Radical Dance Faction was a band from Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

Radical Dance Faction (RDF) were founded by Chris Bowsher in Hungerford

Hungerford

Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...

 in 1986, and were originally known as 'Military Surplus'. The band experienced many line up changes, with at least eighteen different people having being part of the band at one time or another. Chris is the only person who has been in every line up of the band.

RDF's music combines punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, dub

Dub music

Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...

, and ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

, while Bowsher's lyrics, spoken rather than sung, dealt mainly with political issues, such as the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...

 in the song "Chinese Poem". Bowsher also witnessed first hand the Hungerford massacre

Hungerford massacre

The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 19 August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan, armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself...

, describing his experience in the song "Hot on the Wire".

RDF were a regular act on the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 free festival scene prior to the 1994 Criminal Justice Act

Criminal Justice Act

Criminal Justice Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Canada relating to the criminal law...

, and were part of the crusties

Crusties

Crusties is a term for members of an urban subculture, with roots in punk and grebo. The term pre-dates crust punk and can be used independently. The trend was most widespread in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s but there are also international subsets.-Background:Crusties are distinctive...

 and anarcho punk movement until they called it day in the mid 1990s. The band reformed in 2006, and played various festivals around the UK during 2007.

At the height of their fame in the early 1990s, the band made at least two tours of Germany. One tour was as the support act to Rebel MC but they also supported Ziggy Marley

Ziggy Marley

David "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...

 at one point. RDF appeared at the huge Summerjam

Summerjam

The Summerjam is Europe's biggest reggae festival. It takes places annually in July at the Fühlinger See, a lake in Cologne, Germany. It is visited by 25.000 to 30.000 people...

 festival in July 1993, ironically on the same bill as controversial artist Shabba Ranks

Shabba Ranks

Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician.He was one of the most popular dancehall artists of his generation. He was also one of the first Jamaican deejays to gain worldwide acceptance, and recognition for his 'slack' lyrical expressions and content, when "ridin' di riddim"...

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Related bands

• Steve Swann, one of RDF's original line-up, co-founded the Revolutionary Dub Warriors and is 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 McCarthey joined The Wonder Stuff
  The Wonder Stuff
  The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band, originally based in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in the Black Country, England.-Origins:...
  
   in 2004.
• Murph joined The Rhythmites.

Members

• Phil Astronaut (guitar)
• Chris Bowsher (vocals)
• Mike Cooper (guitar)
• Steve Cruickshank (drums)
• Sarah Edwards (violin)
• Linda Goodman (vocals)
• Tim Hill (saxophone)
• Fred Johnson (bass)
• Paul McCabe (Keyboards)
• Murph (guitar)
• Brian Powell (guitar, bass)
• Style Scott (drums)
• Graham Spey (Keyboards)
• Steve Swann
• Graham Usher (drums)
• Jim Warne (Guitar)
• Luap
• Danny (Drums)
• Ozzy (bass)
• Chris Chescoe (Drums)
• Olly Thomas (Drums)
• Lewis Sykes (Bass)
• Jimmy Peters (Keyboards)

Gigging line-up at March 2007:

• Murph (Guitar)
• Steve Cruikshank (drums)
• Matty Mann (Bass)
• Steve Swann (Bass, Vocals)
• Karen Ricketts (Backing Vocals)
• Chris Bowsher (Lead vocals)

Albums

• Taking Refuge (cassette only)
• Hot on the Wire (cassette and vinyl)
• Borderline Cases (1990)
• Wasteland (1991)
• Raggamuffin Statement (1995)