The Dickies
are a punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.
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THE DICKIES TICKETS
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History
The Dickies were among the first punk rock
bands to emerge from Los Angeles. They were the first
California punk band to appear on
network television [1], and the first California punk band to be signed to a major
record label.
[2]
The Dickies' style is
campy and humorous, influenced by
The Ramones, for whom they sometimes opened. The Dickies are popular in the
United Kingdom, and had a
Top 10 single with "
Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)" in 1979.
[3] Many of their
lyrics concern
Southern California culture, rife with references and in-jokes; examples include songs like "Waterslide", "I'm A
Cholo", "
Manny, Moe, and Jack", and "(I'm Stuck in a Pagoda with)
Tricia Toyota". They are also known for
recording several fast-paced punk
covers of
classic rock songs, including the Moody Blues' "
Nights in White Satin", Black Sabbath's "
Paranoid", Barry McGuire's "
Eve of Destruction", and the Human Beinz' "
Nobody But Me". They have also covered
Pretty Ballerina, a song by The Left Banke, as well as
"Hair".
Drug problems slowed the Dickies down considerably in the 1980s, but they have continued playing and recording sporadically to the present day.
Guitarist/
keyboardist/
saxophonist Chuck Wagon (born Bob Davis) committed
suicide after a break-up with his girlfriend in
June 1981.
Jonathan Melvoin, who played drums on The Dickies album,
Idjit Savant
, died of a
heroin overdose on July 12, 1996 in
New York, aged 34, whilst on
tour playing
keyboards for the
Smashing Pumpkins.
In 1988, the Dickies wrote and performed the
theme music for the horror film
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
.
Singles
- "Paranoid" (1978) - UK #45
- "Eve of Destruction" (1978)
- "Give It Back" (1978)
- "Silent Night" (1978) - UK #47
- "Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)" (1979) - UK #7
- "Nights in White Satin" (1979) - UK #39
- "Manny, Moe And Jack" (1979)
- "Fan Mail" (1980) - UK #57
- "Gigantor" (1980) - UK #72
- "Killer Klowns" (1986)
- "Dummy Up" (1989)
- "Just Say Yes" (1990)
- "Roadkill" (1990)
- "Pretty Ballerina" (1995)
- "Make It So" (1996)
- "My Pop the Cop" (1998)
- "Free Willy" (2001)
[3]
Albums
- The Incredible Shrinking Dickies
(1979)
- Dawn of the Dickies
(1979)
- Stukas Over Disneyland
(1983)
- We Aren't the World
(1986)
- Killer Klowns From Outer Space
(1988)
- Great Dictations
(1989) - (compilation)
- Second Coming
(1989)
- Locked 'N' Loaded Live In London
(1991) - (live album)
- Idjit Savant
(1994)
- Dogs from the Hare that Bit Us
(1998)
- Still Got Live Even If You Don't Want It
(1999)
- All This and Puppet Stew
(2001)
- Punk Singles Collection
(2002)
- Live In London
(2002) - (live album)
- Dickies Go Bananas!
(2008) - (live album of a July 16, 2002 show at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth.
Videos/DVDs
- Dickies Over Stukaland
(1991) - Compilation of various Dickies' performances in Europe in 1990.
- The Best of Flipside #6
(1997) - Material originally recorded in 1985 in Los Angeles.
- Rocked 'N' Roaded
(2000) - Compilation of various Dickies' performances in Japan in 2000.
- Peepshow (2002)
- World Shut Your Mouth
(2003)
- An Evening with the Dickies
(2004) - Dickies' show at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms, July 16, 2002.
Audio samples
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See also
- List of punk bands, 0–K
- List of bands from Los Angeles
- Music of California
- Timeline of punk rock
- Punk rock in California
- List of former A&M Records artists
References
- http://jennylens.com/_a-e/dickies/dickies01.htm
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jifixqe5ld6e~T1
- British Hit Singles & Albums
- British Hit Singles & Albums