Flipper singer-bassist Bruce Loose dies aged 66

Bruce Loose, the singer and bassist with seminal US punk band Flipper, has died at the age of 66.

The news was confirmed on the San Francisco band’s Facebook page on Friday (September 5). “After a prolonged struggle with life, Bruce ‘Loose’ Calderwood of Flipper passed away from an apparent heart attack earlier this week at the age of 66,” read a tribute.

Calderwood joined Flipper shortly after they formed in 1979 and the band went on to become one of the defining acts of the West Coast underground punk scene of the era.

They achieved cult status without gaining mainstream success, but were later hailed by bands such as Nirvana, Jane’s Addiction and the Mekons as a key influence, with Kurt Cobain famously wearing a Flipper t-shirt for Nirvana’s debut appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1992 and again in the ‘Come As You Are’ music video.

At a time when US punk was moving in a fast-paced, hardcore direction, Flipper stood out for playing heavy and sludgy songs that took their time. Their 1982 debut record ‘Album – Generic Flipper’ became their definitive statement, showing off Calderwood’s distorted basslines and Ted Falconi’s waves of noisy guitar.

Bruce Loose shared lead vocal duties in the band with Will Shatter, with Loose’s sardonic, sneering style contrasting with Shatter’s flatter, more deadpan style.

They released the second album ‘Gone Fishin’ in 1984, but disbanded after the tragic death of Shatter in 1987 from a heroin overdose. They regrouped in 1990 and released third album ‘American Grafishy’ in 1993.

Loose suffered a spinal injury in 1994, but was a part of the group when they reformed again in 2005, and their influence on Nirvana came full circle when Krist Novoselic joined on bass in 2006.

Loose was part of their final studio album to date, 2009’s ‘Love’, but withdrew from performing live in the 2010s due to recurring issues relating to his back injury. He was replaced in the band by The Jesus Lizard’s David Yow.

NME reviewed the 2009 reissue of ‘Album – Generic Flipper’, awarding it four stars and writing: “Released in 1982, this is their definitive statement and the best of the four ’80s-era Flipper discs being reissued. Far be it from us to suggest that Domino might have been inspired by the emergence of soundalike bands such as Pissed Jeans and Times New Viking, but their sludgy absurdism and in-the-red production values suggest that Flipper might be rewarded with a fresh audience. If that happened, it would be a wholly fine thing.”