Sylvain Sylvain, guitarist with the New York Dolls, kings of trash rock – obituary The Dolls inspired a generation of rockers, were briefly managed by Malcolm McLaren and were later resurrected by Morrissey 18 January 2021 • 12:37pm The New York Dolls in 1974, l-r: Jerry Nolan, Sylvain Sylvain, David Johansen, Johnny Thunders and Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane Credit: Chris Walter/WireImage Sylvain Sylvain, the American rock musician who has died of cancer aged 69, never enjoyed much commercial success in his near half-century in the music industry, yet in terms of influence his group, the New York Dolls, were huge. Their roughshod sound, trashy stage apparel and witty, ironic lyrics would provide a fertile base for many punk and hard rock bands. In Britain both the Sex Pistols and the Clash were powered by guitarists indebted to the Dolls while, in the US, the Ramones, Kiss, Aerosmith and Motley Crüe would all build on their legacy.