Fear

Musical Guest:

10/31/81
"I Don't Care About You"
Medley: "Beef Bologna," "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones," "Let's Have a War"

Bio:

For those who don't know Fear, they were a hardcore punk band from Los Angeles that was championed by John Belushi. He wanted them to do the music for the misguided feature film "Neighbors." Singer Lee Ving, whose past is shrouded in mystery, formed the band in 1977 and spent several years playing the local punk scene.

In 1981, Belushi convinced Lorne Michaels to book the act on SNL, and their appearance, though somewhat forgotten today, was one of the most outlandish in the show's history. The band invited a number of local fans to slam dance during their performance during their second set. The fans grew out of control and started smashing apart studio equipment. With profanity added to the mix, the plug was pulled halfway through the song "Let's Have a War" and a short film took away their air time.

Their SNL stint, however, sewed the seeds of a national following. Today, Ving still performs with the group, though under a different lineup.

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