Dead Kennedys member: Orbán government will also steal from Hungarians

The ongoing feud between the punk band Dead Kennedys and the Hungarian government continues. Following remarks from the former singer of Dead Kennedys, two other founding members of the band have voiced their opinions on the current poster campaign underway in the country. The band’s guitarist labelled the ruling party as “crazy”.

Background: Government propaganda inspired by hardcore punk band

As we reported just last week, the Hungarian government launched a new poster campaign in March. The billboards were commissioned by the Civil Alliance Forum (CAF), a supposedly independent civil organisation, that is, in reality, a part of Hungary’s central propaganda machine.

The poster also includes the following text: “They were bought by the kilo”. This latest campaign tactic accuses opposition parties of accepting American campaign funds in exchange for undermining Hungarian Christian-conservative values. The government’s latest catchphrase is “dollar-left”, alleging that left-wing politicians are being bribed by foreign entities.

Source : FB / Civil Összefogás Fóruma/Civil Alliance Forum

Here is the catch: the design of the billboards was inspired by the American hardcore punk band the Dead Kennedys – a band highly critical of politics from their onset, whose satirical lyrics often ridiculed politics, authorities as well as their own industry.

“Their disdain for the music industry and the new wave movement led them to wear dollar-sign shirts and compose a song specifically criticising what they perceived as deceitful practices among new wave bands with record labels,” we wrote in our coverage.

Dead Kennedys members speak out against Orbán-regime

After making the connection between the imagery of the posters and the Dead Kennedys photo, Hungarian journalist László Seres contacted the former frontman of the group, Jello Biafra, whether the group gave permission to the government to use their photo. Biafra responded:

“NO, we did NOT give permission for this spooky wannabe dictator Orbán or his party to use it! Why on earth would any of us support his armchair fascist regime in any way?”

Now, the other two founding members of the band have sent their comments on the case to 444. They were equally disdainful towards the Hungarian government’s use of their imagery.

Guitarist East Bay Ray said:

“The picture was stolen from the Dead Kennedys and the photographer f-Stop Fitzgerald by the people of the crazy right-wing Orbán camp in power. If they steal from us, they will undoubtedly steal from the Hungarian people as well.”

Bass guitarist Klaud Fluoride wrote:

“I fully agree with the statements of Biafra and Ray. There is nothing good and everything bad about Orbán and his cruel politics. We support his opposition and are outraged that he chose to plagiarize the f-stop Fitzgerald images. We wanted nothing to do with this. Period.”

The Civil Alliance Forum points fingers

According to Telex, the Civil Alliance Forum responded to the words of the members in a statement. The organisation referred to a Guardian article that covered the work of singer Steve Lacy, who used the iconic white-shirt aesthetic in his music videos.

The Forum wrote:

“When an American rapper copied the Dead Kennedys, they weren’t so sensitive.”

“The final verdict of the commenters was that the black entertainer was inspired and paid tribute to the motif of the punk band […] Based on all this, we ask those involved to stop the circus and talk about the fact that there have been attempts by the Left to influence the 2022 parliamentary election campaign with money coming directly from foreign sources, a claim revealed by the national security investigation on the finances of the unified left-wing opposition.”

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Source: Telex, 444