band formed by singer Dave Rubinstein (Dave Insurgent) and guitarist Paul Bakija (Paul Cripple) in Queens, New York in early 1980. Part of the
movement, the band members were committed political anarchists. Their name critiques fervor for then-presidential frontrunner Ronald Reagan with the Hitler Youth who pledged blind allegiance to the
II. An important group in the New York
scene, they performed regularly at CBGB and toured the U.S. extensively, often with other early
, Bad Brains, The Misfits and the Beastie Boys.
anarchist, socialist, and
anti-racist band, and often utilized Ku Klux Klan and
Nazi Party imagery for satirical effect. In their original 1980s incarnation, they sought to address the parallels between the policies of Ronald Reagan, the Christian Right and
American conservatism, and the beliefs of the hate groups. Their eponymous song, "
Reagan Youth", uses a tongue-in-cheek rhetoric to draw parallels between Young Republicans who rallied to the cause of Ronald Reagan, and the Hitler Youth during the
Third Reich, ushering in an era of songs about Ronald Reagan in
American punk music. The band expressed its left-wing politics through irony, using images from hate groups for their album/CD covers.
Musically, the band was firmly rooted in the early
hardcore/
punk crossover tradition, but moved deeper into waters uncharted by their
punk rock contemporaries as their career progressed. While their 1983 debut is an accomplished work squarely in keeping with
hardcore punk convention, their 1990 followup features dense
guitar work replete with solos and overdubs, diversified tempos and several sonic experiments, leading it to draw comparisons to Black Sabbath and 1970s album-oriented rock.