Tim Mohr, known for capturing the spirit of East German punk and teaming up with rock legends like Duff McKagan and Paul Stanley on their memoirs, has passed away at 55.
Michael Reynolds, his close friend and publisher at Europa Editions, shared the sad news. He said Mohr died in his Brooklyn home from pancreatic cancer. In a touching note to Rolling Stone, Reynolds expressed deep sorrow: “Tim was not only someone I knew professionally; he was also a good and dear friend with whom I have had a lot of fun over the almost twenty years we knew each other and with whom I shared many important moments.” He added that he’s heartbroken and angry at the universe, missing Tim’s rebellious spirit and unmatched coolness.
Mohr’s journey kicked off as a DJ in Berlin during the ’90s before he moved back to New York to become a journalist. He wrote for places like The New York Times Book Review, Details, Inked, and New York Magazine. Later on, he worked as an editor at Playboy. Around this time, he asked Duff McKagan from Guns N’ Roses to write about money matters for the magazine. This led them to work together on McKagan’s memoir in 2012. McKagan remembered him fondly online today: “We lost a good man, a FAMILY man, a friend, and a literary LION.”
Apart from this collaboration, Mohr helped shape Gil Scott-Heron’s unfinished story in The Last Holiday, joined forces with Paul Stanley on his 2014 life tale Face the Music: A Life Exposed, and worked on Genesis P-Orridge’s book released after their passing called Nonbinary.
I think people will remember Tim for his unique ability to connect music with stories.
A big moment came in 2018 when Mohr published his own book titled Burning Down the Haus.This piece highlighted how East German punks influenced political changes during the ’80s leading up to bringing down the Berlin Wall. It even got recognized for an award!
A talented translator too! For years he focused on translating German books into English by authors like Alina Bronsky along with others such as Dorothea Dieckmann or Charlotte Rochee—often choosing works by women or those outside mainstream circles.
You can look back at “How to Create the Underground in Times of Surveillance: On Tim Mohr’s East German Punk History,” if you’re curious about more details regarding his impactful work.
“We lost a good man…” – Duff McKagan via X
