Dead Kennedys Formed San Francisco 1978; disbanded, late 1986 "Isn't a Dead Kennedys concert on 22 November [anniversary of JFK's assassination] in rather bad taste?" "Of course. But the assassinations weren't too tasteful either." East Bay Ray interviewed in 1979 by the Vancouver Sun. US punk band which formed a crucial part of the burgeoning American hardcore punk scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Moving to San Francisco after a succession of menial jobs and a half-hearted attempt to pursue an acting career, vocalist Jello Biafra (real name Eric Boucher), answered an advert placed in a music paper by guitarist East Bay Ray. The two were joined by bassist Klaus Fluoride, drummer Bruce Slesinger (aka Ted) and a second guitarist known to posterity simply as 6025. The latter departed in March 1979 whilst Slesinger was replaced in mid-1981 by D.H. Peligro. In 1978 the full impact of British punk had yet to be felt in America, mainly because the sheer size of the country was such an obstacle for groups with limited financial backing.

The Damned had toured in early 77 and The Sex Pistols followed at the end of the year only to implode after a gig at the San Francisco Winterland - with Biafra apparently a witness to the spectacle. Fired by this experience and that of a visit to Britain at the height of punk in 1977, Biafra determined to help create an equivalent American scene. He was not alone; others, who were to become equally as well known, felt a similar urge and the underground culture which these pioneers nurtured was, from the start, radically different from that which developed in Britain. American punk was free from the more ludicrous dictates which restricted many aspects of British punk; there were, for example, few bondage trousers and kilts to be seen at American gigs. Click on the Bio above to see the full version of it.