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Radical Dance Faction (RDF), originally Military Surplus, is an English band from
Hungerford, Berkshire Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
, England.


History

Radical Dance Faction (RDF) were founded by Chris Bowsher in
Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
in 1987. Originally known as 'Military Surplus', the band has experienced many line up changes, with at least thirty different people having been part of the band at one time or another. Bowsher is the only person who has been in every line up of the band. RDF's music combines
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
, dub, and
ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
, while Bowsher's lyrics, spoken rather than sung, deal mainly with political issues, such as the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
in the song "Chinese Poem". Bowsher also witnessed first hand the
Hungerford massacre The Hungerford massacre was a spree shooting in Hungerford, England, United Kingdom, on 19 August 1987, when 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot dead sixteen people, including an unarmed police officer and his own mother, before shooting himself. The ...
, describing his experience in the song "Hot on the Wire". In 1990, they signed to
Southern Records Founded 1992 by John Loder, Southern Records is an independent record label (Loder also ran the recording facility Southern Studios). It is based in London and until 2008 had offices in the United States, France and Berlin. The label is close ...
, releasing two albums on their own imprint ''Earthzone'' and going on to tour Germany and other parts of Europe. One tour was as the support act to
Rebel MC Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackstar, Tribe of Issach ...
and they also supported
Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 20 ...
at one point. RDF appeared at the huge
Summerjam Summerjam is a European reggae festival. It takes places annually in July at the ''Fühlinger See'', which is a lake located in Cologne, Germany. The event usually attracts an audience of between 25,000 and 30,000 people. Two stages and two tents ...
festival in Germany, in July 1993. RDF were a regular act on the UK free festival scene prior to the 1994
Criminal Justice Act Criminal Justice Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of that ...
, and were part of the crusty/ anarcho punk movement, until they called it day in the mid 1990s. Their final album (until reformation) ''Raggamuffin Statement'' was a mixture of live recordings and remixes with new songs, including "Martin Foran", about the wrongly convicted prisoner. The band reformed in 2006, playing various festivals around the UK during 2007. They reformed again in 2012 and appeared at the Bearded Theory Festival in Derby. The band commenced a short tour in October 2012 to promote new album - ''Ammunition''. In recent years, they have performed at
Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
, Boomtown, Rebellion, Willow Man and Green Gathering festivals. In 2018 RDF released their latest work, ''Daydream Dystopia'', produced by Youth Sounds.


Related bands

* Steve Swann, one of RDF's original line-up, co-founded the Revolutionary Dub Warriors and was a member of the reformed, dub/ska band Dub The Earth. * Phil left RDF in 1995, and together with other ex-RDF members and John from AOS3, formed P.A.I.N. * Linda and Graham Spey went on to form the band DF118. * Mark McCarthy joined
The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in th ...
in 2004. * Murph joined The Rhythmites. * Bowsher released an album, ''Infinitive Splits'', in 2010 billed as Chris Bowsher and The Faction, with Martin Jenkins and Oisin Meehan - including versions of RDF songs.


Current lineup (2016)

* Chris Bowsher ( vocals) * Shanks (Drums) * Murph (Guitar) * Dan Foster (Bass)


Past members

* Linda Goodman (vocals) * Steve Swann (vocals, bass) * Fred Johnson (bass) * Karen Woodhead (backing vocals) * Graham Usher (drums) * Sid Wobble (harmonica) * Mark McCarthy (bass) * Richard Paterson (keyboards) * Phil Astronaut (guitar) * Mike Cooper (guitar) * Sarah Edwards (violin) * Tim Hill (saxophone) * Kevin Vernon (percussion) * Paul McCabe (keyboards) * Brian Powell (guitar, bass) * Style Scott (drums) * Graham Spey (keyboards) * Jim Warne (guitar) * Danny (drums) * Ozzy (bass) * Chris Chescoe (drums) * Olly Thomas (drums) * Lewis Sykes (bass) * Jimmy Peters (keyboards) * Andy (from Newcastle) (drums) * Lynn Forte (drums) * Spot Gaffey (drums) * Matty Mann (bass) * Karen Ricketts (backing vocals) * Martin Jenkins (keyboards) * Ben King (keyboards) * Luke Winton (drums) * Josh Bannerman (drums)


Discography


Albums

* ''Taking Refuge'' (1989) (mini-album, cassette only) * ''Hot on the Wire'' (1989) (mini album, cassette only) * ''Borderline Cases'' (1990) (Earthzone, LP/CD) * ''Wasteland'' (1991) (Earthzone, LP/CD/MC) * ''Raggamuffin Statement'' (1995) (Inna State, LP/CD/MC) * ''Ammunition'' (2012) (LP/CD/DD) * ''Daydream Dystopia'' (2018)


Singles

* "Landing Party" 12" (1991) * "Beast in the Doorway" 12"/CD (1994)


References


External links


Official Radical Dance Faction websiteOfficial site on MySpace
{{Authority control English rock music groups British reggae musical groups Anarcho-punk groups Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in England Hungerford