The Damned are an English rock band formed in London, England in 1976 by lead vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. They were the first punk rock band from the United Kingdom to release a single, "New Rose" (1976), release an album, Damned Damned Damned (1977), and tour the United States. They have nine singles that charted on the UK Singles Chart Top 40.
NOFX is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every release of the band, although Sandin departed briefly in 1985 only to rejoin the following year. El Hefe joined the band in 1991 to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up.
Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The band is ranked at No. 100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
The 1981 South African rugby tour polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, where the South African rugby team continued their tour after departing New Zealand.
The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981, and their debut EP Army Life and debut album Punks Not Dead were both released that year. The band maintained a large cult following in the 1980s among a hardcore working class punk and skinhead audience. Originally a street punk band, the Exploited eventually became a crossover thrash band with the release of their album Death Before Dishonour in 1987.
Blindspott is an alternative metal band from Waitakere, New Zealand. After performing under the name Blacklistt for several years, the original line-up got back together in 2018. The band was formed in 1997 with members Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell, Shelton Woolright (drums), Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini, also known as DJ Dlay.
MDC is an American punk rock band formed in 1979 in Austin, Texas, United States, subsequently based in San Francisco and currently Portland, Oregon. Among the first wave of bands to define the sound and style of American hardcore punk, MDC originally formed as The Stains; they have periodically changed the meaning of "MDC", the most frequent being Millions of Dead Cops. The band's lyrical content expresses radical left political views and has proven influential within the punk subculture.
Hanoi Rocks were a Finnish rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. The band broke up in June 1985 after drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a car accident during their first US tour in December 1984. Original vocalist Michael Monroe and guitarist Andy McCoy reunited in 2001 with a new lineup that lasted until 2009. Although musically closer to traditional rock n' roll and punk, the band have been cited as a major influence in the glam metal genre for bands such as Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Poison.
The Chills are a New Zealand rock band formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed as Martin Phillipps & The Chills. In the 1980s and 1990s, The Chills had some significant chart success in their homeland, and were a cult band in other parts of the world as one of the earliest proponents of the Dunedin sound.
The U.K. Subs are an English punk band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first street punk bands.
Goodnight Nurse was a New Zealand pop punk band formed in Auckland in 2001. The group originally began as a trio, but later changed to a four-piece prior to the release of their second album. It consisted of lead vocalist Joel Little, guitarist and back up vocalist Sam McCarthy, bassist Rowan Crowe, with drummer and back up vocalist Jaden Parkes.
The Mint Chicks were a New Zealand noise rock/art punk group originally from Auckland who relocated to Portland, Oregon, USA in 2007. They are known for mixing pop hooks and structures with elements of noise rock and experimental music and also for their exciting live performances, where Kody and Ruban Nielson have been known to climb P.A. stacks, hang from lighting rigs, destroy guitars, engage in self-harm and even attack the stage with a chainsaw.
James Alec Stewart is a retired British pop musician who was the bassist of the post-punk/hard rock band The Cult. He recorded on The Cult's first four albums, Dreamtime, Love, Electric and Sonic Temple.
The Smalls are a Canadian hard rock/metal band formed in 1989 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They were influenced by jazz, hardcore punk, speed metal and country music. They were one of the most prominent Alberta bands in the second wave of performers that came out of the Canadian west coast DIY scene that was first ushered into Alberta by the iconic hardcore punk band SNFU in the mid-1980s.
Blanks 77 is an American punk rock band active from 1990–2001, and again from 2004 onward. Originally based in Hillside, New Jersey, they have since relocated to Denville.
The Screaming Meemees were a New Zealand post-punk-new wave band formed in the early 1980s. The band formed in Auckland in 1979, while at school at Rosmini College on Auckland's North Shore, composed of vocalist Tony Drumm, guitarist Michael O'Neill, keyboard and bass player Peter van der Fluit and drummer "Laurence "Yoh" Landwer-Johan. The band was propelled into the limelight, in part, by the inclusion of their single All Dressed Up in the compilation album Class of 81 produced by Simon Grigg’s Propeller Records. By late 1980, the band was at the forefront of what was called the "North Shore Invasion". The Screaming Meemees were named "Most Promising Group" at the 1981 New Zealand Music Awards.
Die! Die! Die! is a three-piece New Zealand noise pop/punk/post-punk band. Formed in late 2003, they have released six albums, all backed with extensive international touring. A number of different bassists have played alongside permanent members Andrew Wilson and Michael Prain (drums).
The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their debut album, Whisper War, was released on April 29, 2008. They have been called "The Band You Need to Know 2008" by Alternative Press magazine. They were also featured in the '100 Bands You Need to Know in 2010' by the magazine and were one of the three bands featured on the cover page, along with Never Shout Never and Hey Monday. Their second album Symphony Soldier was released on August 23, 2011, with its first single "Bad" released to iTunes July 11, 2011, and announced by the band on July 18. The Cab funded the entire album by themselves and left their Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance label, self-releasing Symphony Soldier. AbsolutePunk gave an extremely positive review with a rating of 95%, calling the album a "masterpiece". The pre-orders in the band's webstore featured eleven packages, ranging from $10 to $9,999. Symphony Soldier is digitally available on iTunes, and only available as physical CDs from the band's webstore. The band's latest work, Lock Me Up EP, was released on April 29, 2014.
Chalk Circle were an American punk rock band formed in 1981 in Washington, DC. Their raw, rhythmic, minimal sound had more in common with post-punk or art punk than D.C. hardcore, a community they initially helped pioneer. Guitarist/vocalist Sharon Cheslow and drummer Anne Bonafede were joined by guitarist/vocalist Mary Green and alternating bassists Jan Pumphrey, Tamera Lyndsay, and Chris Niblack before the group disbanded in 1983.
Women have made significant contributions to punk rock music and its subculture since its inception in the 1970s. In contrast to the rock music and heavy metal scenes of the 1970s, which were dominated by men, the anarchic, counter-cultural mindset of the punk scene in mid-and-late 1970s encouraged women to participate. This participation played a role in the historical development of punk music, especially in the US and UK at that time, and continues to influence and enable future generations. Women have participated in the punk scene as lead singers, instrumentalists, as all-female bands, zine contributors and fashion designers.
