Crass

An anarchist punk band, formed in 1977 in England, whose most famous member was vocalist Steve Ignorant. They took their name from the David Bowie song, "Ziggy Stardust." Their political beliefs can be best described as libertarian socialist or anarchist, themes that were extremely frequent in their lyrics. The members of Crass were also vehement opponents of war and supported peace, which is seen in a considerable amount of the band's graffiti. Other frequent issues in their lyrics were, including but not limited to: criticizing organized religion, feminism, and anti-consumerism. Crass' original label refused to include the controversial track, "Reality Asylum," on their debut album, entitled The Feeding of the 5000. Although the label released the album without this track and replaced it with two minutes of silence, Crass later re-released the album on their own label (Crass Records) and included the track. Virtually no live footage of Crass exists. They refused to use any stage lighting besides 40-watt household bulbs. In one story, a camera man asked the band if they would use 60-watt bulbs instead, so that he could film him. The band refused. Crass disbanded in 1984, after releasing their fifth and final album. Today, many punk bands attempt to duplicate the ideals of Crass, mainly in their political views, but none have succeeded, and it is very unlikely that any band ever will.