James Baker, the heartbeat of Australian rock, passes at 71. His drumming with Hoodoo Gurus and The Scientists shaped a generation and inspired grunge.
You know that moment at a gig when the drummer locks in, and the crowd becomes one living, breathing beast? That was James Baker every damn night. The heartbeat of Australian rock—Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon—Baker was the guy who made the room shake.
This week, at 71, he slipped away in Perth, taken by liver cancer. But if you’ve ever lost yourself to “Leilani” or “Television Addict” on a humid night when the stereo’s cranked to 11, you know his pulse is still out there, rattling the walls.
It started back in ’77 with The Victims, a Perth punk outfit that hit like a Molotov cocktail in a sleepy town—Baker was the fuse. Their track “Television Addict” still feels like a middle finger to the mundane.
Then came The Scientists, where his drumming turned primal, a raw, relentless force that laid the groundwork for grunge. Mudhoney and Nirvana owe him a nod—those early cuts are pure cigarette-stubbed chaos.
By ’81, he teamed up with Dave Faulkner again for Hoodoo Gurus, and their debut, Stoneage Romeos, was a joyous riot. Baker kept it tight yet wild, driving anthems like “My Girl” with a swagger that stuck even after he split in ’84.
The man couldn’t sit still. He morphed into a musical chameleon—snarling with Beasts of Bourbon, jangling with The Dubrovniks, rocking The Painkillers—always leaving his mark.
Cancer couldn’t stop him either; in 2024, he dropped his solo EP Born to Rock, because of course he did. That title’s no brag—it’s a fact. He even cut a single with Dom Mariani this year, proving the kit was his lifeline.
Baker wasn’t just a drummer; he was Australia’s rock underbelly incarnate. Halls of fame—West Australian in ’06, ARIA with the Gurus in ’07—say it official, but the real proof’s in the sound. His beats were a generation’s heartbeat, and though that heart’s quiet now, the echoes crash on, daring us to keep up.
source The Garcian
