Sylvain Sylvain (1951-2021)

Sylvain Sylvain
BIRTH 14 Feb 1951
Cairo, El Qahira, Egypt
DEATH 13 Jan 2021 (aged 69)
Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA

Musician, Guitarist. He was born in Egypt and emigrated with his family to France and then New York state. After moving to New York City, he ran a clothing company and formed the group Actress. Frontman David Johansen was added and they became the New York Dolls in 1971. Although they only released two albums in the 1970s, neither of which were crossover successes, the New York Dolls had a huge influence on the city’s music.

Sylvain Sylvain BIRTH 14 Feb 1951

By linking the nihilist cool of the Velvet Underground to the androgynous showmanship of the glam rock set and a pop sensibility with cult hits like Personality Crisis, they presaged the punk that would flourish later that decade.

Amid chaotic gigs and hedonistic behavior, the New York Dolls’ lineup shifted, with Sylvain and Johansen the only two constants until the band’s eventual breakup in 1977. Sylvain started a new band, the Criminals, with ex-New York Dolls member Tony Machine and later fitfully released solo albums during the 1980s and 1990s.

Sylvain Sylvain DEATH 13 Jan 2021 (aged 69)

He later formed the band the Batusis and also toured with Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols for the “Sex Doll” tour in 2013. In 2004, him along with two other of the original New York Dolls members reformed at the request of Morrissey, who was curating that year’s Meltdown music festival in London. They ended up releasing three further albums, and undertook the 2011 Glam-a-Geddon tour alongside Mötley Crüe and Poison. He published a memoir, There’s No Bones in Ice Cream, in 2018.