Dead Kennedys

 
Dead Kennedys is an American hardcore punk band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk rock community, and were one of the first American hardcore bands to make a significant impact in the United Kingdom.
While they were one of the earliest, most popular and most influential of the American hardcore bands, their music was distinctive within punk rock in general, influences from of surf music, spaghetti western, psychedelic rock, garage rock and rockabilly. Jello Biafra's biting lyrics tackled the sociopolitical concerns of the late 1970s and 1980s with a distinct sense of morbid humor and satire, following in the footsteps of such earlier rock satirists as Frank Zappa (particularly his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention) and non-musical countercultural figures like Abbie Hoffman and Lenny Bruce.
In the mid-1980s, the band was embroiled in an obscenity trial in the United States over the artwork of their album Frankenchrist (1985), which included the explicit titular subject of H. R. Giger's Penis Landscape. The band was charged with "distribution of harmful matter to minors", but the trial ended with a hung jury.
Dead Kennedys released five studio albums before disbanding in 1986. In 2001, the band reformed without Biafra, who had been in a legal dispute with the remaining members over royalties.
The band played three performances in October 2010. Since the dissolution of Dead Kennedys, Biafra has continued to collaborate and record with other artists, including Mojo Nixon, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Nomeansno, and Melvins, and has become a spoken word performer, covering political topics in particular.