Red Rockers were an American musical band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, active from 1979 to 1985. Originally formed as a hard-charging punk rock band, they changed their style to a smoother, more melodic sound and released two albums in the new wave vein of their record label, 415. They are best known for their 1983 hit single "China".
History
Origins
The band was formed as a trio in 1979 by John Thomas Griffith (rhythm guitar and vocals), James Singletary (lead guitar), and Darren Hill (bass guitar). Under the short-lived pseudonyms of "Stunn", "James Jett", and "Derwood", with various stand-ins as "Drummur", they played punk rock as The Rat Finks. The group members were deeply influenced by the relatively new punk scene, and they were particularly moved by the radical political songs and styles of The Clash and The Dils. After a period of reassessment, they took on a permanent drummer, Patrick Butler Jones, and resumed use of their real names. They changed the name of the band itself, drawing on Darren Hill's favorite song by The Dils – "Red Rockers Rule". (In their live performances, The Dils in fact performed two different songs, "Red Rockers" and "Red Rockers Rule", but neither one was committed to vinyl until well after Red Rockers had released their own first record.)
Guns of Revolution: 1979–1980
Red Rockers quickly joined the punk milieu in late 1979 with their first vinyl record, Guns of Revolution. The 45rpm EP, with the title track on the A-side and its B-sides of "Teenage Underground" and "Nothing to Lose", was a cult hit, and the band was heralded in some punk fanzines as "America's Clash"
Guns of Revolution was only the third release by a fledgling New Orleans record label called Vinyl Solution. Sales outstripped the small company's supply of its war-themed cover art, and subsequent pressings were distributed in plain white sleeves. (A third cover, with a photo of the band themselves, exists in extremely limited quantities). On the strength of the EP, Red Rockers became regular concert partners for virtually every punk band that toured through the New Orleans area. The group continued to hone a hard-driving punk sound over the next two years.
Condition Red: 1981–1982
The band assembled its first full-length album, Condition Red, while on tour. Travel through California led them to a new record label, 415 Records of San Francisco, which released the 12-song LP in 1981. The record included a newly redone version of "Guns of Revolution" as well as the live track "Dead Heroes", which had appeared on a local New Orleans punk compilation and quickly became a signature song for the band. Condition Red also included a guest appearance by Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra who lent background vocals to the cover version of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". Performing in support of the album, Red Rockers were added as the opening act for The Clash as they toured Louisiana and Texas in early 1982.
Condition Red yielded scant commercial profit, but its positive critical reception bolstered the confidence of the band's new managers at 415. The San Francisco recordmakers were considered one of the most important independent record labels of the time, and their patronage became decisive for the band's future. They assisted the group members in relocating to their city, and set upon drastically altering their musical style.
Good as Gold: 1982–1983
The band toured heavily with their label colleagues, quickly finding a harmony with their styles: Translator, Wire Train, and Romeo Void were all new wave bands, accomplished and popular, but with evident non-punk character. The band experienced strain and dissension in its new situation with the exacting producer David Kahne. Amid the difficulty, drummer Patrick Butler Jones left the band and by late 1983 he had been replaced by another ex-punk band member, Jim Reilly, who had drummed for the Northern Irish punk rock band Stiff Little Fingers. The "new" Red Rockers were filmed in two different videos in anticipation of the record's release.
When Good as Gold was released by a partnership of 415 and the major label Columbia, the distribution change was indicative of a change in the values of the band. What surprised critics more, however, was the change in music: from the rough, punk sound of the past, Red Rockers had become a polished, almost gentle-sounding band, fitting in easily with the softer new wave styles of the time. By the end of the year, Red Rockers surpassed all their labelmates in commercial success.