Andrew Matheson (musician)
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Andrew Matheson (1952 or 1953 – 31 May 2025) was a Canadian-British rock singer, most noted as a founding member of the British proto-punk band Hollywood Brats in the early 1970s.[1] He later released two solo albums, and garnered a Juno Award nomination for Best New Solo Artist at the Juno Awards of 1995.[2]
Sources are in conflict about Matheson's background.[3] In Canadian media, he was reported as spending his childhood in the Chelmsford neighbourhood of Sudbury, Ontario before moving to London at age 18,[4] while British sources state that he grew up in Gillingham, Kent as the son of a serviceman in the Royal Navy.[1] He formed Hollywood Brats in 1971, at the age of 18.[1][5] Although championed by Keith Moon and later recognized as an important early punk band which had a significant influence on many of the bands who would later have success with the genre,[3] the band had little commercial success while active and released only one album before breaking up in 1975. Matheson was then involved in the short-lived band London SS.[4]
Matheson released the solo album Monterey Shoes in 1979, spawning the single 'True Romance'.[4] He later moved to Toronto, where he released the album Night of the Bastard Moon in 1994[6] and was nominated for Best New Solo Artist at the Junos in 1995.[2] He did not release another album in Canada, and moved back to England sometime after 1995.
In 2015, he published a memoir of the band, Sick On You: The Disastrous Story of Britain's Great Lost Punk Band, named after one of the Hollywood Brats' songs.[1]
The Hollywood Brats played a one-off reunion gig on 31 August 2019, at Nell's Jazz & Blues, London. Matheson performed with Casino Steel and Eunan Brady under the guise of The Hollywood Brats for the first time in 45 years. The set-list included 'Tumble With Me', 'Chez Maximes', 'Courtesan' and 'Sick On You'. Matheson was joined on stage by Bob Geldof as they performed The Kinks' 'I Need You' to a sold-out crowd.
Bonnie Raitt's eighteenth studio album, Just Like That..., released in April 2022, included the track, 'Blame It On Me', which was co-written by Matheson.
Matheson died in London on 31 May 2025.[7]
