Radical Dance Faction

Radical Dance Faction

Radical Dance Faction is an English group founded in Hungerford in 1986 and originally known as Military Surplus. The line-up changes frequently over the years, and Chris Bowsher remains the only original member through the period described here. The group is active from 1986 to the present.

Style and themes

Their music combines dub, post-punk and punk, with spoken vocals rather than conventional singing. Their lyrics focus mainly on political subjects. One example is Chinese Poem, which addresses the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, while Hot on the Wire draws on Bowsher’s first-hand experience of the Hungerford massacre.

Scene and activity

Radical Dance Faction is part of the crusty and anarcho punk movement and is associated with the UK free festival scene before the Criminal Justice Act of 1994. The band splits up in the late 1990s, then reforms in 2006.

Members and related acts

Members associated with the group include Phil Astronaut, Steve Swann, Chris Bowsher, Luap Ebacom, Richard Patterson, Declan Quinn, Dan Foster, Mycal One Dread, Karen Ricketts, OZ, Mark McCarthy, Steve Cruikshank, Martin Jenkins, Andrew “Murph” Murphy, Matty Swann, Kay Beckett, Drummer D, Sarah Edwards, Donette Forte, Linda Goodman, Tim Hill, Fred Johnson, Paul McCabe, Brian Powell, Style Scott, Graham Spey, Steve Taylor, Graham Usher and Jim Warren.

Steve Swann goes on to co-found Revolutionary Dub Warriors and is also a member of Dub The Earth. Phil leaves in 1995 and later forms P.A.I.N with other former RDF members and John from AOS3. Linda Goodman and Graham Spey later form DF118. Mark McCarthy joins The Wonder Stuff in 2004, and Murph joins Rhythmites.