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Bad Brains

Bad Brains are one of D.C. punk’s most influential and iconic bands. Debuting at the beginning of 1979, the quartet of HR, Dr. Know, Darryl Jenifer, and Earl Hudson pushed punk to its musical extremes in the brief years before they moved their homebase from D.C. to New York in the early 1980s. Equally known for their blistering speed, instrumental virtuosity, and extolling of a positive mental attitude in their songs, Bad Brains helped define the sound of hardcore punk.

Drawn from the Paul Bushmiller collection on punk, the Sharon Cheslow Punk Flyers collection, the D.C. punk collection, the D.C. punk and indie fanzine collection, and the Robbie White collection on the Slickee Boys.

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Fliers

Bad Brains Flier

Bad Brains - house show, Forestville, Maryland, 3/17/1979

Bad Brains Flier

Bad Brains, Snitch, Penetrators, Kid Band members - Varsity Grill, College Park, Maryland 3/25/79

Bad Brains Flier

Bad Brains, Insect Surfers, NME - Madam's Organ, Washington, D.C. 8/25/79

Teen Idles Flier

Teen Idles, Bad Brains - Madam's Organ - Washington, D.C., 1/26/1980

Bad Brains Flier

Bad Brains, Trenchmouth, Teen Idles - Madam's Organ - Washington, D.C.,1/25/1980 and 1/26/1980

Bad Brains at 9:30 club

Bad Brains, Black Market Baby - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C., 8/8/1980

The Stranglers flier

The Stranglers, Monochrome Set, Bad Brains - Ontario Theatre - Washington, D.C., 10/22/1980

3 show flier, December 1980

(Show 1) Minor Threat, Untouchables, S.O.A., Bad Brains, Best - 1929 Calvert St. - Washington, D.C.; (Shows 2 and 3) Unheard Music Festival: Nurses, Untouchables, Type-O, S.O.A., Half Japanese, G.I., Wiggly Mittens, Fluffy Pig - D.C. Space - Washington, D.C., 12/13/1980, 12/17/1980, and 12/18/1980

S.O.A. flier

S.O.A., Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Untouchables, Best, A Reggae Band - 1929 18th St. NW - Washington, D.C. (circa 1980s photocopy of original), 12/13/1980

3 show flier including Unheard Music Festival

(Show 1) Untouchables, Minor Threat, S.O.A., Bad Brains - 1929 Calvert St. - Washington, D.C.; (Shows 2 and 3) Unheard Music Festival: Minor Threat, S.O.A., Zones, Nurses, Type-O - D.C. Space - Washington, D.C. (Three separate concerts are listed on flier. Circa 1980s photocopy of original), 12/13/1980, 12/17/1980, and 12/18/1980

Bad Brains flier

Bad Brains, Government Issue, and Minor Threat - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 4, 1981

Government Issue flier

Government Issue, Minor Threat, and Bad Brains - Washington, D.C., April 4, 1981

State of Alert flier

State of Alert, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat - Washington, D.C., April 4, 1981

The Subhumans flier

The Subhumans, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat - Washington, D.C., May 22, 1981

Bad Brains flier

Bad Brains and The Faith - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., January 3, 1982

Bad Brains Flier

Bad Brains and Minor Threat - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., April 29, 1982

Bad Brains Flier

Bad Brains, Scream, Beefeater, and Outrage concert flier – Floodzone, Richmond, Virginia, March 7, 1986

Zines

Critical List fanzine, Issue 2

Critical List, Issue 2, 1981

Descenes, Issue 4

Descenes, Issue 4, December 1979

About

Persistent Vision presents the University of Maryland's digitized special collections materials related to punk in the Washington, D.C. area. Most of these materials reside at Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. These materials help to tell the story of a subculture and a community that has thrived since 1976.

Curators: John Davis, Ben Jackson
Design: Ben Jackson, Natalie Salive
Authors: Ben Jackson, John Davis, and Jessica Grimmer

With help from: Cindy Zhao, Jeremy Gottwig, Amanda Henderson, Gabby Cameron, Hayden Kramer

Contact Us

Special Collections in Performing Arts is located in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library on University of Maryland’s College Park campus.

For general information about the library and our collections, contact us