Really Red was one of Houston, Texas' first punk bands and existed from 1978 through 1985.
Biography
The Really Red line up consisted of John Paul Williams on bass guitar, Ronnie "U-Ron" Bond vocalist/lyricist, Bob Weber on drums and Kelly Younger on guitar. Under occasional variations of their names, these were the original and only band members. Really Red evolved into one of the most prominent and popular Texas punk bands of that era and helped to kick-start the early punk scene in Houston and Texas. Really Red toured the United States several times and played some dates in Canada, including a benefit for the Squamish Five in Vancouver.
They released their first 45 single recording, Crowd Control/Corporate Settings in 1979. Among their many accomplishments, Really Red were the first Texas punk band to tour extensively outside of Texas. In addition they were the first Texas punk band to have a full length album distributed nationally; Teaching You the Fear was released in 1981. The title track cited the murders of three men by members of the Houston police department; a Black Panther activist Carl Hampton, a Latino man Joe Campos Torres, and a gay man Fred Paez. Rest in Pain Really Red's second album was released in 1985 and most of side two departed from the punk genre into a dark soundscape that was a homage to the Red Crayola's "Parable of Arable Land" album.. Really Red broke up in 1985 after releasing 2 albums, 2 45 singles, 2 7-inch EPs, and tracks on various compilations.
Their song "Prostitution" appeared on the Alternative Tentacles compilation album Let Them Eat Jellybeans. The song "Nobody Rules" was included on the compilation Cottage Cheese from the Lips of Death. That version was intended for their Rest in Pain album but due to a mix up it ended up on
"Cottage Cheese" while the alternative version intended for that release showed up on "Rest in Pain". The song "Modern Needs" was included on Rhino Records compilation "Faster and Louder Hardcore Punk Vol 1". Their cover of Petula Clark's "Downtown" was included on the 1996 7-inch 45 "Rather See You Dead: Houston Punk 1978-1979" from the Hot Box Review label. The song "I was a Teenage Fuckup" appeared on the soundtrack to the film American Hardcore. Their 1st single's A side "Crowd Control" was included on the bootleg album release Killed by Death Vol 2 while both sides of the single were legally included on the compilation album Deep in the Throat of Texas. Their 2nd single A side "Modern Needs" was included on the bootleg album release Killed by Death Vol 4.
For years, as well as fronting Really Red, lead singer U-Ron (as Perry Coma) created and hosted the original "Funhouse" radio show, on Pacifica's Houston station KPFT.
The only member to continue making music has been drummer Bob Weber who did a California tour with the notorious Culturcide and then joined The Anarchitex. Both bands were also from Houston Texas.
