Jerry Nolan

Jerry Nolan, born Gerard Nolan on May 7, 1946, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was an American rock drummer and Broadway performer. He appeared on Broadway in 1976 in Siamsa. He died on January 14, 1992, in New York City.

Before achieving wider recognition, Nolan performed with several bands, including Wayne County's Queen Elizabeth, Billy Squier's Kicks, and Suzi Quatro's Detroit-based group Cradle, where he was the only male member. He was also drumming for the New York power trio Shaker, which regularly opened for the New York Dolls, when he was recruited in the autumn of 1972 to replace Dolls drummer Billy Murcia, who had died of asphyxiation following a drug overdose while the band was on tour in England. Nolan was a childhood friend of Kiss drummer Peter Criss, who auditioned for the Dolls at the same time. The Dolls signed with Mercury Records in 1973, and Nolan appeared on the band's first two studio albums, New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974).

Following internal conflicts and a period under the management of future Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, Nolan and guitarist Johnny Thunders departed the Dolls together in the spring of 1975. The two contacted bassist Richard Hell, formerly of the Neon Boys and Television, to form the Heartbreakers. Guitarist Walter Lure subsequently joined the group, and Hell was replaced by Billy Rath. In 1976, the Heartbreakers were invited to participate in the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the U.K. tour, which also featured the Clash and the Damned. The band then relocated to London, performing extensively through 1976 and 1977. The Heartbreakers released their sole studio album, L.A.M.F., in October 1977. Nolan left the band shortly after its release, dissatisfied with the album's mix, though he continued to perform with the group as a hired drummer through the end of that year.

In early 1978, Nolan joined the Idols, led by Steve Dior and Barry Jones. The group recorded four demos in London for Track Records with ex-Chelsea bassist Simon Vitesse, then toured the United States later that year with Arthur Kane on bass. The Idols released a single, "You" backed with "The Girl That I Love," on Ork Records in 1978. That same year, Nolan played drums for Sid Vicious's New York City solo performances in September, alongside Kane and Dior. Mick Jones of the Clash joined the backing band on guitar for the final date, and recordings from those shows appeared on the album Sid Sings. The Idols continued performing along the East Coast before dissolving in 1979.

Nolan subsequently joined Steve Dior and Barry Jones in their next project, the London Cowboys, in the early 1980s, a band that also included Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols. He did not play on the London Cowboys' studio albums Animal Pleasure (1982) or Tall in the Saddle (1984), but contributed drums to their live album On Stage (1986). While touring with Thunders in 1982, Nolan met Charlotte Nedeby, whom he married, and he lived in Sweden periodically throughout the decade. During that period he recorded a solo single with the Teneriffa Cowboys, playing drums and singing lead vocals on an unreleased Heartbreakers song, "Take a Chance With Me," and an original song, "Pretty Baby," released in 1982 on Tandan Records. Additional recordings with the Teneriffa Cowboys included a cover of Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon," released on the Sword – The Best in Scandinavian Rock compilation in 1985, and "Countdown Love," which appeared on a posthumous split single with Thunders in 1997 on Sucksex Records. In 1983, Nolan recorded a single with the Swedish band Pilsner, again playing drums and singing lead vocals on "I Refuse (To Live in the U.S.A.)" and "Sleep With You." He was also a member of the Ugly Americans alongside fellow former Doll Sylvain Sylvain. His collaboration with Thunders continued periodically until Thunders's death in 1991.

In late 1991, while receiving treatment for bacterial meningitis and bacterial pneumonia at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, Nolan suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. He had been diagnosed with HIV several years before his death. He spent his final weeks on life support and died on January 14, 1992. He was buried at Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery in Flushing, New York. A biography, Stranded in the Jungle: Jerry Nolan's Wild Ride — A Tale of Drugs, Fashion, the New York Dolls, and Punk Rock, written by Curt Weiss, was published in 2017 by Hal Leonard Corporation's Backbeat imprint.