Radical Dance Faction (RDF), originally known as Military Surplus, are a music group with

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, dub and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

styling, originally formed in Hungerford, Berkshire, England by singer Chris Bowsher, the group's only ever-present. They were active between 1987 and 1995 with a constantly changing line-up, with over 30 musicians passing through, releasing three albums. They first reformed in 2006, going on to perform more live appearances and record two further albums.

History

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

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 5,869. The Kennet and Avon Can ...

in 1987. Originally known as Military Surplus, the band have experienced many line up changes, with at least thirty different people having been part of the band at one time or another. Bowsher is the only person who has been in every line up of the band. RDF's music combines

, dub, and

, while Bowsher's lyrics, spoken rather than sung, deal mainly with political issues, such as the

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

in the song "Chinese Poem". Bowsher also witnessed first hand the Hungerford massacre, describing his experience in the song "Hot on the Wire". In 1990, they signed to

Southern Records Founded 1992 by John Loder, Southern Records is an independent record label (Loder also ran the recording facility Southern Studios). It is based in London and until 2008 had offices in the United States, France and Berlin. The label is clos ...

, releasing two albums on their own imprint ''Earthzone'' and going on to tour Germany and other parts of Europe. One tour was as the support act to

Rebel MC Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer, spiritual chanter and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackst ...

and they also supported

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 2002, with whom he released eight studio albums. After ...

. RDF appeared at the huge

Summerjam Summerjam is a European reggae festival. It takes places annually in July at the ''Fühlinger See'', which is a lake located in Cologne, Germany. The event usually attracts an audience of between 25,000 and 30,000 people. Two stages and two tents ...

festival in Germany, in July 1993. RDF were a regular act on the UK free festival scene prior to the 1994

Criminal Justice Act Criminal Justice Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Malaysia, Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of that law). It tends t ...

, and were part of the crusty/ anarcho punk movement, until they called it day in the mid-1990s. Their final album (until reformation) ''Raggamuffin Statement'' was a mixture of live recordings and remixes with new songs, including "Martin Foran", about the wrongly convicted prisoner. The band reformed in 2006, playing various festivals around the UK during 2007. They reformed again in 2012 and appeared at the Bearded Theory Festival in Derby. The band commenced a short tour in October 2012 to promote new album - ''Ammunition''. In recent years, they have performed at

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

, Boomtown,

Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

, Willow Man and

Green Gathering The Green Gathering, formerly known as the Big Green Gathering is a festival with an environmental and social justice focus, including workshops and talks on permaculture, politics, ecology and crafts, as well as art, live music and spoken word p ...

festivals. In 2018 RDF released their latest work, ''Daydream Dystopia'', produced by Youth Sounds.

Related bands

* Steve Swann, one of RDF's original line-up, co-founded the Revolutionary Dub Warriors and was 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 McCarthy joined

The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock musical ensemble, band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying ...

in 2004. * Murph joined The Rhythmites. * Bowsher released an album, ''Infinitive Splits'', in 2010 billed as Chris Bowsher and The Faction, with Martin Jenkins and Oisin Meehan - including versions of RDF songs.

Current lineup (2023)

* Chris Bowsher (vocals) * Ben (Drums) * Angus Duprey (Bass) * David 'Frag' Fletcher (Guitar) * Karen (Backing Vocals) * Danni (Backing Vocals)

Past members

* Linda Goodman (vocals) * Steve Swann (vocals, bass) * Fred Johnson (bass) * Karen Woodhead (backing vocals) * Graham Usher (drums) * Sid Wobble (harmonica) * Mark McCarthy (bass) * Richard Paterson (keyboards) * Phil Astronaut (guitar) * Mike Cooper (guitar) * Sarah Edwards (violin) * Tim Hill (saxophone) * Kevin Vernon (percussion) * Paul McCabe (keyboards) * Brian Powell (guitar, bass) * Style Scott (drums) * Graham Spey (keyboards) * Jim Warne (guitar) * Danny (drums) * Ozzy (bass) * Chris Chescoe (drums) * Olly Thomas (drums) * Lewis Sykes (bass) * Jimmy Peters (keyboards) * Andy (from Newcastle) (drums) * Lynn Forte (drums) * Spot Gaffey (drums) * Matty Mann (bass) * Karen Ricketts (backing vocals) * Martin Jenkins (keyboards) * Ben King (keyboards) * Luke Winton (drums) * Josh Bannerman (drums) * Shanks (Drums) * Murph (Guitar) * Dan Foster (Bass)

Discography

Albums

* ''Taking Refuge'' (1989) (mini-album, cassette only) * ''Hot on the Wire'' (1989) (mini album, cassette only) * ''Borderline Cases'' (1990) (Earthzone, LP/CD) * ''Wasteland'' (1991) (Earthzone, LP/CD/MC) * ''Raggamuffin Statement'' (1995) (Inna State, LP/CD/MC) * ''Ammunition'' (2012) (LP/CD/DD) * ''Daydream Dystopia'' (2018) * ''Welcome to the edge'' (2023)

Singles

* "Landing Party" 12" (1991) * "Beast in the Doorway" 12"/CD (1994)

References

External links

Official Radical Dance Faction websiteOfficial site on MySpace
{{Authority control English rock music groups British reggae musical groups British ska musical groups British dub musical groups Anarcho-punk groups Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in England Hungerford