In 1979, he formed a band so alternative that its very name had labels refusing to sign them.

Just a few short years later that verboten band, The Bollock Brothers, would take the punk rock scene by storm, recording nine studio albums, four live records, and 28 singles, touring worldwide and rocking a loyal fanbase.

Those fans were rocked in a whole new way, though, on Sunday, when Bollock Brothers band member Pat Pattyn took to Facebook to announce frontman and founder Jock McDonald’s death at age 69. “It is with great sadness in my heart, I have to bring you this terrible news……sadly, our singer Jock McDonald has died last night in Ireland,” Pattyn wrote. “His family and all the Bollock Brothers are in shock.”

The visionary singer was in his beloved Donegal, Ireland, when he died in a “freak swimming accident,” according to Pattyn’s Facebook post and Donegal Live. McDonald, who was born Patrick O’Donnell, grew up splitting his time between Donegal and Clydebank, Scotland and, according to The Independent, was reportedly working on new music just before his death. 

Fans from all over the world paid tribute to the punk superstar in photos and written replies to Pattyn’s Facebook announcement. “Oh no, Jock Mcdonald the hero of my youth!” Wrote one distressed fan, “my heart is broken for this sad news.” Another fan struggling to come to grips with the loss wrote, “let me try to digest….my heart and love go out to you and the family….lost for words….implosion.”

The Bollock Brothers rise in fame began with an English language cover of iconic French musician Serge Gainsbourg’s song “Harley David (Son of a Bitch).” Other top songs include a 1983 cover of The Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks and the Bollock Brothers beloved original “The Slow Removal of the Left Ear of Vincent van Gogh,” which featured Martin Glover from the band Killing Joke.

Despite his “enfanteterrible” performance persona, McDonald was known and will be remembered for his “eternal kindness and sympathy,” as well as for being a man of deep faith. In a 2014 interview with Dump Magazinetranslated from Dutch, McDonald discussed his Catholic upbringing and described himself as “very religious.” 

“Age makes us put things into perspective and accept everything more,” McDonald told Dump Magazine in the same interview. Then he stepped on stage to perform his set, dedicating fan-favorite song “Faith Healer” to the interviewer he had just met and was already calling a friend.