10 Most Outspoken Men In Rock And Metal History
5. Jello Biafra
We're sorry, we hate to interrupt,
But it's against the law to jump off this bridge,
You'll just have to kill yourself somewhere else,
A tourist might see you and we wouldn't want that.
The lyrics above from 'Soup is Good Food' by Dead Kennedys should be a clear indication of the unapologetic, brash and in-your-face approach Jello Biafra adopts when writing music.
For his unapologetic and blunt approach to world issues such as United States foreign policy, drugs, party politics, treatment of people in poverty and countless other topics, Biafra saw his house raided in 1986 following a complaint from the 'Parents Music Resource Center'. Despite this, the PMRC achieved very little in the grand scheme of things and Biafra carried on like nothing happened.
Biafra's bizarre political antics include running for mayor of San Francisco in 1979. During the build-up he hoovered leaves off an opposing candidate's lawn and said that businessmen should be made to wear clown suits while in the city. Jello also ran for president in 2000, but lost out on the Green Party nomination. Some of Biafra's campaign points have actually been adopted though. For his 1979 campaign, he said cities should be car free zones and this policy is now practised by Santa Catalina Island, California.
Despite an evident left-leaning political stance, Biafra has spoken out against many Democrat nominees including Barack Obama, accusing the former president of "illegal unconstitutional spying". Biafra receives plenty of opposition for his views, but it seems unlikely he'll change now after four decades as a pioneering punk figurehead.