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Minor Threat

Following the breakup of their previous band, the Teen Idles, vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson joined with bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form a band whose confrontational delivery and intensely personal perspective would make them a defining hardcore punk band. Beyond the impact of the band's music, performance, and embrace of DIY business practices, Minor Threat itself became a point of genesis for bands to follow, as members went on to Fugazi, Dag Nasty, Government Issue, Bad Religion, Three, Embrace, the Evens, and many others.

Materials below drawn from the Sharon Cheslow punk flyers collection, the Kevin Salk collection of D.C. punk photography, the Robbie White collection on the Slickee Boys, and the D.C. punk and indie fanzine collection at the University of Maryland's Special Collections in Performing Arts.

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Fliers

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(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
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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
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(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
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Unheard Music Festival: S.O.A., Untouchables, Minor Threat, Type-O, Nurses, Fluffy Pig, Wiggly Mittens - d.c. Space - Washington, D.C., 12/17/1980 and 12/18/1980
State of Alert flier
State of Alert, Black Market Baby, and Minor Threat - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., January 10, 1981
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
Assault and Battery flier
Assault and Battery and Minor Threat - YMCA Pow Wow House, Bethesda, Maryland, May 8, 1981
Minor Threat flier
Minor Threat, Government Issue, and Law and Order - YMCA Pow Wow House, Bethesda, Maryland, May 8, 1981
Youth Brigade flier
Youth Brigade, Minor Threat, Red C and State of Alert - Bethesda, Maryland, May 8, 1981
Scream flier
Scream, Minor Threat, Government Issue, State of Alert - HB Woodlawn High School, Arlington, Virginia, May 9, 1981
State of Alert flier
State of Alert, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and The Subhumans - Rumba Club, Washington, D.C., May 22, 1981
The Subhumans flier
The Subhumans, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat - Washington, D.C., May 22, 1981
Minor Threat flier
Minor Threat and Circle Jerks - Washington, D.C., June 11, 1981
Red C flier
Red C, Youth Brigade, Minor Threat - Arlington, Virginia, June 26, 1981
Government Issue flier
Government Issue, Minor Threat, and Youth Brigade - Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club, July 16, 1981
Minor Threat flier
Minor Threat and Youth Brigade - Embassy, Washington, D.C., August 30, 1981
Youth Brigade flier
Youth Brigade and Minor Threat - Columbia Station, Washington, D.C., August 30, 1981
Red C flier
Red C, Minor Threat, Youth Brigade - Janelle's house, Rockville, Maryland, September 18, 1981
Bad Brains Flier
Bad Brains and Minor Threat - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., April 29, 1982
Artificial Peace Flier
Artificial Peace, Void, and Double-O - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982
Iron Cross Flier
Iron Cross, Void, Minor Threat, Artificial Peace, Faith and Double-O - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982
Minor Threat Flier
Minor Threat, The Faith, Artificial Peace, Iron Cross, Void, and Double O - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982
Minor Threat Flier
Minor Threat, Faith, Void, Iron Cross - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982
Minor Threat Flier
Minor Threat, Void, and The Faith - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982
Void Flier
Void, Faith, Double-O, Iron Cross, Minor Threat and Artificial Peace - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982
Minor Threat Flier
Minor Threat and The Faith - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., August 1, 1982
D.O.A. Flier
D.O.A., Minor Threat, The Faith, and Iron Cross - H.B. Woodlawn High School, Arlington, VA, October 30, 1982
Minor Threat Flier
Minor Threat, D.O.A., Iron Cross, and The Faith - H.B. Woodlawn High School, Arlington, VA, October 30, 1982
Faith flier
Faith, Minor Threat and Marginal Man - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., January 2, 1983
Damned flier
Damned, Minor Threat, Bow Wow Wow, Slickee Boys and New Order - Ontario Theater, Washington, D.C., June 16, July 1, and July 8, 1983
Minor Threat flier
Minor Threat, J.F.A. and Tar Babies - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., June 23, 1983
Trouble Funk flier
Trouble Funk, Big Boys and Minor Threat concert flier, Lansburgh Cultural Center, Washington, D.C., September 23, 1983
Trouble Funk flier
Trouble Funk, Minor Threat, Big Boys concert flier, Lansburgh Cultural Center, Washington, D.C., September 23, 1983

Photographs

Lyle, Ian and Henry, 1982
Ian MacKaye and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, San Pedro, California, July 11, 1982
Lyle, Ian and Henry 2, 1982
Ian MacKaye and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, San Pedro, California, July 11, 1982
Lyle Preslar, 1982
Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, San Pedro, California, July 11, 1982

Zines

Capitol Crisis fanzine, Issue 4
Capitol Crisis, Issue 4, March 1981
DCene, Issue 1
DCene Issue 1, 1983
If This Goes On, Issue 3
If This Goes On Issue 3, 1983
Punk Is No Hobby, Issue 1
Punk Is No Hobby, Issue 1, 1983
Chow Chow Times, Issue 1
Chow Chow Times, Issue 1, January 1985
Metrozine, Issue 8
Metrozine, Issue 8, 1985

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