville, Tennessee, is survived by his wife, Anna O’Connor, and his 14-year-old son, Rogan.