Plebe Rude originated in Brasília, DF, during July 1981 when vocalist/guitarist Philippe Seabra joined forces with vocalist/guitarist Ameba (Jander Bilafra), bassist André X Muller, and drummer Gurtje Woorthmann. Seabra, Muller, and Woorthmann composed the track “Pressão Social” that same month. Drawing primary influence from the punk movement and the Clash, the group traveled outside Brasília for its first show in Patos de Minas, MG, where authorities detained the members for questioning at the police station. Before issuing any studio album, the quartet was documented in the film Ascensão e Queda de Quatro Rudes Plebeus, which received the Best Experimental Film prize at the I Super-8 Film Festival of Brasília. At that stage the musicians remained active within the punk circuit, staging concerts at modest venues throughout Brasília, Rio, and São Paulo.
Herbert Vianna of Os Paralamas do Sucesso urged EMI to sign the band in 1985 and subsequently produced its debut seven-track album, O Concreto já Rachou. Reviewers hailed the record as the finest Brazilian rock release of its era, and it achieved sales of 250,000 copies. The project was unveiled through two performances at Noites Cariocas in Rio in February 1986, drawing an audience that included Fernanda Abreu and George Israel of Kid Abelha.
The following year the musicians relocated to Rio. Their second album, Nunca Fomos Tão Brasileiros, was introduced at the I Festival Alternativa Nativa held at Canecão; Herbert Vianna again handled production and a string quartet appeared on the song “A Ida,” while censors blocked “Censura.” In November 1988 the self-titled album Plebe Rude arrived, featuring lighter lyrics that highlighted the band’s instrumental strengths and incorporated baião, repente, and samba elements, ultimately selling 40,000 copies.
After a period of internal crisis and inactivity, Seabra and Muller revived Plebe Rude in 1993 to record the LP Mais Raiva do que Medo for Natasha. Continued live appearances eventually reached an impasse in 1994 when Seabra returned to the U.S.A.
