Brendan Mullen, a hugely influential figure in the Los Angeles punk scene of the late '70s and early '80s, died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 60, according to the Los Angeles Times. As the owner of famed venue the Masque, Mullen provided the stage for the first shows for a who's who of L.A. punk bands, including X, the Dickies, Fear and the Go-Go's.

Originally from Scotland, Mullen moved from London to L.A. in 1973. He opened the venue in 1977 on Hollywood Boulevard after reportedly looking for a spot to bang his own drum, and bells, gongs, and other percussion instruments. Though the club only lasted until '79, it became a part of L.A. lore, also hosting the Dead Kennedys, the Germs, and the Weirdos during its memorable two-year run.

After the club's demise, Mullen became a fixture in the L.A. music community, going onto DJ and book gigs at Club Lingerie and the Variety Arts Center. As impressive as the list of acts who played the Masque is, those he went on to book in subsequent years would make the greatest festival lineup of all time, including Hole, Guns 'N' Roses, Husker Du, Jane's Addiction, Black Flag, Sonic Youth and more. He also could lay claim to introducing L.A. to R.E.M., Soundgarden, the Replacements and the Flaming Lips, bringing all of them in for their debut L.A. gigs.

In later years Mullen turned his attention to chronicling and archiving the L.A. punk world, writing about his own history and that of the scene helped bring to life in 'Live at the Masque: Nightmare in Punk Alley,' 'We Got the Neutron Bomb,' an oral history of Jane's Addiction called 'Whores' and 'Lexicon Devils,' about the Germs.

He is survived by his companion, Kateri Butler, and three sisters. Plans for funeral services are pending.