Biography
RDF emerged in 1987 from the remnants of the British anarcho-reggae group Military Surplus. Although their personnel fluctuated frequently, lyricist and frontman Chris Bowsher remained the sole unchanging member. Drawing on beat poetry’s visions of urban decline and the failures of capitalism, the band channeled these themes through reggae and ska rhythms. Having participated in the initial punk wave, Bowsher held particular admiration for acts like the Clash and the Ruts, who sought to fuse rock with Black musical traditions. Together with the Levellers, RDF played a central role in what the press labeled the ‘crusty’ scene, whose audience consisted mainly of society’s outcasts and those without homes, united by an ideology tracing back to hippie ideals, beat generation romanticism, and the anarcho-punk ethos of the early 1980s.
Albums
Singles