Dead Addict Of The Day

I'd taken a bit of a break from finding dead addicts because the letter O just wasn't promising, especially following the long and interesting list of musicians and writers from Joplin to Lund to Kerouac to Morrison.

Malcolm Owen is a rather interesting character, however, He was the lyricist and lead singer of the band The Ruts, a late 70s punk rock ensemble. The band participated in the People Unite collective based in Southall, embracing anti-racist causes. The band reached a certain level of success prior to Owen's death from a heroin overdose in 1980, and while they continued to perform after he died, they never achieved the same notoriety.

As often happens, Owens had just weaned himself off the drug when he relapsed. Because his tolerance had dropped, he overdosed in the bathtub of his mother's apartment, and eventually died.

Here's a YouTubeclip of them playing live in Paris in 1980: