A Band Called Death
This Band was Punk, before Punk was Punk
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them.
Cast
Dannis Hackney
Self
Bobby Hackney
Self
David Hackney
Self (archive footage)
Henry Rollins
Self
Elijah Wood
Self
Kid Rock
Self
Alice Cooper
Self
Mick Collins
Self
Mickey Leigh
Self
Robbie Duncan
Self
Questlove
Self
Vernon Reid
Self
Wayne Kramer
Self
Videos
Storyline
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them.
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