Punk before punk existed, three black teenage brothers formed a band and put down a demo tape in 1974 but never recorded an album. The discovery of that demo has been a revelation. This heartfelt doco tells their story.
Less about punk than family and brotherhood and believing in what you create enough to not compromise and never throw it away.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2013
A Band Called Death 2012
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death. Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early 70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death’s music – and name – too intimidating, and the group disbanded before they even completed an album. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family love story, this touching, heartfelt doco chronicles the incredible fairy tale journey of what happened almost three decades later, when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of the attic. Playing music impossibly ahead of its time, Death is now being credited as the first black punk band (hell, the first punk band!) and finally receiving long-overdue recognition as true rock pioneers. — Ant Timpson