DOORS 7PM

The Dead Kennedys is a hardcore punk band that hails from San Francisco, California. They gained a large avid following during the eighties with their style of music that mixes the more experimental elements of English seventies punk with the raw energy of the eighties American hardcore punk scene. Dead Kennedy’s songs mix the deliberately shocking lyrics of punk with a humorous, acerbic, satirical and sarcastic left wing commentary on current social and political issues.

The original line up of the Dead Kennedys formed in June 1978 and consisted of members Jello Biafra (Eric Reed Boucher) on vocals, East Bay Ray (Raymond Pepperell) on guitar, Klaus Fluoride (Geoffrey Lyall) on bass and 6025 (Carlos Cadona) on drums. This was the line up that recorded the band’s first demos. In early July of the same year the band members decided that they required a more experienced drummer and as a result recruited Ted (Bruce Slesinger). Drummer 6025 left the band but soon returned as second guitarist.

Due to the band’s provocative name, they sometimes played under pseudonyms, including The Sharks, The Creamsicles and The Pink Twinkies. Their name, contrary to popular belief was not intended to be an insult to the assassinated Kennedy brothers, but a reference to the death of the American Dream.

6025 left the band in March of 1979, two months before the band released their debut single ‘California Uber Alles’ on the Alternative Tentacles label. 1980 saw the release of their debut album ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ which reached number thirty-three in the UK Albums Chart.

January 1981 saw the departure of Ted, who announced his desire to leave in order to pursue a career in architecture, he was replaced by D. H Peligro (Darren Henley).

In May of 1981, the band released the single ‘Too Drunk To Fuck’. The song caused much controversy in the UK, as the BBC feared the single would reach the top thirty, which would require that the song be mentioned on Top of the Pops. However, this never happened as the single peaked at number thirty-one.

1981’s ‘In God We Trust Inc’ EP saw the Dead Kennedys moving towards full on hardcore/thrash. In addition to the EP’s controversial artwork depicting a gold Christ on a cross of dollar bills, the lyrics contained Biafra’s most biting social and political commentary yet and songs such as ‘Moral Majority’, ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ and ‘We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now’ put the Dead Kennedys on the map as the leaders of a social movement.

1982 saw the release of ‘Plastic Surgery disasters’, where this time, the band’s style moved away from hardcore towards a more innovative jazz-informed style, featuring musicianship and dynamics far beyond other bands in the genre.

1985’s ‘Frankenchrist’ showcased the band’s growth beyond their hardcore roots in terms of musical proficiency and lyrical maturity; promo posters advertised the album as ‘putting the pain back in psychedelic music’. The album featured an eclectic mix of instruments including trumpets and synthesizers. Lyrically, the band continued their trademark social commentary, with songs such as ‘MTV Get Off The Air’ and ‘Jock-O-Rama’.

1986 saw the release of their final full-length studio album, titled ‘Bedtime For Democracy’. The artwork for the album depicts a defaced statue of Liberty overrun with Nazis, media, opportunists, Klan members, corrupt government officials and religious zombies. The album contains a number of fast yet short songs interspersed with jazz, spoken word and psychedelia.

In December 1986, Dead Kennedys announced that they would be splitting up. Biafra went on to speak about his political beliefs on numerous television shows and he released a number of spoken word albums. Ray, Fluoride and Peligro also went on to pursue solo careers.

In 2001, Ray, Peligro and Fluoride chose former child star Brandon Cruz to replace Biafra’s role as vocalist. The band performed under the name DK Kennedys for a short while, but have since returned to the Dead Kennedys permanently. In 2003 Cruz left the band and was replaced by Jeff Penalty. The band released two live albums of archival performances on Manifesto Records, ‘Mutiny On The Bay’ and ‘Live At The Deaf Club’. October 2007 saw the release of their best of compilation, titled ‘Milking The Sacred Cow’. The album includes two previously unreleased live versions of ‘Soup Is Good Food’ and ‘Jock-O-Rama’.

Jeff Penalty left the band on bad terms in March 2008. He was replaced by former Wynona Riders singer Skip. D. H Peligro also left the band and was replaced by Translator drummer Dave Scheff.

The current line up of the Dead Kennedys consists of Ron ‘Skip’ Greer (lead vocals), East Bay Ray (guitar), Klaus Fluoride (bass) and Dave Scheff (drums/percussion).

Dead Kennedys will be performing live at Manchester Academy 2 on Sunday 25th May.