The Dead Kennedys
Although not the first of San Francisco's punk attractions, the Dead Kennedys, formed in 1977, became one of the genre's most successful exponents. Led by vocalist Jello Biafra, the group achieved instant notoriety for its pulsating debut single, California Über Alles (1979), a vitriolic attack on state governor Jerry Brown. East Bay Ray (guitar), Klaus Flouride (bass) and Ted (drums) completed the line-up featured on FRESH FRUIT FOR ROTTING VEGETABLES, which included hardcore anthems in Kill The Poor, Holiday In Cambodia and Nazi Punks, Fuck Off. Although Biafra relied on a musically stereotyped punk style which often blighted the power of his lyrics, the group nonetheless proved influential, and their record label, Alternative Tentacles, released material by, among others, the Butthole Surfers. New drummer D.H. (Darren) Peligro was introduced on PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS, but this second set was also marred by a sense of cliche. A refusal to compromise has resulted in recurrent clashes with authority—their 1981 single, Too Drunk To Fuck, incurred a radio ban, yet reached the UK Top 40—while in America the group's albums have been the subject of seizure and prosecution, leading Biafra to join Frank Zappa in a campaign against censorship, notably by the PMRC, or Washington Wives lobby. The singer was obliged to devote increasing energies to legal and political matters— he came fourth in a field of 10 during the 1979 San Francisco mayoral elections—and disbanded the Kennedys at the end of the '80s. He subsequently collaborated with DOA and Nomeansno and, in 1991, released a solo album I BLOW MINDS FOR A LIVING.