Page "Dead Kennedys" Paragraph 9

On March 25, 1980, Dead Kennedys were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in San Francisco to major record label artists to give the event some " New Wave credibility ", in the words of the organizers.

The day of the performance was spent practicing the song they were asked to play, the underground hit, " California Über Alles ".

In typically subversive, perverse style, the band became the talking point of the ceremony when after about 15 seconds into the song, Biafra said, " Hold it!

We've gotta prove that we're adults now.

We're not a punk rock band, we're a new wave band.