Ian North (March 24, 1952 – February 28, 2021) was an American musician, producer, and painter known for being part of the bohemian punk movement in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his power pop band Milk 'N' Cookies.

Early life and career

Ian North was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. He grew up in Long Island. He received his first guitar at age 12, but being virtually

tone deaf Amusia is a music-specific disorders, musical disorder that appears mainly as a defect in processing pitch (music), pitch but also encompasses Musical Memory, musical memory and recognition. Two main classifications of amusia exist: acquired am ...

, could not play any songs other than those he composed. In 1970, he slowly started to get serious about his artwork.

Milk 'N' Cookies

In 1973, North formed a

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

and

glam Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

outfit called Milk 'N' Cookies along with Justin Strauss on vocals, Jay Weiss (replaced by

Sal Maida Salvatore Maida (July 29, 1948 – February 1, 2025) was an American bass guitarist. Raised in Little Italy, New York City, he moved to London after completing college, where he played with Roxy Music, Milk 'N' Cookies, Sparks, Cherie Currie, ...

, later in

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

and Sparks) on bass and Mike Ruiz on drums (later in

Paul Collins' Beat The Beat (soon renamed to Paul Collins' Beat) is an American rock and power pop band from Los Angeles that formed in 1979. Paul Collins' Beat resurfaced in the 1990s and continues to tour and record new material. Front man Paul Collins has re ...

). While the album's release was initially delayed and largely ignored upon release, it has subsequently become a cult classic. After its reissue in 2005, the band headlined the Radio Heartbeat festival in 2007 without North. As younger bands that now claim Milk 'n' Cookies as an influence have gained in popularity, like

Nobunny Nobunny was the stage persona of musician Justin Champlin, performing under the moniker since 2001. His debut LP, '' Love Visions'', was home recorded and released in 2008 on Bubbledumb Records to positive reviews. It was re-released with 1-2-3- ...

and

Cheap Time Cheap Time is a Nashville-based garage rock band, fronted by Jeffrey Novak. The band, which formed in 2006, has toured with Jay Reatard, Yo La Tengo, Guitar Wolf, and Mudhoney. They have released seven 7-inch singles, and four studio albums on In ...

, the band has garnered even more attention. In 2016,

Captured Tracks Captured Tracks is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The label was founded in 2008 by Mike Sniper. About Current flagship artists include: Craft Spells, DIIV and Wild Nothing. Captured Tracks has reissued reco ...

released a 3xLP Milk 'N' Cookies boxset which included a book of liners featuring notes by members of

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

, and Blondie.

British punk and new wave scene: Radio and Neo

After the split of Milk 'N' Cookies, North moved to England and formed

Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

with Sparks bassist

Martin Gordon Martin Gordon (born 3 May 1954) is an English musician who plays bass guitar, double bass, and piano. After a long period as band member and session musician, he embarked on a solo career in 2004. His most recent album release was in 2024. Bi ...

and the brothers, Paul, drums and Robin, Simon, guitar. That group transformed to Neo after Gordon's departure (he joined

Radio Stars Radio Stars are an English punk rock band formed in early 1977. They released two albums and had one UK Singles Chart, UK Top 40 single. Career Radio Stars were formed by Sparks (band), Sparks exile Martin Gordon (bass, songwriter) and also i ...

) and changed line-ups, with North being the only remaining member until 1979, when his visa ended and he returned to New York. The same year, twelve Neo tracks were released in Britain by Aura Records as a North solo album, titled '' Neo''.

Return to US and solo career

Back in New York, North took to newly affordable synth technology and recording equipment, first on his debut full-length album as a solo artist, ''My Girlfriend's Dead'', and then on his ''Rape of the Orchids'' EP. During this time he also produced material for The Fast; he also filled in as the band's bassist in the music videos for their songs "Kids Just Wanna Dance" and "Love Me Like a Locomotive". From 1983 to 1993, North worked sporadically on the album ''Torch Songs & Arson''. While the label originally slated to release the album folded in the decade over which it was created, it has since been made available for free download. In 2009, North ended the longest period of musical inactivity in his life, releasing the 12-song album, ''E Z Listening For Suicides'', under the moniker "Darkjet".

Death

North died in Sarasota Florida following complications from a heart attack on February 28, 2021. He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Mooshi Chapel and four children, including artist Sammy thrashLife.

References

External links

Blog and website for North's current musical project, Darkjet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:North, Ian 1952 births 2021 deaths American male singers American punk rock singers American male guitarists American expatriates in England Singers from New York City 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians