Music
Deniz Tek
born 1952 · guitarist, singer, songwriter, physician
Ann Arbor–raised guitarist who carried the sound of the MC5 and the Stooges to Australia, where he co-founded the punk pioneers Radio Birdman.
- Born
Ann Arbor, Michigan
age 73- Detroit years
- 1952–1972
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
The son of a Turkish father and an American mother, Tek grew up in Ann Arbor in the late 1960s, when the college town was a hotbed of high-energy rock. He soaked up the MC5, the Stooges, the Rationals, the Frost and SRC, as well as free-jazz visitors such as Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. In 1972 he moved to Sydney to study medicine, and in 1974 co-founded Radio Birdman, whose fierce, Detroit-style guitar sound and self-made scene made it a cornerstone of Australian punk. In 1981 he joined Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson in the touring band New Race. Trained as an emergency physician, he served as a U.S. Navy flight surgeon and has divided his time between medicine and music. In 2011 he sat in with Iggy and the Stooges at a tribute performance in Ann Arbor.
Highlights
- Co-founded Radio Birdman in Sydney (1974)
- Member of New Race (1981) with Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson
- Emergency physician and former U.S. Navy flight surgeon
- Guest with Iggy and the Stooges in Ann Arbor (2011)