The Deadbeats – Kill The Hippies

27th June 2022 · 1970s, 1978, Music, Punk

Here’s a sentiment we can all agree with. And a song that ticks all the punk boxes: fast, angry, simple… and only two minutes long.

I think I used to have a badge with the title of this song on it. That’s how punk I was… though I never took to the streets to practise what I preached.

The Deadbeats have more than 400,000 views on YouTube for this. Which probably says more more about attitudes towards hippies than enthusiasm for this ramalama racket.

Anyway, it was one of the first punk singles to come out of Southern California when it was released on LA label Dangerhouse Records, also home to The Avengers, The Dils and X.

And it does feature a rather amazing guitar solo which sounds, as someone has noted, as if the guitarist has caught his fingers in the strings.

The song went on to appear on a compilation album of varying quality, showcasing undiscovered and long-forgotten punk singles on indie labels in America.

It was called Punk 45: Kill The Hippies! Kill Yourself! I never did that either.