America in the 1980s marked a golden era of political punk, fuelled by a hatred of the political hegemony of Ronald Reagan. Dave Grohl has reminisced on his involvement with the punk scene, recalling a particular Anti-Reagan gig where he was beaten by police and “rednecks.”
In an interview with The Independent, Dave Grohl reminisced on attending a Rock Against Reagan concert in July 1983. The gig saw the likes of Dead Kennedys, MDC, D.R.I., Rupert, Crucifucks, Toxic Reasons, Messengers, Alan Anderson, Reagan Youth take to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in protest of Reaganism.
Grohl recalled that the Rock Against Reagan event took place “right on the mall, in front of the Lincoln Memorial, a quarter of a mile from where I would one day be invited to play at Obama’s first big ‘party’ on the South Lawn.”
He continued, “They happened each Fourth of July. Hundreds of thousands of people from the suburbs would come to watch the national firework display. And right smack in the fucking middle of it was a punk concert with bands like the Dead Kennedys and the Bad Brains.”
Grohl went on to detail the violence he experienced at these concerts at the hands of law enforcements and conservatives.
“There were police on horses with fucking batons,” Dave Grohl added. “It was nuts. I’d get beaten by police and rednecks. But it was the right place and the right time for that, under Reagan’s suffocating conservative administration.”
Earlier this month, the Foo Fighters ushered in Joe Biden at the 46th president of the United States with a searing performance of their pertinent track ‘Times Like These’ during Biden’s Celebrating America special.
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Foo Fighters are set to release their highly-anticipated 10th studio album, Medicine at Midnight, on February 5th. The album will be celebrated with a special livestream event and limited-engagement radio channel on SiriusXM.
