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Subject: The 1980's/EMI Records
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ulekai 7/8/2006 - 12:43:40
Red Hot Chili Peppers (originally 'Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem') were formed after what was supposed to be a one-time performance in 1983 by Fairfax High School alumni Michael 'Flea' Balzary, Jack Irons, Anthony Kiedis, and Hillel Slovak. Later in that same year, they secured a record deal with EMI. Irons and Slovak were committed to their original band, What Is This?, so the sessions for their self titled debut, Red Hot Chili Peppers were recorded with Jack Sherman on guitar and Cliff Martinez on drums. Produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill, the alb*m did not achieve commercial success. The ensuing tour did not fare much better, with internal fighting resulting in Sherman's leaving the band, at which point Slovak returned. Parliament-Funkadelic's George Clinton was hired to produce their second album, 1985's Freaky Styley. Martinéz would leave the band soon after the release of the album, allowing the return of original drummer Jack Irons in early 1986. While the alb*m did garner some attention from college radio, mainstream radio gave it little notice. Their first alb*m to enter the Billboard Top 200, 1987's The Uplift Party Plan, was produced by Michael Beinhorn. This would be the only alb*m with to feature the four original high school friends. Its first single, 'Fight Like a Brave', would later be featured in 2001 on the soundtrack to the video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 . During the supporting tour, drug problems, which have haunted the band throughout its career, came to public light when Slovak relapsed; resulting in erratic behaviour and botched performances. Shortly after the band returned, on June 27, 1988, Slovak was found dead of a heroin overdose. When news spread of the death of one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, everyone (including Blackie Dammett, Kiedis' father) assumed it was Kiedis, because of the severity of his addiction. It wasn't until later that they discovered the truth. Anthony couldn't be immediately tracked down, as he was somewhere in Los Angeles, getting high. Jack Irons left the band soon after, saying he didn't want to be in a band where all his friends were dying. The band temporarily employed Dead Kennedys drummer D.H. Peligro and former P-Funk guitarist DeWayne “Blackbyrd†McKnight, later replacing them with Chad Smith and John Frusciante. Mother's Milk was released in August 1989, providing the band with their first top modern rock hit with their tribute ballad to Slovak, 'Knock Me Down' [1]. The alb*m reached #52 on the alb*m charts, the best chart position yet for the band at that point. Frusciante proved to be a prodigious and talented guitarist, and that contributed to that alb*m being their breakthrough album. Although it's their breakthrough alb*m to the mainstream, the band usually refrains from playing it in live concerts due to John's dislike of the 'macho' way he used to play on it. *
