The Dayglo Abortions (sometimes abbreviated to DGA) are a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

band from

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. Their lyrics reflect a genre-typical disregard for societal norms. The band was formed in 1979 and released their first album in 1981. The band has sold 500,000+ copies worldwide since their first release. The band's biography, ''Argh Fuck Kill: The Story of the Dayglo Abortions'', by the author Chris Walter, was published in 2010 by Gofuckyerself Press. Gymbo Jak, the lead singer from 1994 to 2007, also sang for the Toronto-based Maximum RNR.

History

Legal trouble

The band is known for its graphic album covers. In 1988, a

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officer in

Nepean, Ontario Nepean ( ) is a former municipality and now geographic area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located west of Ottawa's inner core, it was an independent city until amalgamated with the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton in 2001 to become the ne ...

, instigated a criminal investigation of the Dayglos after his daughter brought home a copy of ''

Here Today, Guano Tomorrow The Dayglo Abortions (sometimes abbreviated to DGA) are a Canadian hardcore punk and metal band from Victoria, British Columbia. Their lyrics reflect a genre-typical disregard for societal norms. The band was formed in 1979 and released their first ...

''. Obscenity charges were laid against the Dayglo Abortion's record label,

Fringe Product Fringe Product (or Fringe Records) is a defunct Canadian independent record label which was owned by Ben Hoffman. Genres on the label included punk, rock, metal, hardcore, death metal, industrial and electronic music. Hoffman was also proprieto ...

, (carried by

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...

in the US and embroiling

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

frontman

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

in the battle for

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

) and the label's record store, Record Peddler, but those charges were cleared in 1990.https://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-09/entertainment/ca-4470_1_canadian-record
-

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

, "Record firms, rights groups laud obscenity case ruling: Impact on music industry, criminal laws still in doubt" (November 10, 1990)., Reprinted in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', p. C13.

Politics

On their 2004 album, the Dayglos showed a new-found political awareness. ''

Holy Shiite The Dayglo Abortions (sometimes abbreviated to DGA) are a Canadian hardcore punk and metal band from Victoria, British Columbia. Their lyrics reflect a genre-typical disregard for societal norms. The band was formed in 1979 and released their first ...

'' has song titles such as "America Eats Her Young", "Christina Bin Laden", "Scientology", and "Where's Bin Laden?".

Members

Current

*Murray Acton "The Cretin",

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

and vocals, 1979–1994, 1998–present *Mike Jak, guitar, 1986-1994, 1997, 2009-present *"Blind" Marc, drums, 2011–present *Matt Fiorito, guitar, 2015–present

Former

*"Jesus Bonehead", drums, 1979-2010 *" Trevor"Spud"Hagen AKA "Stupid' "Couch Potato", Bass, 1979-1999 *"Gymbo Jak", vocals, 1994-2007 *"Hung Jak", guitar, 1995-2000 *"Willy Jak", bass guitar, 2000-2018 *"Nev The Impailer", guitar, 1986-1989 *"Squid", lead guitar, 1994-1996 *"Wayne Gretsky", guitar, 1985-1986

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:185 bottom:60 top:5 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1980 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1981 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData = at:01/01/1981 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1986 color:black layer:back at:03/03/1987 color:black layer:back at:08/25/1991 color:black layer:back at:08/13/1995 color:black layer:back at:06/04/1996 color:black layer:back at:11/18/1999 color:black layer:back at:06/05/2004 color:black layer:back at:03/25/2016 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:GymboJak text:""Gymbo Jak"" bar:Acton text:"The Cretin (Murray Acton)" bar:Gretzky text:"Wayne Gretzky (Chris Prohom)" bar:Nev text:"Nev (Neil Burns)" bar:MikeJak text:""Mike Jak"" bar:Squid text:""Squid"" bar:HungJak text:""Hung Jak"" bar:Hagen text:"Stupid/Spud (Trevor Hagen)" bar:Jak text:""Willy Jak"" bar:Bonehead text:"Jesus Bonehead (Brian Whitehead)" bar:Mark text:""Blind Mark"" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Mark from:01/01/2011 till:end color:drums bar:Acton from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1994 color:guitar bar:Acton from:01/01/1998 till:end color:guitar bar:Hagen from:01/01/1979 till:07/01/1999 color:bass bar:Jak from:01/01/2000 till:04/01/2018 color:bass bar:Nev from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1989 color:guitar bar:Gretzky from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1986 color:guitar bar:Squid from:01/01/1994 till:09/01/1996 color:guitar bar:MikeJak from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1994 color:guitar bar:HungJak from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2000 color:guitar bar:GymboJak from:01/01/1994 till:10/01/2007 color:vocals bar:Bonehead from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/2011 color:drums width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Acton from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1994 color:vocals bar:Acton from:01/01/1999 till:end color:vocals bar:Hagen from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1999 color:vocals

Discography

Studio albums

*''Out of the Womb'' (1981) *''Feed Us a Fetus'' (1986) *''Here Today, Guano Tomorrow'' (1988) *''Two Dogs Fucking'' (1991) *''Little Man in the Canoe'' (1995) *''Corporate Whores'' (1996) *''Death Race 2000'' (1999) *''Holy Shiite'' (2004) *''Armageddon Survival Guide'' (2016) *''Hate Speech'' (2022)

Compilations

*''Stupid World, Stupid Songs'' (1998) *''Live A.D.'' (2011) *''Wake Up It's Time To Die'' (2019)

References

External links

Dayglo Abortions official website

Dayglo Abortions on Facebook

Dayglo Abortions on Twitter
{{Authority control Canadian hardcore punk groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups from Victoria, British Columbia Obscenity controversies in music 1979 establishments in British Columbia