Chaos Days (German: Chaostage) was an annual punk gathering, often violent, held in Hanover, Germany starting in 1982 and revived in the mid-1990s.
In 1982, after several punk meetings in Wuppertal, considered forerunners of Chaos Days, the first Chaos Days occurred in Hanover. [1] The gathering was intended to protest a police plan to create a reference library of photographs of German punks. [2] Thereafter, "official" Chaos Days were held in 1983, 1984, and 1985. [1]
The most well-known Chaos Days took place in August 1994, 1995 and 1996. [3] In 1995, 2,000 punks and squatters fought with police, resulting in over 100 injured police officers and 450 arrested young people. [4] The program had listed: "Friday 3 pm: Street fights. Saturday 11 am: Games with fire. Sunday: Glass-breaking demonstration." [5] The result was riots and the destruction of cars and buildings. Two supermarket were looted. [5] [4] These "chaos days" were the main topic of TV debates and newspapers for several weeks. Terrorgruppe wrote a now-classic song about the Chaostage titled "Wochenendticket" (released as a single in 1996), which is named after the train ticket that most punks used in order to get to Hanover from all across the country. [6] The popular band WIZO spontaneously played a show at the Chaostage in 1994; they later wrote a song about this experience called "Chaostage 94" which was included on their 2016 album "Der". The band Church Of Independent Assholes (CIA) rewrote the classic Rio Reiser song "König Von Deutschland" and included a reference to the Chaostage in it.
Atari Teenage Riot (ATR) is a German band formed in Berlin in 1992. Highly political, they fuse left-wing, anarchist and anti-fascist views with punk vocals and a techno sound called digital hardcore, which is a term band member Alec Empire used as the name of his record label Digital Hardcore Recordings.
Chaos A.D. is the fifth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released in 1993 by Roadrunner Records. The album saw a stylistic departure from the band's earlier thrash metal style, by featuring a new groove metal sound. Chaos A.D. is also Sepultura's only album on Epic Records, who handled its release for North American distribution, as well as the first album to feature Paulo Jr. on bass after having played with the band in a live capacity since 1984.
The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, 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.
MDC is an American punk rock band formed in 1979 in Austin, Texas, 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.
Slime, a German punk rock band founded in Hamburg in 1979, became a defining band in the 1980s German punk scene, and is the most widely recognized example of the musical style Deutschpunk.
ACAB is an acronym used as a political slogan associated with dissidents who are opposed to the police. It is typically written as a catchphrase in graffiti, tattoos or other imagery in public spaces. It is sometimes numerically rendered as "1312", representing the position of the letters in the English alphabet.
Terrorgruppe is a German punk rock band from Berlin-Kreuzberg founded in February 1993. The band writes lyrics in German, and their music is usually categorized as fun-punk. Their lyrics address social and political themes on occasion; for example in the song "Kinderwahnsinn" they discuss the idea of zero population growth, and in the song "Neulich Nacht" they address the topics of homosexuality and homophobia. Their lyrics are also against right-wing extremism, a common theme for many German punk bands. Terrorgruppe is known for live performances involving on-stage gags and audience participation. They played at the Chaostage in Hannover in 1995, and wrote the song "Wochenendticket" about the experience.
"Police and Thieves" is a reggae song first recorded by the falsetto singer Junior Murvin in 1976. It was covered by the punk band The Clash and included on their self-titled debut album released in 1977.
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed rave parties, and greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours. The Bill was introduced by Michael Howard, Home Secretary of Prime Minister John Major's Conservative government, and attracted widespread opposition.
The Business were an English punk band formed in 1979 in Lewisham, South London, England. The band lasted for four decades until their frontman Micky Fitz died from cancer in December 2016.
The Tompkins Square Park riot occurred on August 6–7, 1988 in Tompkins Square Park, located in the East Village and Alphabet City neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. Groups of "drug pushers, homeless people and young people known as squatters and punks," had largely taken over the park. The East Village and Alphabet City communities were divided about what, if anything, should be done about it. The local governing body, Manhattan Community Board 3, recommended, and the New York City Parks Department adopted a 1 a.m. curfew for the previously 24-hour park, in an attempt to bring it under control. On July 31, a protest rally against the curfew saw several clashes between protesters and police.
Blanks 77 is an American punk rock band active from 1990 to 2001, and again from 2004 onward. Originally based in Hillside, New Jersey, they have since relocated to Denville.
"Last Caress" is a song by American punk rock band Misfits, first released on their 1980 EP Beware. Written by vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was later included on the compilation album Collection II, released in 1995, as well as on the album Static Age, which was recorded in 1978 but not released in its entirety until 1996.
German punk includes a body of music and a subculture that have evolved since punk rock became popular in Germany in the 1970s. Within the subculture of punk in Germany, a style of music called Deutschpunk was developed; this style of music has developed distinctly from hardcore punk, and includes lyrics in German as well as a fast tempo. In the punk scene in Germany, some bands play music in the Deutschpunk style, while other German punk bands pursue various other styles of punk music.
Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was partly a response to the perception that many participants in the early punk rock scene were, in the words of The Business guitarist Steve Kent, "trendy university people using long words, trying to be artistic...and losing touch."
Disorder are an English street punk band that formed in the Bristol area of England in 1980, and has existed with varying line-ups. They are aligned with politically charged punk bands.
Total Chaos is an American hardcore punk band from Pomona, California, formed in 1989. Lead vocalist Rob Chaos is also co-owner of SOS Records with Ezzat Soliman, owner of the Showcase Theater, having released albums by classic punk and Oi! bands like The Exploited, Vice Squad, Sham 69, Conflict, The Adicts and Abrasive Wheels among others. With help of Jay Lee from the band Resist and Exist, the band started organizations such as United Valley Punks, Orange County Peace Punks and Alternative Gathering Collective. Together, they held such social events as Food Not Bombs, helped open the Los Angeles Anarchist Center and supported the Big Mountain Indian Reservation.
Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultural movement that combines feminism, punk music, and politics. It is often associated with third-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement and has recently been seen in fourth-wave feminist punk music that rose in the 2010s. The genre has also been described as coming out of indie rock, with the punk scene serving as an inspiration for a movement in which women could express anger, rage, and frustration, emotions considered socially acceptable for male songwriters but less common for women.
Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of approximately 11 women. The group staged unauthorized, provocative guerrilla gigs in public places. These performances were filmed as music videos and posted on the internet. The group's lyrical themes included feminism, LGBT rights, opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policies, and Putin's links to the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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.