Really Red

Pioneering Texas Punk Band

Really Red was hardcore punk band from Houston, TX who existed from 1978 until 1985. The Really Red line up consisted of John Paul Williams on bass guitar, Ronnie "U-Ron" Bond vocalist/lyricist, Bob Weber on drums and Kelly Younger on guitar. Under occasional variations of their names, these were the original and only band members. Really Red evolved into one of the most prominent and popular Texas punk bands of that era and helped to kick-start the early punk scene in Houston and Texas. Really Red toured the USA several times and played some dates in Canada. They started their own independent record label, C.I.A. Records. On special rare occasions Austrian avante garde film maker, Kurt Kren, would project his films as a backdrop for the band's performance. They released their first 45 single recording, Crowd Control/Corporate Settings in 1979. Among their many accomplishments, Really Red were the first Texas punk band to tour extensively outside of Texas. In addition they were the first Texas punk band to have a full length album distributed nationally; Teaching You the Fear was released in 1981. The title track cited the murders of three men by members of the Houston police department; a Black Panther activist Carl Hampton, a Latino man Joe Campos Torres, and a gay man Fred Paez. Rest in Pain Really Red's second album was released in 1985 and most of side two departed from the punk genre into a dark soundscape that was a homage to the Red Crayola's "Parable of Arable Land" album.. Really Red broke up in 1985 after releasing 2 albums, 2 45 singles, 2 7" EP's, and tracks on various compilations. Their song "Prostitution" appeared on the Alternative Tentacles compilation album Let Them Eat Jellybeans. The song "Nobody Rules" was included on the compilation Cottage Cheese from the Lips of Death. That version was intended for their Rest in Pain album but due to a mix up it ended up on "Cottage Cheese" while the alternative version intended for that release showed up on "Rest in Pain". The song "Modern Needs" was included on Rhino Records compilation "Faster and Louder Hardcore Punk Vol 1". Their cover of Petula Clark's "Downtown" was included on the 1996 7" 45 "Rather See You Dead: Houston Punk 1978-1979" from the Hot Box Review label. The song "I was a Teenage Fuckup" appeared on the soundtrack to the film American Hardcore. Their 1st single's A side "Crowd Control" was included on the bootleg album release Killed by Death Vol 2 while both sides of the single were legally included on the compilation album Deep in the Throat of Texas. Their 2nd single A side "Modern Needs" was included on the bootleg album release Killed by Death Vol 4. The 1981 LP "Teaching You The Fear" was re-issued on Empty Records in 2004. 2015 saw the reissue of all of Really Red's material, as well as unreleased rarities, by the Alternative Tentacles label. This release came as a two CD set "Teaching You The Fear: The Complete Collection" and three full length vinyl albums. 2020 saw the release of "Teaching You the Fear Again", a tribute album, by various notable artists.