Nazi Punks Fuck Off
{{Short description|1981 single by Dead Kennedys}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Nazi Punks Fuck Off!
| cover = Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks Fuck Off cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Dead Kennedys
| EP = In God We Trust, Inc.
| B-side = Moral Majority
| released = November 1981
| recorded = 1981
| studio = Möbius Music (San Francisco)
| genre = Hardcore punk
| length = 1:03
| label = Alternative Tentacles
| writer = Jello Biafra
| producer = Oliver DiCicco
| prev_title = Too Drunk to Fuck
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = Bleed for Me
| next_year = 1982
}}
"Nazi Punks Fuck Off" is a song by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was released in November 1981 through Alternative Tentacles as a 7-inch single with "Moral Majority" as the B-side. Both are from the In God We Trust, Inc. EP, although the EP version is a different recording from the single version. The single included a free armband with a crossed-out swastika. The design was later adopted as a symbol for the anti-racist punk movement Anti-Racist Action.
Composition
While some have claimed the song was written as a reaction to far-right punk subcultures such as Nazi punk or the white power skinhead movement,{{Cite web |date=2018-01-16 |title=How Black Flag, Bad Brains, and More Reclaimed Punk from White Supremacists |url=https://www.gq.com/story/punks-and-nazis-oral-history |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=GQ |language=en-US}} Jello Biafra has stated the initial premise of the song was about violence at punk shows, summarizing it as, "You violent people at shows are acting like a bunch of Nazis".https://www.punknews.org/article/48449/jello-biafra-featured-in-la-times-discussing-nazi-punk The lyrics condemn the infighting among punks for weakening the prospect of rebelling against far-right agitators, and that "in a real Fourth Reich, [they'd] be the first to go."{{Citation |title=Dead Kennedys – Nazi Punks Fuck Off! |url=https://genius.com/Dead-kennedys-nazi-punks-fuck-off-lyrics |access-date=2023-03-18}}
In the opening of the In God We Trust, Inc. version of "Nazi Punks Fuck Off", lead singer Jello Biafra mentions English producer Martin Hannett, who had worked with Joy Division and Buzzcocks, accusing him, tongue-in-cheek, of having "overproduced" the recording.{{cite web |url= http://www.martinhannett.co.uk/bio.htm |title=Martin Hannett Biography |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140626203504/http://martinhannett.co.uk/bio.htm |archive-date=June 26, 2014 |url-status=usurped |work=MartinHannett.co.uk |access-date=June 28, 2008}} Hannett, in fact, did not work with the Dead Kennedys.
Personnel
- Jello Biafra – lead vocals
- East Bay Ray – guitar
- Klaus Flouride – bass, backing vocals
- D. H. Peligro – drums
Charts
Cover versions
- The English grindcore band Napalm Death recorded a cover for their 1993 EP of the same name.Robbins, 504
- The fictional band The Ain't Rights performed a cover of the song in a modern-day white supremacist club in the 2015 horror film Green Room.{{cite news |last1=Miska |first1=Brad |title='Green Room' Clip Says Fuck the Nazi Punks! |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/videos/3388208/green-room-clip-says-fuck-nazi-punks/ |access-date=25 January 2023 |work=Bloody Disgusting |date=20 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529075850/https://bloody-disgusting.com/videos/3388208/green-room-clip-says-fuck-nazi-punks/ |archive-date=29 May 2016}}
- Biafra himself rewrote the song as "Nazi Trumps Fuck Off" in 2017, performing it live with crossover thrash group Dead Cross.{{Cite web |date=2017-08-25 |title=Punk Legend Gives 'Nazi Punks F**k Off' An Update Just For Donald Trump |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nazi-trumps-jello-biafra_n_599f8056e4b06d67e336b7f6 |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- Blush, Steven. "American Hardcore: A Tribal History". Feral House, 2001. {{ISBN|0-9229-1571-7}}
- Robbins, Ira. The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock. Simon & Schuster, 1997.
{{refend}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120730053850/http://www.deadkennedys.com/albums_igwt.html Dead Kennedys official site with lyrics]
{{Dead Kennedys}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Songs about racism and xenophobia