R.I.P. Stu Boy King (1954-2018)

It is with heavy hearts that we report that Stu Boy King passed away on May 1 after a brief and brave battle with pancreatic cancer.

Stu was the original drummer for the Dictators and played with the band for their first 18 months of existence. He will forever be remembered as their drummer on the classic “Dictators Go Girl Crazy!” LP.

Stu was an intensely private guy. To paraphrase his own words, once he put down the sticks (and left the music business), he put them down for good. His post-music career as a security director and private investigator became his new focus, and he rarely spoke of his days with the Dictators. We were privileged to have conducted the only interview he ever granted, which ran both here and in Ugly Things magazine.

Stu may have been reluctant to start talking, but once he got going, holy cow–it was an avalanche of memories. He couldn’t get the words out fast enough, and his thoughts were pretty much equally split between his stories from back in the day and his pride in his family. He wore his passion for both on his sleeve. I know he was pleased with the validation and recognition he received from the music world once the interview ran in November 2015, which was timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary reissue of the LP. More than anything, he was moved by how proud his family was of him over his story finally being properly told.

Our condolences go out to his wife, Deirdre, his five daughters and his grandson. If you are so inclined to contribute, there’s a GoFundMe account in his name to help defray his final expenses. Here’s the link: www.gofundme.com/stuartking

Here’s the link to Ugly Things back issues. The Stu Boy interview appeared in issue #40.

Farewell, Stu. We hardly knew ye.